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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 1
September 2006
V-notch, fluke dominate RI council meeting
WAKEFIELD, RI – With official approval of a Rhode Island proposed effort control plan for Lobster Conservation Management Area 2 still pending, the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council turned its attention at its Aug. 7 meeting to revising the state’s v-notch definition, which is a critical component in the development of emergency regulations to further protect v-notched female lobsters.
Continuing their commitment to work jointly on management of Area 2, officials from the Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife (F&W) and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) had agreed on a 1/8" v-notch definition.
However, both Rhode Island and Massachusetts Environmental Police rejected the 1/8" definition, insisting that only a zero-tolerance or a 1/4" definition would be enforceable.
Rhode Island currently uses the 1/4" definition, which covers a v-notched female for a single molt. If a shared 1/8" v-notch definition is approved and implemented through the emergency regulations, it would protect lobsters for a longer period of time. F&W staff told the council that maximum gauge specifications would not be included in the emergency regulations.
F&W and DMF officials must now continue to work on a common definition, as Rhode Island council members look to extend the amount of time a v-notched lobster is protected from harvest. This revision comes as an extensive v-notching program, funded by parties involved in the 1996 North Cape oil spill off Charlestown Beach, comes to a close.
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Director Michael Sullivan attended the Aug. 7 council meeting.
“The law enforcement agencies agree (on zero-tolerance or 1/4"), so it’s up to the council to work out the definitions,” he said.
Summer flounder
The council also discussed preparations for the 2007 fluke season. At a joint meeting with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council in early August, the Mid-Atlantic council parted ways with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and endorsed a proposed 19.9-million-pound coastwide quota for 2007.
While that represented a significant decrease from the 23.59-million-pound 2006 fluke quota, NMFS had proposed quota levels as low as 5.2 million pounds (see related story page 23A). The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) deferred taking action on the 2007 summer flounder quota and management measures until its annual meeting in mid-October.
But Rhode Island council members expressed interest in reviewing the fluke management system in the months before the final quotas are determined.
As of Aug. 9, NMFS Northeast Regional Office statistics showed that Rhode Island had landed 1,490,489 pounds of summer flounder out of its 2,186,293-pound annual quota. The Summer 1 period, which can run from May 1 to July 31 with a 100-pound possession limit, ended early. According to F&W, the possession limit was dropped to 50 pounds on June 14 followed by the closure of the fishery on July 13.
Changes needed
Dave Preble, a council member, proposed a series of meetings to look closely at several areas of improvement in fluke management in the wake of the early closure of the Summer I season.
Defining agenda items and issues for change, Preble said, “We need to identify major issues and problems in the fishery, discuss the state of science and the reliability of stock assessments, and discuss user conflicts on the water, sector allocation, bycatch, safety concerns, and enforcement problems.”
Preble said an advisory panel meeting had been scheduled for Aug. 30 along with a follow-up, open-forum meeting on Sept. 18 meant to focus on the fluke fishery. And he emphasized his interest in industry participation.
“Discussion has to come from industry,” Preble said. “I hope these guys rise to the occasion.”
The council, however, finds itself in a difficult preparatory position, as it must have its 2007 fluke regulations confirmed prior to Jan. 1, even though NMFS may not approve the coastwide quota until the beginning of next year. The DEM must either construct regulations based on an anticipated and unconfirmed quota or use its 2006 regulations for the 2007 fluke season.
The council also described harsh reactions, many reportedly in the form of e-mails, after the Summer I summer flounder closure.
“Criticism of the closure went all the way up to the governor,” said Mark Gibson, F&W deputy chief for marine fisheries and council chairman.
Added DEM Director Sullivan, “There was bombastic language at times about the state of the fishery.”
However, Sullivan noted that “the rules and allocation come out of a fairly broad consensus.”
Preble agreed. “I object to the language and the abuse,” he said. “After all the work we did last year, the system worked.”
For more information on the open-forum meeting, contact Jason McNamee by phone at (401) 423-1943 or by e-mail at <jason.mcnamee@dem.ri.gov>.
Advisory panels
Council member Ken Ketcham, reporting on the Industry Advisory Committee’s (IAC) July meeting, stated that the body supported no new endorsements for finfish or lobster for 2007.
The IAC did, however, recommend new shellfish endorsements for 2007, to be awarded at a 3-to-1 entrance/exit ratio. That means if the council approves such a measure, one new shellfish endorsement will be awarded for every three existing endorsements not renewed.
Ketcham also recommended development of a training program to prepare future council members for the responsibilities of their roles with a focus on participation on the council’s advisory panels.
“We’re trying to think of a way to have people ... come from the advisory panels, so they can understand how things work,” he said.
The council creates advisory panels to address specific issues related to the various fisheries throughout the state’s commercial fishing industry. Only one panel – the IAC – is mandated by Rhode Island statute. The other advisory panels seek to arrive at consensus recommendations on matters and to advise the council on which actions to take to deal with issues.
Currently, panels are made up of voting representatives from each specific gear category and from commercial and recreational sectors. The council approves applicants. The public is welcome to attend advisory panel meetings, and nonvoting industry members can voice opinions on the matters at hand.
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