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http://homertribune.com/2011/08/halibut-captains-quiz-noaa/
Halibut captains quiz NOAA on proposed one-halibut rule
• Dozens of questions on the one-halibut proposal focused on economic impact, trawler waste, commercial-favored decision making
By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune
HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - About 200 people crammed into the Bidarka Inn conference room seeking answers from U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and NOAA's top official, Jane Lubchenco. At issue is why the halibut sport charter boat fleet is targeted for further restrictions after already seeing a 40 percent reduction in operators due to limited entry via a new permit requirement.
If halibut is a public resource, why is the public resource given to the commercial fishing fleet, so that the public has to buy it back?
Why was a halibut catch share proposed so closely on the tails of the limited halibut permit system? Limited entry has already cut the fleet by 40 percent.
What about an economic impact analysis: why wasn’t one completed to see how the one-halibut rule would impact communities like Homer?
Those and dozens of other one-halibut rule questions were addressed Tuesday in sequence to U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and NOAA’s top administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, To accommodate the high number of questions from an emotionally charged constituency, questions were written down, then read aloud by Chamber Director Monte Davis prior to answers by Luchenco and Begich.
Homer’s halibut charter fleet and other residents piled into the Bidarka Inn’s upstairs conference room at the Homer Chamber of Commerce luncheon to seek answers. The overflow of attendance meant even the outer stairway was lined.
“I have seen your stack of questions already, so I intended to keep my answers brief,” Sen. Begich said at the opening of the meeting as he tried for a moment of levity.
“I told (Dr. Lubchenco), don’t worry, there are easy questions down there in Homer”
A visit from the head of NOAA to Alaska at a time when so many federal policies are felt here, is huge, Begich said. He assured the audience that her presence to hear of their concerns would be of consequence.
“It is important to hear directly from people concerned about this topic,” Lubchenco said. “We’re in the middle of the public comment period, and I’m sure you have submitted comments, but it is important for me to hear directly. Homer is important to Alaska, and Alaska is important to the rest of the country.”
HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and U.S. Sen. Mark Begich listen to Homer residents' questions about the newly proposed rule limiting halibut catch aboard sportfishing boats. The bottom line, Lubchenco said, is conserving and increasing halibut stock.cu
Davis dove into a lengthy list of questions on the topic of the newly passed draft plan by North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. Many related to questions on how the potential economic impact figures into any ultimate decision, and why it wasn’t considered in the first draft proposal.
The catch sharing plan would give the guided halibut charter fleet a set percentage of the overall allowable catch determined annually by the International Pacific Halibut Commission. Depending on how many millions of pounds of halibut the charter fleet receives, charter fishermen would be allowed one fish a day, two fish with one less fish than 32-inches long, or two fish of any size, which is the current allowable catch. The allocations could be different for Area 2C, Southeast Alaska, and Area 3A, the central Gulf of Alaska including Cook Inlet and Homer.
At the end of hearing the questions, Lubchenco said the halibut allocation problems didn’t occur over night.
“What triggered this proposal to be sent to the commission is that the halibut population has decreased and over time, the fractions caught by different sectors have changed dramatically,” she said. “Our mission is to recover depleted stocks. We are required to take the long view in mind.”
The agency is turning the corner in overfishing in other U.S. waters.
“The business-as-usual in terms of the old regulations have been insufficient to prevent the decline,” she said. Homer’s apparent complaint relates to what fraction of the users gain the allocations, she noted, to some applause.
Economics is important as spelled out by the Magnusen-Stevens Act, but not from a conservation standpoint. When Lubchenco and Begich asked how many of those attending were able to weigh in on the new catch share plan, very few raised their hands.
“We were so focused on the moratorium (new halibut permit limited entry), that was going on at the same time,” a member of the audience told the officials. “That was so complicated that when this came out, we didn’t even understand it until this time.”
NOAA official Rachel Baker, also attending the meeting, was asked to respond to questions about the process by Sen. Begich. She told the group that both the permit system imposed on the halibut charter fleet and the new catch limit were envisioned as needed to tackle conservation for halibut.
“After the halibut permit system, they also began working on the catch sharing plan. There was sufficient capacity in the fleet to meet angler demand, therefore, their analysis was that they didn’t anticipate the catch would be reduced by limited access,” Baker told the crowded audience.
A groan went up in the room. “Our fleet was reduced by 40 percent. You don’t think that cuts down on the catch?” someone called out.
In other places where fleet reduction measures were put into places, that action alone wasn’t enough to reduce the number of fish caught, Baker said.
Both Begich and Lubchenco urged those attending to put their testimony in writing. The testimony heard Tuesday would help, but to make a full impact, all of them need to take up their pens.
“Your voice won’t be heard if you don’t give written comments. What it really needs is a written format or you will not be part of this process and that is critical,” Begich said.
Ultimately, after comments are reviewed, the rule goes to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for approval or rejection.
Lubchenco said she is “very sympathetic to the economic issues you are all are raising. I know those affected will feel it individually, as families and as communities; the reality is we have to get to a better place with this fishery. That means business at usual is just not going to be possible.”
But even if this plan is enacted, that’s not the end of the story.
“There will be opportunities for evolution of this plan. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about the plan – it may affect you deeply – I get that. It just takes time to get some of these plans right.”
Contact the writer
Posted by Newsroom on Aug 24th, 2011 and filed under Headline News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response by filling out the following comment form, or trackback to this entry from your site. Please read the comment policy before commenting.
Halibut captains quiz NOAA on proposed one-halibut rule
• Dozens of questions on the one-halibut proposal focused on economic impact, trawler waste, commercial-favored decision making
By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune
HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - About 200 people crammed into the Bidarka Inn conference room seeking answers from U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and NOAA's top official, Jane Lubchenco. At issue is why the halibut sport charter boat fleet is targeted for further restrictions after already seeing a 40 percent reduction in operators due to limited entry via a new permit requirement.If halibut is a public resource, why is the public resource given to the commercial fishing fleet, so that the public has to buy it back?
Why was a halibut catch share proposed so closely on the tails of the limited halibut permit system? Limited entry has already cut the fleet by 40 percent.
What about an economic impact analysis: why wasn’t one completed to see how the one-halibut rule would impact communities like Homer?
Those and dozens of other one-halibut rule questions were addressed Tuesday in sequence to U.S. Sen. Mark Begich and NOAA’s top administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, To accommodate the high number of questions from an emotionally charged constituency, questions were written down, then read aloud by Chamber Director Monte Davis prior to answers by Luchenco and Begich.
Homer’s halibut charter fleet and other residents piled into the Bidarka Inn’s upstairs conference room at the Homer Chamber of Commerce luncheon to seek answers. The overflow of attendance meant even the outer stairway was lined.
“I have seen your stack of questions already, so I intended to keep my answers brief,” Sen. Begich said at the opening of the meeting as he tried for a moment of levity.
“I told (Dr. Lubchenco), don’t worry, there are easy questions down there in Homer”
A visit from the head of NOAA to Alaska at a time when so many federal policies are felt here, is huge, Begich said. He assured the audience that her presence to hear of their concerns would be of consequence.
“It is important to hear directly from people concerned about this topic,” Lubchenco said. “We’re in the middle of the public comment period, and I’m sure you have submitted comments, but it is important for me to hear directly. Homer is important to Alaska, and Alaska is important to the rest of the country.”
HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco and U.S. Sen. Mark Begich listen to Homer residents' questions about the newly proposed rule limiting halibut catch aboard sportfishing boats. The bottom line, Lubchenco said, is conserving and increasing halibut stock.cuDavis dove into a lengthy list of questions on the topic of the newly passed draft plan by North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. Many related to questions on how the potential economic impact figures into any ultimate decision, and why it wasn’t considered in the first draft proposal.
The catch sharing plan would give the guided halibut charter fleet a set percentage of the overall allowable catch determined annually by the International Pacific Halibut Commission. Depending on how many millions of pounds of halibut the charter fleet receives, charter fishermen would be allowed one fish a day, two fish with one less fish than 32-inches long, or two fish of any size, which is the current allowable catch. The allocations could be different for Area 2C, Southeast Alaska, and Area 3A, the central Gulf of Alaska including Cook Inlet and Homer.
At the end of hearing the questions, Lubchenco said the halibut allocation problems didn’t occur over night.
“What triggered this proposal to be sent to the commission is that the halibut population has decreased and over time, the fractions caught by different sectors have changed dramatically,” she said. “Our mission is to recover depleted stocks. We are required to take the long view in mind.”
The agency is turning the corner in overfishing in other U.S. waters.
“The business-as-usual in terms of the old regulations have been insufficient to prevent the decline,” she said. Homer’s apparent complaint relates to what fraction of the users gain the allocations, she noted, to some applause.
Economics is important as spelled out by the Magnusen-Stevens Act, but not from a conservation standpoint. When Lubchenco and Begich asked how many of those attending were able to weigh in on the new catch share plan, very few raised their hands.
“We were so focused on the moratorium (new halibut permit limited entry), that was going on at the same time,” a member of the audience told the officials. “That was so complicated that when this came out, we didn’t even understand it until this time.”
NOAA official Rachel Baker, also attending the meeting, was asked to respond to questions about the process by Sen. Begich. She told the group that both the permit system imposed on the halibut charter fleet and the new catch limit were envisioned as needed to tackle conservation for halibut.
“After the halibut permit system, they also began working on the catch sharing plan. There was sufficient capacity in the fleet to meet angler demand, therefore, their analysis was that they didn’t anticipate the catch would be reduced by limited access,” Baker told the crowded audience.
A groan went up in the room. “Our fleet was reduced by 40 percent. You don’t think that cuts down on the catch?” someone called out.
In other places where fleet reduction measures were put into places, that action alone wasn’t enough to reduce the number of fish caught, Baker said.
Both Begich and Lubchenco urged those attending to put their testimony in writing. The testimony heard Tuesday would help, but to make a full impact, all of them need to take up their pens.
“Your voice won’t be heard if you don’t give written comments. What it really needs is a written format or you will not be part of this process and that is critical,” Begich said.
Ultimately, after comments are reviewed, the rule goes to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for approval or rejection.
Lubchenco said she is “very sympathetic to the economic issues you are all are raising. I know those affected will feel it individually, as families and as communities; the reality is we have to get to a better place with this fishery. That means business at usual is just not going to be possible.”
But even if this plan is enacted, that’s not the end of the story.
“There will be opportunities for evolution of this plan. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about the plan – it may affect you deeply – I get that. It just takes time to get some of these plans right.”
Contact the writer
Posted by Newsroom on Aug 24th, 2011 and filed under Headline News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response by filling out the following comment form, or trackback to this entry from your site. Please read the comment policy before commenting.
