Fish Exchange Relief Denied
by Laurie Schreiber

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In a close vote, the New England Fishery Management Council this month denied the Portland Fish Exchange’s request for emergency action.

The exchange asked NEFMC to allow multiple port unloading.

“Allowing vessels to unload catch, other than regulated multi-species in a Massachusetts port, then steam to Portland to unload groundfish is of great importance to The Portland Fish Exchange,” wrote exchange general manager Bert Jongerden. “The exchange’s landings drop by over 75 percent late December through late April, seriously impacting a fishing port infrastructure that is already on the verge of extinction.”

Jongerden said multi-port unloading was raised with National Marine Fisheries Service enforcement officers at a meeting earlier this month. NMFS Enforcement, he said, recommended a workable solution that would use a VMS transit code; a vessel would maintain minimum speed during transit. The transiting vessel would incur double VMS polling, at their expense, after the transiting code is transmitted.

However, he wrote, other NMFS representatives said a vessel must be on the days-at-sea clock when transiting with fish on board to another port.

“My hope is that the council will create a recommendation that satisfactorily addresses the DAS issue for both NMFS Sustainable Fisheries and the fishing vessel under DAS regulations,” Jongerden wrote. “During this difficult time frame of groundfish regulations, creative solutions are needed to ensure that fishermen, and the port infrastructure that supports them, can financially survive.”

The exchange has experienced a substantial drop in the number of draggers using the exchange. These are draggers that have harvested lobsters as well as other seafood, but must take the lobsters to a port outside of Maine, because Maine doesn’t allow non-trap lobster landings.

NEFMC member David Pierce said the matter is for the state of Maine to deal with, not NEFMC. However, he and others deplored Maine’s unwillingness to help the exchange by allowing the landing of dragger-caught lobsters, which would encourage the draggers to offload their other product at the exchange as well.

“Maine chose to sacrifice its groundfish fleet for its lobster fleet,” said Rodney Avila. “We can’t change Maine.”

Other council members said that transiting between ports should not have to count as fishing time.

Terry Stockwell of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and NEFMC member, said he could not support the action if were intentionally aimed at allowing Maine landings of dragger-caught lobsters. However, he said, the intent of the request is broader than that—to increase opportunity and viability for the exchange.

“I think we can do something that’s good for everybody,” said Stockwell.