Regulators Provide Fishery Flexibility with COVID-19 Crisis

by Laurie Schreiber

At its mid-April meeting, conducted by teleconference, the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) voted to request an emergency action from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) designed to provide flexibility in the federal Atlantic scallop fishery.

NEFMC also voted to request guidance from NMFS on possible flexibility in the groundfish fishery.

NEFMC’s Scallop Committee developed an emergency action request at its March 27 meeting in response to the COVID-19 national emergency. The committee’s rationale highlights the economic and public health impacts the unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic is having on the scallop fishery and market for scallops, according to an April 3 committee memorandum.

NMFS also received a request for emergency action from the Fisheries Survival Fund, which is supported by the American Scallop Association.

The committee focused on providing limited access (LA) and limited access general category (LAGC) vessels additional time to harvest uncaught quota, access area allocations, and research set-aside (RSA) compensation pounds.

Existing regulations allow uncaught LA access area allocations, and RSA compensation pounds from the previous fishing year to be harvested during the first 60 days of the subsequent fishing year. LAGC individual fishing quota (IFQ) vessels can carry over up to 15 percent of their quota from one fishing year to the next.

The committee asked that all uncaught LA access area allocations, LAGC IFQ quota, and RSA compensation pounds be available for harvest during fishing year 2020.

In addition, it asked that the Nantucket Lightship-West Access Area remain an access area during fishing year 2020.

The rationale behind the request, the committee wrote, is that the escalation of COVID-19 infections may put the health and safety of fishermen at risk.

“Current regulations require vessels to start any access area carryover trips by May 30,” the memo said. “It is unknown if it will be safe or economically feasible to do this.”

The committee noted that some West Coast tuna vessels have gone out to fish only to find their markets non-existent upon their return.

COVID-19 is having an impact on the ability of certain vessels to catch their quota, the memo said, adding, “This action allows flexibility and does not restrict anyone from fishing.”

The requests stemmed from evolving outreach from fishermen concerned about public health and economic impacts on the fishery posed by the pandemic, NMFS Regional Administrator Mike Pentony said.

“People have reached out to me and to our staff on this issue,” he said. He added, “There are different opinions out there about the impacts across the fleet.”

In a March 23 letter to NMFS, New London, Conn., fisherman Mike Theiler said that both general category and limited access vessels need more time to fish out their quotas. “Here in Connecticut, our local markets and regional buyers shut down or started the process last week and are no longer accepting product,” he wrote. “This has put the fishermen in a very tough spot.”

In a March 19 letter to NMFS, Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), wrote that, given the uncertainty surrounding the virus, FSF members were having difficulty conducting predictable fishing trips.

“Grocery shortages, crew member quarantines, and other complications are leaving these trips unfilled,” he wrote.

At NEFMC’s meeting, Minkiewicz said FSF supported the emergency action.

“We all are experiencing an ever-changing, dynamic environment,” he said. “None of us, a month ago, could imagine being where we are now.”

With fisheries deemed an essential business, fishermen are looking for flexibility in fishing their allocation, he said.

“Scallop vessels are fishing now but not to the extent they normally would,” he said. “More and more boats are tying up.”

That’s due to the closure of restaurants and fresh markets. Prices have plummeted, he said, especially for larger premium product that usually goes to restaurants.

“So people want the flexibility to be able to harvest on these different trips throughout the year,” he said.

“The general consensus seems to be that, hopefully, there will be some opening of the economy in the summer and some rebound in the fall,” he said. “So if we don’t have the ability to use these trips in June, July, and August, we might miss that opening.”

All of the fisheries will pick up again once restaurants reopen, he added.

NEFMC member Vincent Balzano, one of Maine’s representatives on NEFMC, said he agreed there should be an extension of the fishing year as an emergency action.

“The COVID-19 situation was unforeseen,” he said. “Its’ thrown people’s businesses into turmoil and they need flexibility.”

In the end, NEFMC voted to request emergency action.

Groundfish

NEFMC was also asked by several industry associations to consider requesting emergency action to similarly allow for an increase in carryover of unused 2019 groundfish annual catch limits into the 2020 fishing year.

The industry requested relief from certain provisions of the groundfish sector program due to drastic reductions in fishing activity and associated negative impacts on fishing businesses, according to a press release.

NEFMC voted to write a letter to NMFS requesting guidance, with the goal to consider requesting emergency action at its June meeting.