Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island took the Senate floor yesterday in defense of science and reason – two topics that seldom seem to influence the decisionmaking of the Senate lawmakers these days when it comes to climate change.  Speaking out against the two big lies permeating the halls of congress: 1) environmental regulations are a burden to the economy; and 2) the jury is still out on climate change, Senator Whitehouse convincingly argued why both claims are false.  “The jury isn’t out,” he said, “the verdict is in!”  “More than 97% of publishing scientists accept that climate change is happening and that humans are causing it,” the Senator said in a twenty-four minute floor speech in which he cautioned his colleagues that the Senate is failing, “earning the scorn and condemnation of history” because while it considers repealing laws designed to prevent pollution, it cannot repeal the laws of nature.  “The dark hand of polluters can tap so many shoulders and there is a lot of power and money behind that dark hand, but nature is also tapping us on the shoulder, and we ignore that tapping at our own grave peril,” said Senator Whitehouse.  I must admit, I don’t have a lot of confidence that nature’s hand will win the contest in Washington, D.C., but my confidence is a bit restored when a Senator has the courage to speak the truth to his colleagues … giving nature’s tap a fighting chance.  Senator Whitehouse (RI) Floor speech on climate change

Catch up with the latest news from TalkingFish.org, a blog brought to you by CLF and other organizations and individuals who want to see a sustainable fishing industry in New England and abundant fish populations for generations to come. TalkingFish.org aims to increase people’s understanding of the scientific, financial and social aspects at work in New England’s fisheries. Here’s what went on this week:

• October 3: “Senate Field Hearing on Groundfish Management this Morning” – A post in advance of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation field hearing on the first year of implementation of Amendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan that occurred in Boston on Monday. There are also links to articles that appeared in the news leading up to the event.
• October 5: “Focus going forward should be on making the New England Council and sector management work – not on repeating unsubstantiated arguments” – CLF’s Peter Shelley writes about his thoughts on the Senate Committee hearing and delves into the numbers behind the claim that revenues have become increasingly concentrated among the top earners in the groundfish fishery, finding that this may not actually be the case.
• October 5: “New England Council Makes a Move on Herring” – Lately, TalkingFish.org has been blogging about actions to protect river herring, an important little fish that is often caught as bycatch in the industrial midwater trawl Atlantic herring fishery. At the New England Fishery Management Council meeting last week, the Council voted to send new rules to protect river herring out for public comment.
• October 6: “Fish Talk in the News – Thursday, October 6″ – A weekly update of recent news stories that might interest TalkingFish.org readers. This week: more on the Senate Committee field hearing on fishery management, the lowdown on tainted seafood imports, fish on the menu at Portland’s Harvest on the Harbor festival, and catch share infographics.

You’ve probably never seen Atlantic menhaden on a restaurant menu, and maybe you’ve never even heard of this little fish. But Atlantic menhaden, which have been called the “most important fish in the sea,” need your help.

Atlantic menhaden (Photo credit: Phillip Jones, courtsey of South Carolina Department of Natural Resources)

Atlantic menhaden are small, oily fish that are an important food for striped bass, bluefish, tuna, whales, porpoises, seabirds, and many other wildlife – but they are also caught for use as lobster bait or in a variety of consumer products such as pet food and fish oil supplements. While menhaden used to be abundant along the east coast of the United States, overfishing has resulted in the population dropping to a historic low. A declining menhaden population is detrimental to the marine ecosystems and predators that depend on this fish and to New England’s coastal economies, whose commercial and recreational businesses rely on the fish that prey on menhaden.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a deliberative body made up of representatives from the coastal Atlantic states that coordinates the conservation and management of the states’ shared fishery resources (including menhaden), recently took an important first step to protect the menhaden population by laying out a plan to increase the number left in the ocean and preserve the marine ecosystems that depend upon this important fish. The ASMFC will meet in November to vote on the plan – so the time to make your voice heard in support of protection for menhaden is now. Click here to send a message to the ASMFC urging it to approve actions to protect menhaden from overfishing and restore the population to healthy levels.

Make your voice heard, and help us save the “most important fish in the sea.”

Bi-partisan legislation proposed by Senators Whitehouse (D-RI) and Snowe (R-ME) to establish a National Endowment for the Oceans received a shot in the arm recently, when the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved a proposal set forth earlier this year to fund the Endowment. Senator Whitehouse, a member of the Committee, called the approval a major step forward in getting the Endowment launched and said that its funds would help protect Rhode Island’s oceans and support the fishing, research and tourism jobs which are central to Rhode Island’s economy.

The Committee voted to approve the RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act of 2011, which would set up the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, financed by the billions of dollars in Clean Water Act penalties expected to be paid by BP and others responsible for the Gulf oil spill. Half of the interest generated from the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund – projected to be tens of millions of dollars in the first year alone – would be used to create the Endowment.

Funds from the Endowment would go towards restoring habitat, managing fisheries, planning for sustainable coastal development, acquiring coastal properties for preservation and relocating critical coastal infrastructure in Rhode Island, Maine and in coastal areas nationwide.

The legislation is pending approval by the full Senate.

CLF has long been supportive of the program and applauds both Senators Whitehouse and Snowe for their efforts to make the Endowment a reality.

“The Senators’ shared vision for a National Endowment for the Oceans demonstrates not only a commitment to our precious resources, but also an understanding that without funding we will be unable to do the comprehensive regional planning we need to restore habitat and protect our unique and vital ocean spaces,” said Tricia K. Jedele, vice president and director of CLF’s Rhode Island office.

For more information on CLF’s ocean conservation work, please visit here.

The Congress creates our federal laws. The Administrative branch creates regulations. The National Ocean Policy has yet to change either. Of course, you wouldn’t have learned this if you had sat through the House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee oversight hearing on the National Ocean Policy this morning. The rhetoric from Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) and the Republican members – who tried really hard to follow the current GOP playbook by depicting any effort by the Obama Administration as a “job-killing regulation” – claimed that the National Ocean Policy is “…ocean zoning (which) could place huge sections of the ocean off limits to activities not ‘zoned’ as government-approved.” The argument was less than convincing.

Massachusetts’ Representative Ed Markey (D-Malden) knows what many of us have learned from the value of the Massachusetts Ocean Plan: “Just like other plans, comprehensive ocean planning would allow everyone with an interest in our coasts and oceans to participate in a transparent, decision-making process to determine how to best utilize an increasingly busy, productive and important national resource.  This would increase predictability and certainty for existing and new users of these areas and improve ocean health. Opposing ocean planning is like opposing air traffic control. You can do it but it will cause a mess or lead to dire consequences.”

Well said, Ed. John Bullard, former mayor of New Bedford and someone with real experience in ocean planning, also did an excellent job making the case for rational thought and comprehensive ocean planning.

Still, the overall lesson from today’s hearing is that smart ocean planning has yet to inflame Congressional passions. We’re still hoping that the seductive merits of interagency coordination, collaboration and cooperation between ocean users, a productive and inclusive approach to public involvement and an increased ability to make science-based policy decisions will catch the eye of elected officials in Congress, the states and in communities across the nation. We are forced to admit, however, that the solid work of working together is bland stuff compared to the sex appeal of outlandish claims that the federal government is going to take away your fishing pole.

The Mass Ocean Plan is already showing the promise of good planning and cooperation. Rhode Island’s Ocean SAMP will be integral to creating a new industry of clean renewable energy. The National Ocean Policy can do the same for communities across the country. We need the Congress to stay calm and move it forward.

This morning at 9 a.m. at the State House in Boston, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold a field hearing on the first year of implementation of Amendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan.

Amendment 16, as readers of the CLF Scoop may know, has been in effect since May 2010. While some predicted dire revenue losses under the new sector system implemented by Amendment 16, the National Marine Fisheries Service recently reported that all-species gross revenues for the groundfish fleet in the 2010 fishing year–$297.7 million–were $26.6 million more than gross revenues in the 2009 fishing year. Groundfish permit sales, an important indicator of consolidation at an organization level, were extremely low.

In a statement issued today, Peter Shelley, CLF Senior Counsel, said the following: “These outcomes show a healthy, adaptive fleet that has diversified to target multiple species beyond groundfish, and that has begun to take advantage of the added flexibility that the sector system in New England provides even in the challenging start-up year. Amendment 16 is an important step in the right direction for New England and New England’s fishermen. It should be supported in Washington, D.C., and efforts to improve the system should be spearheaded in New England as intended by Congress.”

To read the full CLF statement, click here.

Catch up with the latest news from TalkingFish.org, a blog brought to you by CLF and other organizations and individuals who want to see a sustainable fishing industry in New England and abundant fish populations for generations to come. TalkingFish.org aims to increase people’s understanding of the scientific, financial and social aspects at work in New England’s fisheries. Here’s what went on this week:

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  Read about river herring this week on TalkingFish.org! (Photo credit: Mike Laptew)

  September 26: “Care about river herring? Then pay attention this week!” – This week was a big week for river herring at the New England Fishery Management Council meeting. TalkingFish.org tells you what was on the agenda and how you can make your voice heard to support options help save river herring. Next week we’ll have some recaps of the Council meeting, so be sure to check back!

• September 30: “Fish Talk in the News – Friday, September 30″ – A weekly update of recent news stories that might interest TalkingFish.org readers. This week: NOAA released the first National Bycatch Report, the trend in seafood traceability continues, and Environmental Defense Fund wrote an opinion piece about making improvements to ensure that the sector management system works effectively for as many groundfishermen as possible.

Catch up with the latest news from TalkingFish.org, a blog brought to you by CLF and other organizations and individuals who want to see a sustainable fishing industry in New England and abundant fish populations for generations to come. TalkingFish.org aims to increase people’s understanding of the scientific, financial and social aspects at work in New England’s fisheries. Here’s what went on this week:

• September 20: “Attention shoppers: Finding local sustainable seafood just keeps getting easier” – Locally and responsibly harvested seafood is on the menu at your neighborhood supermarkets and restaurants! Join a CSF, find a retailer offering freshly-caught seafood, or look for products that are certified Gulf of Maine-caught and responsibly managed.
• September 22: “Fish Talk in the News – Thursday, September 22″ – A weekly update of recent news stories that might interest TalkingFish.org readers.

If you read the CLF Scoop, you probably already know how important it is to make sure that the seafood you purchase is from a healthy fishery and was caught in a sustainable manner. But did you know that it’s now easier than ever to buy this sustainable fish at your local supermarket along with your regular grocery shopping?

Earlier this month, Shaw’s Supermarkets announced that it would be working with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) to develop a new sustainable seafood sourcing program. Seafood products certified by the MSC will include various wild salmons and other Alaskan, Pacific, and Canadian fish. The MSC is a well-known sustainable seafood certification and ecolabelling program that certifies fisheries across the globe – you’ve probably seen their logo on seafood in stores or read about them in the news. MSC certification is not a perfect process but it is more reliable than no MSC certification.

Look for this seal in supermarkets to be sure that your seafood has been certified by the GMRI Responsibly Harvested branding program

If you want an even better certification for New Englanders, look for the GMRI label. GMRI is a regional nonprofit organization that uses science, education, and community to catalyze solutions to the complex challenges of ocean stewardship and economic growth in the Gulf of Maine bioregion.  Their Gulf of Maine Responsibly Harvested branding program identifies locally caught products that have met their rigorous criteria for responsible harvest. The GMRI-certified seafood products that Shaws will be selling include lobster, northern shrimp, cod, haddock, sea scallops and pollock, and GMRI is working with other supermarkets, including Hannaford, as well as with restaurants in Portland, Maine. This brand is a two-fer: GMRI fish has the benefits of responsible harvest methods coupled with lower transportation costs, which help with reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This is great news for those of us who care about eating responsibly harvested seafood and about supporting our local fishermen and coastal economies – and of course it’s great news for New England’s fishermen, economies, and environment as well. Seafood traceability – being able to follow your fish along the supply chain from the fisherman who caught it to the place where you purchased it – is essential to ensure that the responsibly harvested fish we buy and eat is in fact harvested responsibly. Seafood certification programs such as those discussed above are a way for consumers to have more confidence in the sustainability of their food sources, and we commend retailers, restaurants, and the nonprofits with which they partner for making certified products available for shoppers and diners.

Consumers who are ready to take the traceability of their seafood to the next level should check out local community supported fisheries (CSFs), in which CSF members pay fishermen in advance of the season and then receive a weekly share of seafood throughout the season, and websites like sea2table.com and traceandtrust.com that allow consumers to find local restaurants serving fresh-caught seafood or to trace their purchased fish straight back to the boat and fisherman who caught it.

To read more about buying sustainable seafood and supporting your local fishermen, visit CLF’s blog about fishery management in New England, www.talkingfish.org.