May 21 - Tom Toles Tackles Fisheries and Climate Change - The great Tom Toles takes on the effects of climate change on fish with this cartoon in the Washington Post.

May 24 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, May 24 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, Eric Schwaab is leaving NOAA; fisheries regulators ask fishermen not to take out frustration on at-sea observers; the ASMFC postpones a decision on the elver fishery; alewife counts in New England rivers are way up this year; a parasite may be affecting yellowtail flounder populations; Michael Conathan writes on fisheries and climate change; a local scientist testifies in a Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization hearing.

Do you want to help shape the future of New England’s ocean and our coastal economy? New England leads the nation in regional ocean planning and now is the time for your thoughts on healthy oceans and coasts to be heard. A series of ten public meetings are being held in from late May through June to get your questions and ideas. Why should this matter to you? If you enjoy fishing, going to the beach, surfing, boating, or are interested in offshore renewable energy, these are all reasons to get involved in ocean use planning.

Starting next Thursday in Portland, ME, then continuing on through all New England’s coastal states, members of the Northeast Regional Planning Body (convened pursuant to the National Ocean Policy – which President Obama signed in June, 2010) which represents federal agencies, states and tribes will be holding public meetings to start a conversation about how our ocean waters should be used, conserved, better understood, and more effectively managed in the future.

At each meeting there will be presentations from Regional Planning Body (RPB) representatives about what regional ocean planning is, and how we might accomplish it in New England.

There will be a focus on a set of 3 draft goals, each of which has a series of potential outcomes and possible actions that could be taken to achieve these outcomes. The goals are in three broad categories – effective decision making, healthy ocean and coastal ecosystems, and compatibility among past, current, and future uses. The goals have been framed around the following principles:

1. The ocean and its resources are managed for the benefit of the public, now and in the future.

2. The historic, cultural, and spiritual importance of the ocean are important to consider.

3. The present and past connection between communities, watersheds, and ocean is important.

4. New ocean uses are emerging and existing ocean uses are changing.

5. There is concern about changing ocean “health” and ecosystem conditions.

6. Better data and information, including traditional knowledge, will lead to better understanding and decision making.

7. There is a need for improved government efficiencies and transparency.

8. We need to adapt as environmental, social and economic conditions change.

9. Importantly, regional ocean planning outcomes must be implemented through existing authorities and regulations. Neither the National Ocean Policy nor regional ocean planning create or change existing authorities.

After the RPB’s presentations, there will be significant time for public comment and discussion at each meeting.

So, find a meeting close to you, learn about the planning process, and help shape New England’s first ever regional ocean plan.

May 15 - Nature Study Shows Fish Feeling Heat from Global Warming - A study featured in the current issue of the journal Nature reveals that ocean warming has already affected fisheries around the world over the past four decades as fish populations shift in response to changing sea temperatures. The study is a stark reminder that climate change is a serious challenge in the here and now, not off in the distant future. It’s time for fisheries managers to start acting on that.

May 16 - Setting the Record Straight on Forage Fish - The Thursday, May 9, piece from Saving Seafood, titled “Pew’s recommendations and assumptions in calling for conservation of forage fish questioned,” contained a flat-out falsehood about the peer review of the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force’s findings.

May 17 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, May 17 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, a new study focuses on fisheries and climate change; alewives return to the St. Croix River; stakeholders discuss ecosystem-based fisheries management; Canadian lobstermen again protest low prices; Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization hearings continue; the mayor of Gloucester publishes a plan for responding to the groundfishing crisis; a lucrative elver fishery is a symptom of struggling eel populations.

May 6 - What should the future of fishing look like? - This week in Washington, D.C., a diverse group of people will try to answer this question. The Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries III conference is the first step towards revising the nation’s law governing fisheries management.

May 10 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, May 10 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, stakeholders discuss Magnuson reauthorization at the Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries conference in DC,NOAA releases its 2013 scallop regulations, alewives are historically and ecologically important to Maine; SMAST develops new yellowtail survey methods; John Bullard defends NOAA’s groundfish regulations; the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announces new fisheries grants; two new sensors in the Gulf of Maine will monitor red tide blooms.

NEOAN member Richard Nelson gives his comments at the Regional Planning Body meeting. Photo by Karen Meyer of Green Fire Productions.

New England Ocean Action Network (NEOAN)  was founded on the belief that improved management of our ocean and coasts will provide substantial benefits to all ocean users. This is why our membership is so diverse. We have fishermen, surfers, environmental groups, aquariums, and renewable energy industry representatives, all working together to promote regional ocean planning.

NEOAN members know that an important part of ocean planning is a robust public participation process, in which New England’s ocean and coastal users are fully engaged. This was the message delivered loud and clear by NEOAN members at New England’s second Regional Planning Body (RPB) meeting in Narragansett, Rhode Island April 11 and 12^th. NEOAN was founded to promote public participation in this process – and NEOAN is participating. Seven members of NEOAN provided official comments to the RPB, emphasizing the importance of effective and meaningful stakeholder engagement.

NEOAN will continue our work to advocate for stakeholder participation as ocean planning activities in New England ramp up. The RPB will be hitting the road with a series of public meetings in late May/early June in each of the New England states. (Stay tuned here for more on that.) NEOAN will work to ensure that a diverse group of interests are present and have the opportunity to participate in these meetings. And NEOAN will advocate for more opportunities for meaningful participation, involvement, and information sharing by everyone who has a stake in how our oceans are managed.

Auspiciously, just a few days after New England’s RPB meeting, the National Ocean Council released the long-anticipated National Ocean Policy’s Implementation Plan. The White House press release announcing the release of the implementation plan quoted three NEOAN members:

“We who work on the water daily see the direct effects of changes caused by ocean acidification or increases in ocean temperatures. As a lobsterman I’ve come to think of the Gulf of Maine as being unique and precious, and deserving of all our efforts at stewardship and protection that the National Ocean Policy and Ocean Planning will enable.”
Richard Nelson, Lobsterman from Friendship, Maine

“We’re excited to see a final plan from the National Ocean Council that has real actions to protect our coasts and oceans. By providing support for ocean planning, the plan will help ensure that new industries like offshore wind power do not unnecessarily impact the marine ecosystem and human uses like recreation and fishing.”
Pete Stauffer, surfer and Ocean Program Manager with Surfrider Foundation,

“Full implementation of the National Ocean Policy is what we need to protect, maintain and restore New England’s ocean and coasts. Conservationists, fishermen, scientists, boaters, surfers, clean energy advocates and community leaders are all working together because we understand the value of stewardship and getting out ahead of ocean use conflicts by doing smart planning for our oceans.”
Priscilla Brooks, VP and Director of Ocean Conservation, Conservation Law Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts

NEOAN was created to support a better way of planning for the future of New England’s ocean. We are working hard to let our decision makers know that we care about keeping all stakeholders involved in the process. It’s good to know that we are being heard.

April 24 - Squelching the People’s Voice - So despite a confusing public process and a paltry 15-day comment period, enough people to fill Fenway Park twice over took time out to participate in the public process. And by a ratio of 12 thousand to one they told NOAA to keep the closed areas closed. But you wouldn’t know this from visiting the official public record for the proposal on the internet.

April 26 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, April 26 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, NOAA repeats its refusal of interim measures after a request from Governor Patrick; NEFMC meets and discusses climate change; a bill to allow Maine fishermen to sell lobsterbycatch fails; NMFS authorizes smaller mesh size for redfish; a bill to reintroduce alewives to the St. Croix River comes into effect; federal budget cuts mean NOAA furloughs.

April 10 - 70,000 Citizens, 100 Scientists Want New England’s Waters Protected - More than a hundred prominent scientists are urging federal officials to prevent the return of damaging, bottom trawl fishing to waters that have protected fish habitat and spawning areas in New England for nearly two decades. The scientists aren’t the only ones speaking up. More than 70 thousand people sent comments opposing the proposal.

April 12 - Top Ten Reasons to Protect New England’s Closed Areas - Why should NOAA reject the plan to expand commercial fishing in 5,000 square miles of protected waters? Let us count the ways.

April 12 - Fish Talk in the News – Friday, April 12 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, communities react to the start of spring herring runs; Maine’s legislature approves a bill to open fishways on the St. Croix to alewives; other Maine bills would help out large vessels and allow groundfishermen to sell lobster bycatch; the elver fishery continues to draw crime and controversy; New Bedford processors diversify; healthy menhaden stocks support smallmouth bass; the disastrous Gulf of Maine shrimp season ends; debate on closed areas continues.

Now that we are in the throes of a real ocean planning process in New England , how will we protect special places in New England’s ocean? We have both a great responsibility and a great opportunity to do so as we bring people together to make decisions about how we will manage multiple and growing uses in our already busy ocean.

We must identify and protect the beautiful places in New England’s ocean that provide food and shelter and spawning areas that can help our ocean thrive. Places like Cashes Ledge, located about 80 miles east of Cape Ann, Massachusetts. It’s a unique underwater mountain range which provides refuge for a vibrant, diverse world of ocean wildlife.

The steep ridges and deep basins of Cashes Ledge create ideal conditions for marine life as currents mix nutrient- and oxygen-rich water at a depth exposed to sunlight. Home to the deepest and largest cold water kelp forest along the Atlantic seaboard, Cashes Ledge provides an important source of food and a diverse habitat for common New England fish and rare species such as the Atlantic wolffish. This abundance draws in even more ocean wildlife like migrating schools of bluefin tuna, blue and porbeagle sharks, and passing pods of highly endangered North Atlantic right whales and humpback whales.

Cashes Ledge is important not only to marine life but also to scientists hoping to learn about the health and function of New England’s oceans – many scientists believe that Cashes Ledge represents the best remaining example of an undisturbed Gulf of Maine ecosystem. As a result, scientists have used Cashes Ledge as an underwater laboratory for decades.

There are many other beautiful places in the Gulf of Maine, some we know about, and some we may not have identified yet. That’s why it’s essential that our regional planning process includes science-driven work to actively identify and protect these ecologically important areas. The basic chemistry of our ocean is rapidly changing, and if our ecosystems are going to adapt, they will need the space and time to do so. Reducing fishing, shipping, and other pressures on certain areas may be one of the best ways to give them these.

As CLF continues to be extremely active in New England’s ocean planning process, we will also continue highlighting the need to protect New England’s beautiful places and thriving ecosystems.

April 3 – For Cod’s Sake - In this video, CLF’s Peter Shelley explains the dramatic decline of cod stocks in New England and the action that must be taken to prevent the loss of this region’s most iconic fishery. Atlantic cod populations are at an all-time historic low. The cod fishery, which for generations has supported a way of life in New England’s coastal communities, may be in complete collapse. Click through to see the video.

April 5 - Help Count River Herring (Because They Count, Too) - Somewhere out there on our coast, out where rivers hit salt water, thousands of small fish are gathering, getting ready for an epic voyage inland. The annual run of river herring is about to start. Hundreds of people are getting ready, too. They’re the volunteers who will gather at bridges, fish ladders and riverbanks to count the passing herring—an important exercise in citizen science that can help to conserve these imperiled fish.

April 5 – Fish Talk in the News – Friday, April 5 - In this week’s Fish Talk in the News, two Senators push for fisheries disaster aid; NEFMC will discuss raising the catch limit for white hake; a bill to open the St. Croix to alewives gains traction; Gov. LePage threatens reprisals against Passamaquoddy Tribe over elver fishery; acoustic monitoring may help locate spawning cod aggregations; Senator Jack Reed pushes for Rhode Island membership on Mid-Atlantic Council.