From the Editor – Page 2 – Fishermens News

MPAs and Commercial Fishing

For some time, the conventional wisdom has been that designating certain waters as Marine Protected Areas—where commercial fishing is off limits—hurts the fishing industry due to a corresponding reduction in catch, and that the reduction in turn drives seafood prices higher globally. But is this really accurate? A new study published in the scientific journal Science Advances, says it is not. According to the study, which was published in the magazine’s June 2023 issue, the largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in North America, located in the Mexican Pacific, does not harm industrial fishing. In fact, the information uncovered by four researchers concludes that the protected area has actually helped commercial fishing in the long run. The researchers, including a marine ecologist at th...

Commercial Fishing v. NOAA Fisheries

In case you missed it, the Supreme Court on May 1 agreed to take up a dispute between the Biden administration and East Coast commercial fishing companies that could eventually have a huge impact on the U.S. commercial fishing industry as a whole. The court’s eventual judgment has the potential to overrule a nearly 40-year-old decision that gives deference to federal agencies. The case, Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo, is expected to be heard in the Supreme Court’s next term. The court is being asked to override the 1984 Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council ruling, in which the justices determined that courts should defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of statutes when laws are ambiguous. The case revolves around Atlantic herring fishermen who say the Na...

Stamping Out Illegal Fishing

We all know that IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing is bad for the commercial fishing industry. But a new article by the World Economic Forum, an international non-governmental and lobbying organization, serves as a strong reminder of the reasons why. Among the reasons cited in the editorial are the physical danger to crew members, the threat to marine ecosystems and human rights abuses. The article, which can be found on the World Economic Forum’s website, starts off with the harrowing tale of an IUU fisherman who said it was normal for anglers to work 20 hours or more per day, and that some people were driven to commit suicide or were killed while trying to escape into the sea. “Illegal fishing is commonplace because no one is watching,” the fisherman, 52-year-old Wat...

From the Editor: Oil Spill Aftermath

The massive oil spill that accidentally dumped tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil in the waters off the Southern California coast in October 2021 may have been cleaned up and forgotten about by some, but the ramifications continue to be felt by shipping companies involved in the incident. Case in point: on March 1, the oil pipeline’s owner, Texas-based Amplify Energy, said that it had reached a $96 million settlement with various parties over the spill. The oil company has maintained that as a result of negligent conduct, an estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil were discharged from a crack in the 16-inch pipeline about 4.7 miles offshore of the Orange County city of Huntington Beach. Amplify has reached a settlement of its claims against the m/v Danit, which is operated by MSC M...

From the Editor – Borealization

The first-ever cancellation of Alaska’s Bering Sea snow crab harvest due to population declines was a shock to the state’s fishing industry last fall, but in the decades to come, the ocean conditions that triggered the snow crab crash and harvest closure are expected to become common. This is according to according to several scientists who gave presentations at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium that took place in late January. Mike Litzow, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist based in Kodiak, Alaska said that the conditions that triggered the crash can be expected about once every seven years. By the 2040s, those conditions can be expected to occur one out of every three years, he said. Litzow said that the cause of the snow crab disaster is something called...

From the Editor: BC Fisheries in Flux

Inside this issue, you’ll find an excellent article on the status of the British Columbia fishing industry. In the article, reporter Norris Comer states that “A myriad of challenges face B.C. fisheries, with the threatened Pacific salmon stocks taking center stage.” But in addition to the article in this issue, there’s an article published by Canada’s National Observer, a news and analysis website. In the National Observer article, reporter Rochelle Baker declares that British Columbia’s commercial salmon fleet is “clearly in the midst of transformative change.” The federal government in Ottawa has shuttered about 60% of B.C.’s commercial fisheries since 2021, and in December, launched a buyback program to lure fish harvesters to exit the industry to protect plummeting salmon stocks. ...

From the Editor: Pacific Marine Expo ‘22

In mid-November, I had the privilege and pleasure of representing Fishermen’s News at one of the largest and longest-running commercial fishing and commercial marine trade shows in existence, Pacific Marine Expo, which took place Nov. 17-19 in Seattle. Maritime Institute, the parent company of Maritime Publishing, which produces Fishermen’s News, operated Booth 220 at this year’s expo. A handful of Maritime Publishing representatives, including Publisher Dave Abrams, Advertising Manager Katie Higgins and yours truly, Managing Editor Mark Nero, were at the booth during various times over the course of the three days, as were other folks who help create content for the magazine, including Senior Designer Kathy Samuelson, Business Manager Sarah Spangler, and Writer Norris Comer. Not only...

Pacific Coast Partnership

The governors of three U.S. Pacific Coast states and British Columbia’s premier gathered in San Francisco recently to sign an agreement that looks like it could result in additional environmental initiatives being launched across the West Coast’s maritime industry. The initiatives could include offshore wind power, something that’s been controversial and not popular so far within the commercial fishing industry. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and British Columbia Premier John Horgan signed the Pacific Coast Collaborative Statement of Cooperation on Oct. 6. The Statement of Cooperation (SOC) promotes collaboration between the four regional governments on accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy, investing in climate infrastru...

California Worker Classification

Some important news for professional fishermen and women in California occurred in September: the state’s governor signed a bill that provides anglers a two-year exemption from the state’s so-called ABC test, which is used to determine whether workers are employees or independent contractors. Under the ABC test, a person being paid to provide labor or services is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity can prove that the person is an independent contractor. A worker is considered an employee and not an independent contractor unless the employer satisfies all three of the following conditions: The worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for...

From the Editor: Tackling Illegal Fishing

In the June issue of Fishermen’s News, we ran a lengthy feature article on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and how, for multiple reasons, such fishing is a leading global maritime security threat. Well, as a follow up to that report, I’m happy to report this news: the United States is strengthening its commitment to combating IUU fishing. In late June, at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Portugal, the U.S. made a series of announcements that elevates the country’s commitment to combat IUU fishing and the labor abuses associated with it. In conjunction with the announcements, President Biden signed memorandum addressing IUU fishing and related harmful fishing practices. Among the measures that the Biden administration spells out in the memorandum are that the ...