MAFMC Allows Foreign Trawlers In U.S. Atlantic Mackerel Fishery

In Octobert the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) voted for a proposal that would allow Russian and Lithuanian trawlers to enter into joint ventures in the Atlantic mackerel fishery. 

 North Carolina representatives Jimmy Ruhle, Dennis Spitsbergen and Red Munden all voted in favor of the controversial proposal, which was ultimately approved by a 9 to 3 vote with 4 abstentions. The opposition was made up primarily of New Jersey and recreational fishing concerns. 

North Carolina fishermen may be shocked by this proposal after enduring a virtually endless stream of regulations to prevent over-fishing. Although those misgivings are well founded, Ruhle says, this proposal could work out to U.S. fishermen's advantage. 

"There is a little bit of a misconception about this proposal," Ruhle explains. "This is a joint venture, [foreign trawlers] have to buy fish from American fishermen before they can even start to fish. When there are no fish available [from domestic fishermen] they have the option to fish themselves and the restrictions they have to face are considerable." 

Restrictions on the directed foreign fishing would include: prohibition south of 37*30' N latitude, and north of 37*30' N latitude landward of a line 20 nautical miles from shore, prohibition from all river herring bycatch and gear restrictions allowing only mid-water trawl gear. 

"The only reason I'm voting for it, and I'm not out there promoting it, is because I'm a mackerel fisherman and I know the stocks are not as large as NMFS says they are," Ruhle says. "We've been very dissatisfied with the mackerel stock assessment in the past. We're going to get a lot more data with this venture than we do otherwise. If I'm wrong about the stocks then we'll have plenty of mackerel and the foreign boats will be covered up with American fish. If I'm right, and stocks are not as high as NMFS says they are, then the foreign boats won't be able to find any fish and they'll have to buy whatever we want to sell them." 

Spitsbergen says he has seen international joint ventures work to the advantage of U.S. fisheries in the past. "When I first got involved with this stuff back in '86 and '87 the joint venture was going on squid, mackerel, butterfish and some others," Spitsbergen says. "A few years later those joint ventures were fazed out and those fish and their markets moved over to American fisheries." 

"We've been dissatisfied with the NMFS Atlantic mackerel assessment for several years but NMFS keeps saying that if the foreign trawlers were here they could find the fish," Spitsbergen continued. "Jimmy is of the mind that we don't really have anything to lose by letting the foreign boats come in and try for one year. We'll get more scientific data and we'll have a place to sell our fish if we can't find one on shore. I couldn't argue against that."

 According to the proposal, Russian and Lithuanian fishing interests would be marketing their fish to Eastern European and African markets, markets that have consistently remained resistant to U.S. penetration. The plan would strictly forbid the foreign interests from any direct competition with markets already occupied by the U.S. The proposed joint venture will not go into effect until it receives approval from NMFS and the Secretary of Commerce.

Proposed Restrictions On Foreign Trawlers

The MAFMC recommended several restrictions and special conditions for the Atlantic mackerel joint venture processing (JVP) and total allowable levelof foreign fishing (TALFF) specifications for 2001 including the following:

1. a prohibition on directed foreign fishing for Atlantic mackerel south of 37o 30' N latitude, and north of 37o 30' N latitude landward of a line 20 nautical miles from the shore. In addition, no river herring bycatch TALFFshould be specified; 

2. no purchase ratios should be specified; 

3.  50 percent of TALFF should be allocated upfront and additional TALFF should be released only when a foreign participant has purchased 25 percent of the JVPallotment to that nation; 

4.  foreign fishing vessels must purchase joint venture fish if available from contracted U.S. vessels (if approached by a contracted U.S. vessel while engaged in directed foreign fishing, foreign fishing vessels must cease directed fishing and take transfer from US vessels as soon as practicable); 

5.  the National Marine Fisheries ServiceNortheast Regional Administrator (RA) should reduce impacts on marine mammals in prosecuting the Atlantic mackerel fisheries; 

6.  the Atlantic mackerel initial optimum yield (IOY) could be increased during the year but should not exceed 347,000 metric tons (mt); 

7.  the inseason adjustment for TALFF should not exceed 3,000 mt, unless the RA, in concurrence with the Council, determines that it is appropriate to increase IOY to provide for additional TALFF; 

8.  joint venture applications or TALFF from nations should not be decided until the RA determines that the nation's purchaseobligations have been fulfilled; 

9.  Atlantic mackerel directed foreignfishing should be limited to the use of mid-water trawl gear. The Councilalso recommended the approval of Lithuanian and Russian joint venture andTALFF applications for Atlantic mackerel.