Catch Shares Not the Panacea that Senator Olympia Snowe Believes
March 25, 2011 – by Richard Grachek
“The Days-at-Sea program had plunged our fishing industry into a downward spiral, decimating fish stocks and diminishing prospects at sea from 65 days to as few as 14 in 2010.” — Sen. Olympia Snowe, March 25, 2011 Press Herald opinion.
Blaming the Days-At-Sea system is a cover for the mismanagement of the entire fishery for the last twenty or more years and a blatantly disingenuous oversimplification of an enormously complex eco-system and its dynamics. — Richard Grachek
The following reply by Grachek debunks Snowe’s opinion and the EDR-backed falsehoods… read on:
Resistance Builds Against EDF and NOAA’s Catch Share Proponents
February 16, 2011 – Recreational Fishing Alliance News Release: blasts the NOAA & Environmental Defense Fund push for Catch Shares by noting again that if the Agency can’t fund these Public Larcenies, it can’t commit them. The heart of Catch Shares is privatizing once Public Commonwealth – and in order to do that, NOAA must first destruct local sustainable fishery economies. The result will be the implementation of “high rents” for those few who get to own the quota shares (Catch Shares) as tradeable properties; and to take existing independent businesses and turn them into mere wage earners. This corporate-serving “rationalization” model has served the greedy well for over 150 years, worldwide. But here, now, it is time to take a vital industry and finally say NO! Below is a FishNet email content, then the RFA presser… thanks to Nils, Amanda and all… But we’ll have to do something ‘repo’ about Alaska, too…
SEC Complaint on Catch Shares revealed by Groundswell
Sometimes, I feel like a Ratz...
Many true harvesters and participants (not the mailbox fishermen) in the fishing industry have expressed their concerns about the ‘asset commoditization’ of fish species, or Catch Share programs that create tradeable quota shares, owned by private individuals or institutions.
Groundswell quiet … gone fishing (yeah sure, ya betcha)
Groundswell goes quiet when the real work of dealing with federal law enforcement takes priority, or to put it another way, when we simply are “gone fishing.” As in for sealord sharks. Would that we’d be on our favorite Canadian lake fishing for trophy sized trout, instead. But it’s been quite the summer, and we’ve been watching and working behind the scenes. Don’t mistake the quiet for hesitation or disillusion. - Marion Pritchard
CDQ Subsidiary Partners to Acquire Seafood Plant in Occupied Dutch Harbor
PRESS RELEASE
A newly formed LLC led by Siu Alaska Corporation and Copper River Seafood’s acquires idle Dutch Harbor plant formerly known as Harbor Crown Seafood
Anchorage, AK, August 9, 2010: A new company known as Dutch Harbor Acquisitions LLC has purchased the assets of the Harbor Crown processing plant located in Dutch Harbor. Dutch Harbor Acquisitions LLC is led by Siu Alaska Corporation and Copper River Seafoods, who have formed the LLC in order to create a seafood company that reflects the strength and experience of both entities.
Community Development Quota (CDQ) groups unveiled by Journal of Commerce
Friday, August 6, 2010 — Andrew Jensen of the Alaska Journal of Commerce wrote two revealing articles about how some CDQ entities excessively reward certain managers and employ Washington DC lobbyists. For now, here’s the link to the articles, the CDQ’s January 2009 request letter to Alaska delegates in Congress, and a copy of the latest draft of the legislation.
1. “CDQ execs reel in nearly $4 million since 2006″
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/080610/fis_cdq.shtml
2. “CDQ groups pursue tax break even as some say they don’t need it”
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/080610/fis_cdqg.shtml
January 2009 – 6 CDQs write Congressional delegates requesting special tax-break legislation: CDQ_tax_ltr_Jan09
Nome Nugget article on congressional scoring of the proposed tax break: CDQ Tax Break – NomeNugget
Latest Draft of the Tax Break Legislation (available to Groundswell): CDQ MAT10481 Extenders Amdt
Longline Catcher Processor Cooperative Act stalls in House subcommittee
July 27, 2010 Washington DC – the U.S. House Resources’ Subcommittee On Insular Affairs, Oceans And Wildlife took up the issue of HR3910, the Longline Catcher Processor Subsector Single Fishery Cooperative Act, for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands ‘Pacific cod’ fisheries.
Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator for fisheries and director of NMFS under NOAA, said “NMFS supports the intent of the bill, but does not support the bill itself. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council already has the authority to recommend cooperative management for this fishery, and NMFS believes that it is preferable for such a change in fishery management policy be developed and implemented through the open and collaborative processes maintained by the Magnuson-Steven (sic) Fishery Management Act rather than imposed by statute.”
Quote from Dave Little of Clipper Seafoods answering Congressman Robert Wittman about cost of delaying the cooperative because of going through the slow NPFMC process without this legislative end-run:
“We think that there would be an immediate increase in the value of the retained catch – in the form of byproducts and other by-catch caught halibut – that could be as much as $50 million per year, which goes directly to the crewmembers and the families that they support.”
National Ocean Council formed by Obama Administration executive order
The Coriolis of Ocean Politics
July 19, 2010 – The White House, Washington D.C., USA.
The Obama Administration issued an executive order this week to better coordinate the stewardship of our oceans, by involving most of the Cabinet members (but not all) and representatives from other federal environmental and economic agencies. The command is to take a comprehensive science-based approach to the conservation and management so that the health of ocean ecosystems finally drives decision-making. It all sounds so warm and fuzzy, and necessary.
But, why did they leave out some of the more important economic players — like the Treasury Secretary?
You can download the report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force (a quasi-successor to the Ocean Policy Commission under G.W. Bush) and the executive order at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/oceans .
Congressmen call for replacement of NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco
July 8 – 2010 – Breaking News from today’s WBSM’s Saving Seafood hour radio broadcast.
Congressmen Barney Frank & John Tierney called for Dr. Jane Lubchenco to be replaced as Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Rep. Frank even termed Luchenco as being “hostile” to the industry’s needs, as he outlined problems of agency interference with an economic activity, corruption and related issues. He briefly noted concerns with how NOAA has dealt with the flounder allowable catch limits, as well as Catch Shares and other concerns. Read more at the blogroll for Saving Seafoods!
And they didn’t even mention NOAA’s poor handling of the Gulf Oil Spill volume assessments.
Antitrust Federal Class Action Allegations filed against Pacific Seafood Group
http://www.cartels.net
June 22, 2010 – A major fisheries Antitrust complaint was filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Case No. 10-3057-PA, Lloyd D. Whaley v. Pacific Seafood Group involving 54 defendant entities owned by [Frank] Dulcich, Inc. The complaint alleges violations of 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, and pursuant to Sections 4 and 16 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 15 and 26 and 28 regarding four major seafood product markets: Dungeness Crab, Groundfish, Pacific Onshore Whiting (hake), and Pacific Coldwater Shrimp.
Haglund ANTITRUST Whaley Complaint filed 6 22 10
PDF of PowerPoint slides: Antitrust & Restraint of Trade