Update: Congressman Frank backs down on request to remove NOAA administrator Lubchenco
Obama Administration assures Congressional members that NOAA will work on key fishery problems.
Just one day after calling for the removal of Dr. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Fisheries’ administrator, Rep. Barney Frank received assurances from the White House that it would be too drastic of a move at this time to ask Lubchenco to step down. Groundswell would like readers to note that Lubchenco came to NOAA in large part based on the recommendation of Monica Medina, whose husband Ronald Klain is the chief of staff for Vice President Joe Biden. Medina is now the senior advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce, Jane Lubchenco’s second title. Do you think some political face cards have been played in the past 24 hours? Or was this about avoiding the public embarassment and insulting certain environmental non-government organizations behind the Catch Share privatizations of public commons resources?
July 9, 2010 – from SavingSeafood.Org site (see more there) — Congressman Frank issued this statement:
“After my call for the resignation of NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, I have spoken to officials from President Obama’s administration and they have told me that they strongly believe this to be a drastic step that they do not wish to take, and that they believe the replacement of Dr. Lubchenco is unnecessary to correct the problems that concern me. Based on their assurance that these issues are being seriously considered by Dr. Jane Lubchenco and other relevant Administration officials, I will not be pressing for a new administrator. I hope that I can be shown that the problems facing the fishing industry can be solved with Dr. Jane Lubchenco’s participation. I will continue to work with her and the Administration and look forward to having serious and meaningful discussions about how we can proceed with the problems facing the fishing industry. I particularly note that the Administration has assured me that this will be given the highest priority.” - Rep. Barney Frank
Commerce Announces 2010 Regional Fishery Council Appointments
June 23, 2010 – Alaska: Duncan Fields & Sam Cotten were reappointed to the NPFMC upon recommendation of Alaska governor Sean Parnell and today’s approval by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.
Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Privatization Unstoppable by Fact and Laws
Beautiful Rockfish ... but Ugly Corruption ...
Species-by-Species March to Privatize Public Commons of Fisheries Continues … by robbing small processors and crewmembers, as
Alaska “rationalization” programs pave the way for “Catch Share” public larcenies nationwide.
June 3, 2010 – Back in 2000, corrupt ex-U.S. senator Ted Stevens of Alaska legislatively set in motion a conspiracy to defraud the U.S.A. of its public commonwealth in the multi-species fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska groundfish complex. Equally corrupt, in 2006 ex-U.S. congressman Richard Pombo of California joined in to extend a pilot program for GOA Rockfish for the same special interests, and Ted conveniently slipped it into the Senate bill Reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has proven unstoppable in promoting GOA Rockfish privatization, despite all its legal problems, and the revision regime goes to Final Action in Sitka, Alaska next week. And like for Crab Ratz, nowhere in any of the options is a recognition and protection options for the historical participation of the crew who traditionally got 30 to 40% of the trip settlements.
NOAA Aquaculture Listening Session held at request of Alaskan Governor
Moving toward an Aquaculture Policy is like approaching an iceberg.
May 21, 2010 – Anchorage: NOAA Aquaculture Listening Session held at request of Alaskan Governor – Groundswell speaks out on economic concerns about U.S. taxpayers repeatedly bearing the costs, as ocean pen aquaculture poses increased risks to the ecosystem and U.S. Treasury.
A great deal of caution is required before moving toward a NOAA led aquaculture policy, and Congress should weigh in heavily — establish new national standards and involve other agencies to analyze and deal with what’s under the surface of promised beneftis.
The deadline for written comments is May 28. See
http://aquaculture.noaa.gov to learn more.
Delayed Steller Sea Lion Biological Opinion to be released in July by NOAA Fisheries
Delayed for over a month-and-a-half already, The Draft SSL BiOp is now scheduled to be released in July. This means that both the April and June NPFMC meetings, adjunct Observer committee and other meetings continued to go by while NOAA held onto this, apparently at the hands of Dr. James Balsiger, Alaska regional director. This message came in today from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council about the progress on releasing the report.
A special August 16-20 meeting of the NPFMC will be held in Anchorage to discuss the SSL BiOp – once again putting fishermen and communities to the extra expense of attending, and denying fishermen who are busy fishing salmon a chance to be there. Oh well, that’s how the Thalassocracy keeps on marching ahead with privatization and bureaucratic dominance.
Alaska appeals Carlson Case on Out-of-State Commercial Fishing Fees
March 24, 2010 — The Alaska Attorney General’s office issued a Press Release today, on its appeal of the 1984-2008 Carlson case involving up to $82 million in non-resident fees for commercial fishing licenses that may have to be paid out to plaintiffs and attorneys by the State of Alaska.
Kodiak King Salmon Derby – Raffle Tickets Available
400 Raffle tickets at $50.00 each are currently being sold for an April 30 drawing. See the Blogsroll for more on the 501 (c)(3) non-profit Kodiak King Salmon Sportfishing Tournament and organization.
On display at Warner Tire’s location on Mill Bay Road, Kodiak, the Prize is a Yamaha Grizzly 500 FI Auto, 4×4 EPS Special edition ATV. All proceeds will go to prize money for the 2010 King Salmon Tournament, May 15 to July 31 at Kodiak Island.
BAITBOX – Tidbits for Groundswell fisheries associates
An ongoing ”baitbox” of relevance to Alaska fisheries & our efforts…
(11) U.S. Northern Commander Backs Begich on Law of Sea Treaty Ratification
Gen. Renuart says ratification of UNCLOS would not compromise U.S. sovereignty
The Commander of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, agreed with Sen. Mark Begich that the Senate should move forward on ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. —
“It’s important to know the military’s stance on the Law of the Sea and whether it would put us strategically at any disadvantage,” Begich said after the hearing. “I was reassured to hear General Renuart say it would not put us at risk from a national defense point of view.”
Source: News Release 3/11/10; Locator: http://begich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases
Groundswell warns that there are fisheries sovereignty and other concerns about how UNCLOS ratification will lessen US citizen rights of self-determination. Last year, the Alaska Legislature held a hearing on a proposed resolution to support UNCLOS ratification and there were strong opinions that state resource rights will be further reduced. Senator Begich owes Alaskans more than a reassurance from the military command, as oil and gas exploration, fisheries and mineral rights will be affected.
(10) Dear IRS: STOP ABUSIVE TRANSFER PRICING in Alaskan fisheries (write this on your tax filings!)
After blowing the whistle to the IRS on massive bookkeeping frauds by Japanese-owned and -controlled corporations regarding Alaskan fisheries, Groundswell asked fishermen to write in the margins of their tax filings a protest note. It was a way to remind the IRS through its many regional filing offices that USA fishermen were tired of paying taxes while the government was starving the IRS of the staff and resources it needed to go after the really big tax cheats. We heard back from top levels that the messages in the margins were being passed along to the highest levels. Remember, if you don’t get a fair fish price, it harms your ability to pay taxes, while the foreign-controlled processor steals profits from your country and pockets.
It’s time to do this again, as President Obama just issued an Executive Order to staff the IRS with thousands of new agents to pursue the laundering of profits across borders in global product trade — the accounting tricks known as Abusive Transfer Pricing. Let’s make sure the fishing industry gets a fair share of increased attention, as salmon, roe products and crab etc. going to parent firms in Japan and Korea at low export prices not only harm the balance of net national trade, it is a direct part of price-fixing that lowers ex-vessel fish prices. Write this in the margins or somewhere on your tax forms when you sign them: “Dear IRS Commissioner: Please Help Stop Abusive Transfer Pricing in Alaska Fisheries.”
(9) CATCH SHARES – John Whittier’s film “The Last Frontier” featured by Food & Water Watch
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/fish/oceans-policy/ifqs/ to view crew catch share video.
http://vimeo.com/8645375 to view Whittier (of Homer, AK) short film “The Last Frontier” about Alaska’s Crab Ratz program — includes footage from NPFMC meeting where 90+% of over 100 public testifiers were opposed, but the Council ignores such Public Comment, has its Motions ready, and proceeds anyway.
IPHC Hare’s correcting statement concerning ‘missing’ halibut due to trawl bycatch
After late-January’s meeting in Seattle of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), excited emails — regarding the early-February session of the NPFMC — alleged that IPHC’s chief scientist Steven Hare had told processors in Seattle that over 100-million pounds of “un-accounted-for-GOA-trawl halibut bycatch” is missing from the abundance estimates these past four years. The email then implied Hare struck out because the NPFMC’s industry Advisory Panel, Scientific and Statistical Committee, and Council itself ignored and dismissed “Hare’s conviction” as “NOT credible enough.”
The unsubtantiated email lacked in several regards, including failing to ask readers to go to the IPHC website and read the actual reports and graphs for themselves. Likewise, it failed to distinguish between IPHC and NPFMC’s roles. That aside, here’s the latest response by Hare about the halibut abundance model changes and what he was discussed at the Seattle annual meeting.
Fish lobbyists helped bilk taxpayers to serve Alaska cronies
A reprint from http://AlaskaReport.com/taufen30022.htm in late March of 2007, this article was third in a series by Victor Smith and Stephen Taufen, exposing fishing corruption/ This piece explains the role of Ben Stevens (son of then US Senator Ted Stevens) and former-fisheries aide to Ted, Trevor McCabe (Ben’s business partner) in requesting a $50 million vessel buyback program for Alaska seiners. Trevor and Ben’s take was to be a cool $500,000, and the legislative trail was hot… but when exposed, the changes reveal the obvious attempt at a cover-up — and Watergate fans know the cover-up is often worse than the crime. The buyback was to be administered by clients of the lobbyists and friends of Ben (who was president of the state senate), in a building near Alaska’s capitol building in Juneau. The program was funded for about half that amount… and the financial flows through the Alaska Fishermen’s Building (sic) gave rent payoffs to friends of the buddies…