Fisheries Management & Legislative Report

The Scientific and Statistical Committee and the Monitoring Committee had a long webcam meeting to discuss Black Sea Bass and other issues. Below is the decision they reached. I have also enclosed the letter by the Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s letter to Pat Kurkul, Northeast Regional Director, requesting an emergency action to implement the increase in the quota by 2.2 million pounds. Bruce Freeman completed an in-depth report which is in this newspaper. We will also post the full webcam report from the SSC Chairman, John Boreman, on our webpage. Please note how many JCAA members were in attendance including me, Bruce Freeman and Tom Siciliano.

I applaud the actions of the Monitoring Committee and the SSC. I listened for most of the call and gained some interesting insights into the debate. I was disturbed to find a double standard used by some of the members who worked for NMFS. Their approach is to take immediate action when confronted with bad news, but study good news relentlessly without taking any action. I have heard for 30 years that we should be using the best available science. I hear this from the environmental commu nity even when the science has no validity. I hear this from NMFS whenever they set quotas. I also hear this from state directors and fisheries managers. But the hidden agenda is to respond to the best available science when it restricts, but literally ignore the best available science with the excuse we need more data when the science would allow for larger quotas. I find that at the federal level. I do not find that at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. That is why there is a greater trust by the general public in the ASMFC process. What seems to get the ASMFC in difficulty is when they acquiesce to NMFS because of threatened closures in federal waters.

It was interesting how fast NMFS moved to shut down the recreational fishery for Black Sea Bass for 2009 and 2010 when the preliminary data was negative. It will be even more interesting to see how quickly they respond to the good news from the SSC. This problem could have been avoided if they had passed the motion I made at the October joint meeting and allowed this meeting to take place at an earlier date. This motion called for a joint discussion between the SSC and the Monitoring Committee, something that finally happened. NMFS cannot do fisheries management with double standards and without consistency. If recreational anglers and commercial fishermen must bite the bullet when the news is bad, they need to reap the benefits when the news is good. That’s the only way anyone has any trust in the process. The scientists need to confine their experiments to the lab and stop making predictions with no valid data that costs people jobs.

In the past four to five years, JCAA has asked the other NGOs (the non-fishing NGOs) to come to our assistance in correcting grievous mistakes. As examples, quotas for summer flounder and black sea bass were blatant errors. We presented the facts, we showed where the mistakes were and they refused to go on the record supporting the recreational and commercial communities. After real scientific review, JCAA’s position was proved correct. This was an opportunity for the non-fishing NGOs to step up to the plate and show that their rhetoric of cooperation was more than just talk. They would have demonstrated their understanding of the economic impact and show that they were not intending to put fishermen or fishing industries out of business. This would have given them tremendous credibility and shown that we are truly coalitions and not one-sided relationships. Despite our best attempts to make the case, these NGOs failed miserably. They have lost whatever credibility they had with many of the recreational and commercial fishing communities. This is truly a shame since there are much bigger environmental and habitat issues that require us to work together. JCAA has always worked to build coalitions, particularly around environmental issues. Without clean healthy fish stocks that are free from pollutants, the recreational and commercial fishing industries will die a slow, agonizing death. Without a strong coalition we will never be able to stop the pollution of our bays and estuaries, the destructive offshore drilling, the bad land use measures that create nonpoint source pollution and the important water quality issues that we are only beginning to understand.

I am looking forward to attending the February ASMFC meeting to make or support a motion that will immediately increase the Black Sea Bass quota in state waters. I really hope NMFS does not lose what credibility they have left by ignoring an opportunity to increase the Black Sea Bass quota immediately in federal waters.

SSC reconsidered its acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendation and revised its consensus recommendation to increase the ABC for black sea bass for 2010 to 4.5 million pounds (2,041 mt).

The resulting modification to the ABC is 2.2 million pounds higher than the initial ABC recommendation, and the increased recommendation can be reasonably expected to alleviate significant, negative social and economic impacts relative to the initial ABC recommendation.

Finally, DEP issued a proposed a draft water-discharge permit that will go to public hearings requiring Oyster Creek to implement cooling towers. This release is below. This has been a long, hard battle and there are many groups who worked to encourage DEP to take this action. I am not going to list everyone at this time since I do not have the list with me. This is not a done deal but we are on the right track. This is only the beginning. Salem Nuclear Power Plant is up for renewal and the same type of action must be required of them. DEP needs to extend this requirement for all pass-through operations that take waters from our bays, estuaries and rivers and discharge heated or contaminated water. We need to stop trying to rebuild fisheries stocks strictly on the backs of the recreational and commercial fishing industries. EPA at the federal level and DEP at the state level must finally enact the requirements of the Clean Water Act to make all water systems in the United States fish friendly. On the west coast this means allowing enough water to rebuild the stocks of salmon and other species. On the Gulf coast this means putting an end to the ever increasing dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico. And everywhere this means finding a remedy to the negative impact of nonpoint source pollution. Congress and the President are talking about ocean policies to build sustainable oceans. They need to begin to take the hard, expensive steps necessary to take this action. The fishermen have always focused on sustainable fisheries. It is time for everyone else to pay attention.

Last month this newspaper included two articles about NGOs working together. I discuss this again in the Black Sea Bass article. It is important to acknowledge that even within our own recreational fishing community, there are steps we need to take to work together more efficiently and in a more respectful manner. I have always tried to maintain a respectful, civil manner in any disagreements. Nasty email and negative public comments only undermine attempts to make progress. When we fight among ourselves, we dilute our power. We need to speak in a consistent voice and keep our disagreements in-house and respectful. Our enemies know that the energy we expend fighting among ourselves means less energy to focus on solving our problems. In 30 years, I realize I have spent way too much of my time trying to put out fires set in my own community. Every time there is an unwarranted attack, it gets harder to put the bad feelings aside and work together. This is not going to change overnight but I am making a personal commitment to an increase in civil discussion and avoiding the attack mode.

Glenn Arthur of the New Jersey Dive Council contacted JCAA about the proposal to include Gateway National Park in the list of MPAs. The links to the documents are below. Public comment is open till February 22, 2010. JCAA will work with other groups to prepare a response before the end of the comment period. If you have difficulty accessing the documents, please email me. I will try to get some of this material posted on the JCAA webpage.

I have been out of state on vacation for an extended period. I went to Hawaii where the motto is “hang loose.” After NMFS response on black sea bass last year, I was really disillusioned and disappointed. But the vacation and the latest move by the SSC and the Monitoring Committee has given me a renewed energy. The message is don’t give up the battles, continue to broaden our coalitions and find the time and energy to protect the environment, the marine resource and the fishing industries that depend on it. Most important, we need to continually focus on the legacy we leave for future generations. Take a kid fishing and show him or her how to be a good steward for the environment.

The following is a letter by the Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s letter to Pat Kurkul, Northeast Regional Director, requesting an emergency action to implement the increase in the quota by 2.2 million pounds.

February 1- 4, 2009
Crowne Plaza Hotel Old Town
901 North Fairfax Street
Alexandria, Virginia (703) 683-6000

by Bruce Freeman

The Science and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council met in a daylong meeting January 8 to discuss and review their July recommendation to the Council for the 2010 sea bass quota. The need for this meeting arose because the SSC met to make the 2010 quota recommendation prior to hearing the Monitoring Committee report which provides the most recent and inclusive report of both catch data and biological survey information. The Monitor Report contained very encouraging information pertaining to sea bass. Several state surveys showed record or near record indexes. For example, the Maryland young-of-year index was the highest of any year on record, the Rhode Island index of all size sea bass, the second highest on record, and the Massachusetts survey, the third highest index since 1978. Also, several states indicated that they had to restrict their commercial catch to only three days per week together with strict poundage limits as well to remain within their quota limits. Commercial fishermen from Virginia to Massachusetts also reported a large increase in the abundance of all size sea bass during 2009. In addition, a three-fold increase in the recreational fishery during 2009 pointed as well to a sharp increase in the abundance of sea bass.

While the SSC was encouraged by this report, they indicated that this information would have to be presented and analyzed through the formal benchmark status of stock review process which would be done in 2011 or 2012.

The SSC discussed the large gaps in our knowledge of the life history of sea bass. The rate of natural mortality, while extremely important as a variable in modeling the sea bass population, remains largely unknown. In addition, the fact that sea bass begin life processing both female and male reproductive organs-hermaphroditism-has important, but unknown consequences on the catch of different size fish. For example, during their first year of life, sea bass mature as females and remain so for one to four years. But usually when three to five years old, they become males and by age six, most all sea bass are males and remain so the rest of their lives. Setting a maximum size limit can have a profound yet unknown impact on the sea bass sex ratio. Also, the coast-wide survey conducted by the NMFS catches mostly ages 0-2 year old sea bass. Fish older than those are nearly always associated with bottom structure, and as they increase in age, this association with structure becomes stronger. Survey vessels, due to the possible destruction of their nets, are forced to restrict their tows to open unobstructed bottom. On the other hand, both the recreational and commercial catches are concentrated on or around bottom structure.

With all these unknowns, the SSC agreed there is a great amount of uncertainty in the use of existing models to determine the stock size, the maximum sustainable yield amount, and an appropriate level of fishing mortality. The existing quota has been set low as a precaution to overfishing because of the many unknown biological factors. Also, because of the many uncertainties, it was agreed that a constant catch (quota) should be maintained rather than a constant fishing mortality rate as is done with many other fishes, such as fluke and striped bass. However, the SSC was undecided whether to simply base the quota on a single year’s catch or use a three or five year average as is done with other species.

After much discussion the SSC indicated that at their July meeting, while agreeing on the need for a constant catch and therefore keeping the 2010 quota the same as 2009, they realized that setting the 2008 quota, the basis for the 2009 and 2010 quota was needlessly too conservative. Based upon considerable catch information over a long period of years, it was seen that the sea bass catch when more than 6 million pounds resulted in a decrease of the sea bass stock. And when the coast-wide catch was less than 6 million pounds the stock increased. The SSC agreed that a quota of 2.3 million pounds for 2010 was overly conservative. The committee recommended a revision be made to the total catch and be between 4-4.5 million pounds. It was agreed that such a level continues to be conservative and would still result in an increase of the sea bass stock.

This recommendation will be made at the next Mid-Atlantic Council meeting to the regional administrator of NMFS. Hopefully, she will take appropriate action to comply with what is now the best scientific advice.

by Jason Dearen (AP), Asbury Park Press, 12/29/2009

California scientists hope studying 180 black mussels pried from algae-covered rocks in San Francisco Bay will provide clues into how many drugs and chemicals are polluting waters across the nation.

Mussels filter water and store contaminants in their tissue, providing a record of pollution in the environment. The creatures are being culled from 80 sites in California as part of a pilot study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to see how pervasive the substances have become.

"We haven't measured mussels for these compounds, so there's not a lot of data," Dominic Gregorio, a senior environmental scientist with the State Water Resources Control Board, said. "So this is really a first step to be proactive and get ahead of the curve on this."

Regulators are concerned about an array of chemicals and pharmaceuticals — synthetic estrogen used in birth control pills, anti-bacterial agents in hand sanitizers and a flame retardant used on computers, furniture and cars — that can accumulate in the tissue of animals and people. Recent studies found levels of PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, a flame retardant used in the manufacture of a wide range of consumer products, in waters off of every U.S. coast.

The chemicals are being detected more often in surface water, state water quality officials said, but little data exists about how these substances negatively effect the health of humans and animals.

After conducting tests on the mussels, the data will help guide the study of emerging contaminants in other states, said Gunnar Lauenstein, program manager for NOAA's Mussel Watch, which has tested mussels since 1986.

Traces of PBDEs have also been found in human breast milk, aquatic birds and fish in North America, Europe and Asia, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Until now NOAA's Mussel Watch has tested the bivalves for pollutants like the pesticide DDT. This pilot study could help guide regulators in determining what new pollutants in mussels should be regularly monitored.

"What we're trying to do now is focus on a newer generation of consumer products," Lauenstein said. The California mussels will also be tested for bisphenol A, or BPA, a chemical used to harden plastics and line the cans of baby formula and other foods.

Scientists are concerned that BPA exposure may harm reproductive systems and promote prostate and breast cancers, though the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention says human health effects of BPA exposure are still unknown.

Gregorio said the data collected from around the state will include mussels from a wide range of areas including cities, agricultural regions and open spaces.

contact: Elaine Makatura (609) 292-2994, Lawrence Hajna (609) 984-1795, 1/7/2010

TRENTON - The Department of Environmental Protection has proposed a draft water-discharge permit that calls for Exelon Generation Company, owner of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey Township, to build a closed-cycle cooling system to protect aquatic life in the Barnegat Bay ecosystem, Acting Commissioner Mark N. Mauriello announced today.

"The use of cooling towers would result in a much healthier bay," Commissioner Mauriello said. "A healthier bay means a better quality of life for the region's residents as well as improved recreational experiences for those who visit to swim, fish, crab, watch wildlife * or to simply soak up the bay's beauty."

The DEP has determined that a closed-cycle cooling system consisting of cooling towers is the best available technology consistent with the federal Clean Water Act. The DEP is proposing the system be built as a condition for renewal of the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit the nuclear plant needs to operate.

The DEP recognizes the proposal involves complex issues and will result in extensive public interest. The DEP will carefully weigh all viewpoints as it begins a comprehensive public comment process.

The plant currently discharges water heated during electricity generation into a canal that is connected to Barnegat Bay. The new cooling system will significantly reduce the amount of water the plant needs to draw from the canal, thereby reducing impacts to aquatic life. It will also reduce the temperature of water discharged into the canal.

Studies have determined that the trapping of aquatic organisms against intake screens at existing cooling water intakes and the actual intake of organisms into the system impacts a wide array of species, including bay anchovy, winter flounder, weakfish, Atlantic menhaden, shrimp, blue crab, eel grass and hard clams. Plant discharges have resulted in fish kills associated with cold shock. This occurs when plant shutdowns cut off the flow of hot water into the canal.

The DEP will hold public hearings on Wednesday, Feb. 24, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lacey Township Municipal Building, 818 West Lacey Road, Forked River; and on Wednesday, March 3, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the DEP Public Hearing Room, 401 East State Street, Trenton.

The DEP will accept written public comments until March 15. Comments may be sent to Pilar Patterson, Chief of the Bureau of Surface Water Permitting, P.O. Box 029; Trenton, NJ 08625.

by Jeff Donn(AP)

Federal regulators under President Barack Obama have sharply shifted course on long-standing policy toward pharmaceutical residues in the nation's drinking water, taking a critical first step toward regulating some of the contaminants while acknowledging they could threaten human health.

A burst of significant announcements in recent weeks reflects an expanded government effort to deal with pharmaceuticals as environmental pollutants:

For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency has listed some pharmaceuticals as candidates for regulation in drinking water. The agency also has launched a survey to check for scores of drugs at water treatment plants across the nation.

The Food and Drug Administration has updated its list of waste drugs that should be flushed down the toilet, but the agency has also declared a goal of working toward the return of all unused medicines.

The National Toxicology Program is conducting research to clarify how human health may be harmed by drugs at low environmental levels.

The Associated Press reported last year that the drinking water of at least 51 million Americans contains minute concentrations of a multitude of drugs. Water utilities, replying to an AP questionnaire, acknowledged the presence of antibiotics, sedatives, sex hormones and dozens of other drugs in their supplies.

The news reports stirred congressional hearings and legislation, more water testing and more disclosure of test results. For example, an Illinois law goes into effect Jan. 1 banning health care institutions from flushing unused medicine into wastewater systems.

The EPA's new study will look for 200 chemical and microbial contaminants at 50 plants that treat drinking water. The list includes 125 pharmaceuticals or related chemicals. This research will help federal water officials decide if regulations are needed. In the first move toward possible drinking-water standards, the EPA has put 13 pharmaceuticals on what it calls the Contaminant Candidate List. They are mostly sex hormones, but include the antibiotic erythromycin and three chemicals used as drugs but better known for other uses.

They join a list of 104 chemical and 12 microbial contaminants that the EPA is considering as candidates for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. No pharmaceutical has ever reached the list in its 12-year history, but medicines now make up 13 percent of the target chemicals on the latest list "based on their potential adverse health effects and potential for occurrence in public water systems," the EPA said.

They take a place beside such better-known contaminants as the metal cobalt, formaldehyde, the rocket fuel ingredient perchlorate, and the disease germ E. coli.

"I think this does signal a change in the regulatory and research approaches," said Conrad Volz, a University of Pittsburgh scientist whose research raises questions about the risk of eating fish from waters contaminated with sex hormones. "What's happening is pretty amazing."

Several scientists within and outside government tied the stronger focus on human health to the Obama administration and the president's appointment of Lisa Jackson, a highly regarded former head of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, to run the EPA.

"I think we are trying to be as aggressive as we can. We understand it's a major national issue. We understand it's a major public concern," said Peter Silva, the new water administrator at the EPA.

However, making the candidate list provides no assurance that a chemical will reach full-blown regulation. In fact, no chemical on the list has ever been made subject to a national water quality standard, EPA officials acknowledge. They intend to make preliminary decisions on some of the latest contaminants by mid-2012.

"They've made a lot of good first steps, so now were waiting to see those carried through," said Nneka Leiba, a researcher at the Environmental Working Group in Washington.

Water utilities and drug makers are wary of the federal moves. Difficult scientific questions remain over the possible threat posed to humans by minuscule concentrations in drinking water, where drugs are typically found in parts per billion or trillion. That's way below medical doses.

However, some researchers fear that very small daily amounts of unwanted drugs in water could do cumulative harm to people over decades, possibly in combination with other drugs or in sensitive populations like children or pregnant women.

Alan Goldhammer, a vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said such trace amounts "really do not pose a human health issue."

"We do get concerned if we think that somebody is going to require that the consumers spend money and not get any health benefit," added Tom Curtis, a lobbyist for the Denver-based American Water Works Association.

The U.S. Geological Survey first began taking notice of pharmaceutical contamination several years ago. But until now the federal government has focused on the presence of pharmaceuticals in rivers and streams.

A recently released EPA study found more than 40 pharmaceuticals — everything from antibiotics to heart medicine to antidepressants — at nine publicly owned wastewater treatment plants. The drugs appeared in concentrations measured in parts per billion and trillion. Many passed right through the plants.

Linda Birnbaum, who is director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and also oversees the National Toxicology Program, said some program research is focusing on how much environmental pharmaceuticals can reach animal blood and tissues and how that might compare with humans.

Waste pharmaceuticals reach the environment when people take medicine and excrete the unmetabolized portion. Millions of pounds of waste drugs also escape into waterways from hospitals, drug plants and other factories, farms and the drains of American homes, the AP has reported.

On its new list, the FDA, which regulates medicines, says only 10 active ingredients in controlled-substance drugs need to be flushed to keep them away from children, abusers and pets.

At the same time, the agency announced it is working with partners to develop programs to return unused drugs instead of flushing them down the drain. The agency wants "to encourage their development and future use for all drugs," declared Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Returned drugs are usually incinerated, which destroys most active ingredients. Community drug takeback programs have increased considerably since the AP's PharmaWater reports.

The recent announcements have been striking in their speed and breadth. Just last year, Ben Grumbles, Silva's predecessor at the EPA Office of Water under President George W. Bush, said only one pharmaceutical was under consideration for the list of candidates for water standards. And it was the heart medicine nitroglycerin, better known as an explosive.

Yet some environmentalists say the government should take even bolder action. "Identifying the nature and scope of the problem is not the same thing as addressing the causes of the problem," said George Mannina, an environmental lawyer in Washington.

He said the EPA should do more to keep drugs out of the nation's water supplies and not rely on expensive filtering systems at water treatment plants.

Jon Holder, a vice president at Vestara, a seller of equipment to manage waste drugs, said the EPA should be more aggressive about enforcing hazardous waste laws that already apply to some drugs used by hospitals.

"We applaud the light that's being shined on it, but we also recognize that the simple enforcement of existing law would go a long way," he said.