Continued Discussion of the NMS proposal

[boatail]

this "Rik" plan threw it out there and really doesn't care . about any of this, the feds will contract his co. to do the research and guess who pays the bill !can anyone say insider trading !

[njdiver]

Here is an example of a successful fight against a bid to create National Monuments offshore:

PRESS RELEASE

PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL NOT DESIGNATE CASHES LEDGE AS A NATIONAL MONUMENT

For more information contact:
Jackie Odell Maggie Raymond
Northeast Seafood Coalition Associated Fisheries of Maine
978-836-7999 207-384-4854

MARCH 25, 2016 / Boston, MA, Representatives of the White House Council on Environmental Quality met with fishing industry leaders and other stakeholders yesterday to announce that President Obama will not designate the marine habitat within or surrounding Cashes Ledge as a National Monument. Located approximately 80 miles offshore in the Gulf of Maine, Cashes serves an important and historic area that has been fished commercially and recreationally for decades.

In response to the announcement, Terry Alexander, President, Associated Fisheries of Maine said, “Commercial fishermen in New England face continuous regulatory uncertainty, so it is a relief to know that there is one less restriction on fishing to worry about. We believe that the President was persuaded by a lack of scientific information to support such a designation, as well as the position expressed by stakeholders that decisions about closing areas to fishing should take place under the process outlined in the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).”

Vito Giacalone, Chair of Governmental Affairs for the Northeast Seafood Coalition said, “We are relieved by the President’s decision to forego a National Monument designation on Cashes Ledge, As stakeholders who participated in a lengthy, thorough and transparent public process to identify and protect important marine habitats such as Cashes Ledge, we are grateful and pleased to hear that the MSA process we all followed has been acknowledged and respected by the Obama Administration. We are sincerely grateful that the President, after gathering all pertinent facts, saw that the use of Executive Order was unnecessary in light of the process that has already taken place through the New England Fisheries Management Council.

Consideration of National Monument designations in the offshore Canyon areas of Southern New England remains ongoing, and affected fishermen should remain vigilant in assuring that any concerns they may have are addressed.

The American Antiquities Act of 1906 provides authority for the President to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments.

[NoLimit]

So we are supposed to be happy that the commercial guys get to decimate the NE fish stocks worse than they are?

That is the problem for us. Winter flounder, weaks, fluke and even crabs are getting dragged into oblivion.

I'm ready to give up on the area - maybe take up walleye upstate where you can consistently bring home enough quality fillets for a family meal.

[njdiver]

NJOA and JCAA both reached consensus this week, to oppose the SHNMS.

[njdiver]

More info:

PROBLEMS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED

While we have made great improvements in issues such as water quality, wildlife and public access in the NMS waters, there continue to be issues that are detrimental to optimal man/nature interaction and general enjoyment of the waters included in the NMS.

Some issues are non-contentious and have almost universal support, but simply are not making meaningful headway, while other issues, on the face of it, may be contentious. Often, even the issues that may appear to be contentious still have a common goal, but there is disagreement about the methods.

Contentious debate is unpleasant and therefore the debate is often avoided, but this does not make the issue go away. Only debate and analysis in a proper forum provides the chance that optimal solutions will be developed.

At present no such forum exists. A structure like an NMS makes it more difficult for the issue of concern to be ignored, and by keeping it on the table over a long period of time, adjustments can be made. Very often the issue does not need to be regulated, but instead improved education resolves the issue.

This is a list of issues that have been raised by various stake holders. These issues have not been vetted as right or wrong, they are simply concerns that have been raised and that, if resolved, will result in improvements that benefit everybody.

Lack of general boater courtesy
Lack of awareness with regard to river and bay wildlife and river quality issues
Lack of awareness with regard to NMS recreational and commercial opportunities
Reductions in recreational boating interest
Storm runoff water quality issues
Lack of native oysters
Lack of spartina grasses
Lack of edible species awareness
Clamming restrictions (check out the neat graphic)
Dissolved oxygen deficiencies
Ineffective bulkheading
Ineffective river scaping
Poor land side trash management
Bridge replacements issues
Land side impervious surface issues
Lack of dredging
Limits in NMS access
Inadequate ecosystem man/nature sustainable education
Lack of protection of culturally significant NMS activities such as boat racing, hunting, fishing and port facilities
Overall poor and non-optimized fisheries yield
Local fish to table inadequacies
Poor feeder creek conditions
Fertilizer overloading
Poor insecticide practices
PCB's and other industrial residue
River and bay bottom degradation
Silting
Lack of existing regulation (law) enforcement

This is a long list and is sure to grow, but if a mechanism can be developed where, as a local community, we make slow headway on most of them, the future will be much brighter. The vast majority of these issues do not need a huge investment to achieve improvements, but they do require general awareness by all stake holders and constant attention.

An NMS will provide a forum. None of this can be solved through special interest pressure, it can only be solved if the bay and rivers are presented as a valid common stake holder.

DISCOVER ENGAGE SUSTAIN

http://www.navesinkmaritime.org/Prob...o-be-addressed

[njdiver]

And more:

http://www.app.com/story/news/local/...uary/82610356/

[njdiver]

Zoning the Oceans: Using the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and the Antiquities Act to Establish Marine Protection Areas and Marine Reserves in America

(Snip)

The National Marine Sanctuaries Act appears to represent the best option for consolidating these management regimes and establishing a new, unified system of marine protected areas in the United States. The Act is clearly flawed-there are too many ways to derail proposed designations and far too little money and legal authority to properly police existing sanctuaries. As discussed above, however, the NMSA at least provides a structure for creating MPAs, a process for receiving and incorporating public comment, and a designation term- sanctuary-that invokes something more powerful, more dignified, and more important than "marine park" or "marine protected area." Executive Order 13158 and the federal government's renewed funding for the marine sanctuary program represent important first steps in the effort to better designate and manage MPAs. If the federal government continues to prioritize the sanctuary program, and amends the NMSA in the few key ways discussed above, it will be possible to create and effectively protect an enviable system of United States marine sanctuaries.

(Snip)

http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/...74&context=elq