Agenda Item B.1 Open Comment Period November 2012 The Lenfest Ocean Program Invites you to a presentation of its 2012 report Little Fish Big Impact: Sustaining forage fish and the ecosystems that depend on them November 3, 2012 at 7pm On the site of the Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting Balboa Bay 2 room, Hilton Orange County 3050 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Presentation by Christine Santora, project director, Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force. For further information on the task force, see www.LenfestOcean.org/foragefish. For questions specific to this event, please contact Ben Shouse, [email protected]. Agenda Item B.1 Supplemental Open Comment 2 November 2012 October 23, 2012 Mr. Dan Wolford, Chair Pacific Fisheries Management Council 7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101 Portland, Oregon 97220-1384 Rod McInnis, Regional Administrator National Marine Fisheries Service Regional Administrator 501 West Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200 Long Beach, CA 90802-4213 RE: Open Public Comment/ Highly Migratory Species, Proposed Drift Gillnet Expansion Dear Chairman Dan Wolford and Regional Administrator McInnis: We the undersigned 36,483 individuals (including 7, 116 California residents; 990 Oregon residents; 1,403 Washington residents; and 119 Idaho residents) urge the National Marine Fisheries Service to halt the current effort to expand the California-based drift gillnet fishery, and shift its efforts toward eliminating the fishery altogether. This fishery entangles and kills over a hundred marine mammals per year, continues to take endangered sea turtles, as well as non-target fish such as blue shark, bigeye thresher shark, striped marlin, ocean sunfish, and others. Despite the current regulations in place, the continued bycatch from drift gillnets is unacceptable. Any proposed expansion of the fishery will also encroach on recently designated critical habitat of the endangered leatherback sea turtle, whose population continues to decline. The National Marine Fisheries Service has the legal responsibility to protect leatherback sea turtles, their habitat, and ensure recovery of the species. Continuing to authorize the drift gillnet fishery, much less considering expanding it, fundamentally contradicts the agency’s responsibility to the citizens of the United States. When these curtains of death are left to soak in ocean waters overnight they entangle some of the California Current’s top pelagic predators and migratory species. In order to maintain ocean health and biodiversity of the California Current marine ecosystem, drift gillnets should be eliminated and replaced with fishing methods that are proven to be clean, and NMFS has an important responsibility to identify and promote such methods. To address concerns over imported swordfish, NMFS should be focusing on actions to level the playing field by requiring importing countries to adopt and enforce equally stringent regulations to the U.S., rather than chipping away at U.S. regulations to bring us to the lowest common denominator. Ultimately, we should be talking about using gear types that reduce bycatch, not expanding an inherently unselective fishing method which we know will kill additional non-target fish and threatened and endangered species. Sincerely, First Name Last Name City State Zip Code First Name Last Name City State Zip Code Will Files Homer AK 99603 Sam Saltonstall Peaks Island ME 4108 Linda Middaugh Marshall AK 99585 mary wylie Addison ME 4606 Shannon Meredith Cooper Landing AK 99572 Janet Booth Dresden ME 4342 Rika Mouw Homer AK 99603 Steven Long Winterport ME 4496 Adam Zaleski Juneau AK 99801 Kevin Black Portland ME 4103 Julia Stefanich Anchorage AK 99501 Darlene Banks AUGUSTA ME 4330 Joanie Merritt Seward AK 99664 Karen Gundersen Buxton ME 4093 David Hribar Palmer AK 99645 Patti Phillips ME 4966 Bill Sherwonit Anchorage AK 99517 Julius Luck Southwest Harbor ME 4679 Brad De Noble Eagle River AK 99577 Kimberly Brown Portland ME 4102 Jenny Goodnough Douglas AK 99824 Beverly Roxby Belfast ME 4915 Marcella Ariodante la spezia AK 19100 Abigail Gindele South Berwick ME 3908 Lynn Wilbur Sitka AK 99835 Maureen McCarthy-Darling Rockport ME 4856 Thomas Henehan Anchorage AK 99508 Michaela Batstone Portland ME 4102 Kseniya Melnik Anchorage AK 99507 Allison Brewster Alfred ME 4002 Nicole Church Ketchikan AK 99901 Anthony EVANS-PUGHE Islesboro ME 4848 John Sonin Juneau AK 99801 Mallory Hattie Buxton ME 4093 Rob Homer AK 99603 Julia Hathaway Veazie ME 4401 Betty Goddard Anchor Point AK 99556 Michael Haskell Scarborough ME 4074 Lori Bennett Palmer AK 99645 Michael Gorzka Brunswick ME 4011 Zara Stoyanova Anchorage AK 99501 Jessica Brown Portland ME 4102 Sibylle schwarz Eagle River AK 99577 Michael Angelone Portland ME 4103 Carla Green Willow AK 99688 Michael and Amy Roberts Steuben ME 4680 Carl Reese Juneau AK 99801 James Stoneton Orrington ME 4474 Rick Wicks Anchorage AK 99517 Elizabeth Ryder Greenville ME 4441 Courtney Lewis anchorage AK 99508 MarÃ-a Shelley Mexico City, Mexico ME 4410 Susan Rennolds Homer AK 99603 Jon Greenberg Westbrook ME 4092 Dan LaBrosse Fairbanks AK 99712 Hannah Osborne Fairfield ME 4937 Tamara Kreimerman Mexico city AK 11000 Patricia Martin Saco ME 4072 Kimberly McConkey Anchorage AK 99508 Michael Reid Belfast ME 4915 Rudy willow AK 99688 Marina Peaks Island ME 4108 Monika Szrot Olkusz AK 32300 Zarra Hermann Portland ME 4101 Gene Cornelius Homer AK 99603 Lila Adriana Cahue Ciudad de México ME 4450 Fp romick Anchorage AK 99501 Erin Koepf Portland ME 4102 Soulas Daniel BORDEAUX FRANCE AK 33200 Julie Carter scarborough ME 4074 Johanna Bakker Auke Bay AK 99821 Phil Koonce Bath ME 4530 Barbara Hendricksen Eagle River AK 99577 Ellen Port-Peitersen Auburn ME 4210 Carol Cairnes Ketchikan AK 99901 Roberta Turpin Redcliffe ME 4020 Harry Robinson Juneau AK 99801 Colleen McKenna Brunswick ME 4011 maria bruscia ficulle AK 5016 Anthony Kurland Veazie ME 4401 Gaetano Andrea agrigento AK 92100 Christine Anuszewski Kennebunkport ME 4046 Barbara Greninger Ketchikan AK 99901 Vinnedge Lawrence West Baldwin ME 4091 steve cannon Ketchikan AK 99901 Ellen Gray Garland ME 4939 Laura Inglima Homer AK 99603 Margaret dePasquale Greenwood ME 4255 herminio ramos ketchikan AK 99901 Thea Sames South Portland ME 4106 Andrej Ignjatovic Belgrade AK 11000 Marita Kennedy-Castro Portland ME 4102 Lesley Cameron palmview AK 11111 Diane Vollor Wells ME 4090 Carmen Melbourne AK 99510 Adam Fanucci portland ME 4103 Martin Antuna Elmendorf AFB AK 99506 Neva Allen Belfast ME 4915 Michele Cornelius Homer AK 99603 Anthony Tripp BANGOR ME 4401 Margaret Phillips Anchorage AK 99507 Jean Hewitt tenants harbor ME 4860 Rebecca Street Mitcham AK 99605 Mary Madigan Langwarrin Australia ME 3910 Dogan Ozkan istanbul turkey AK 99701 Marcey Lachance Bailey Island ME 4003 Nina Gondos anchorage AK 99502 Laurie Yergin Lisbon ME 4250 Rick Marqusee EAGLE RIVER AK 99577 Christina Valente Standish ME 4084 Kat Haber Homer AK 99603 Karen Demers Brunswick ME 4011 Joseph Olson anchorage AK 99516 Beth Henderson Belfast ME 4915 Leslie Slater Homer AK 99603 Cheryl & Gerry Filliger N. Waterboro. ME 4061 Christine Anchorage AK 99502 Susan McPherson Limington ME 4049 Mary Stephens Valdez AK 99686 Gareth Burgess Durham ME 4222 barbara brown Wasilla AK 99687 Judith Roe Presque Isle ME 4769 Robert Smith Eagle River AK 99577 Daniela Usova surry ME 4684 Richard Kenshalo Palmer AK 99645 John Thompson Eustis ME 4936 Dale Kelley Anchorage AK 99516 Keith Robillard Turner ME 4282 Lea Bayliss Whitehorse AK 11111 Donna Zamrin Scarborough ME 4074 Rebecca Goodrich Anchorage AK 99507 Lora Leland Portland ME 4104 Haley Anchorage AK 99502 John Bernard South Portland ME 4106 susan whitefeather Palmer AK 99645 Ellen Zimmerman South Portland ME 4106 Michael Thompson Yakutat AK 99689 Thomas Walling Bowdoinham ME 4008 Sheila Camino Bordon AK 11111 Ril'riia Kil'urden Lewiston ME 4240 Della Dempsey Wasilla AK 99623 Bill Westerman Buderim, Australia ME 4556 Carol Juneau AK 99801 Russell Wray Hancock ME 4640 Cynthia Hovland Seward AK 99664 Ginger Woods Rumford ME 4276 Karen Martinelli Sterling AK 99672 Lewis Cisle Belfast ME 4915 Rose Kirkham Anchorage AK 99502 Colene Flaherty Steuben ME 4680 John Juneau AK 99801 Ann Breeden Sullivan ME 4664 karen dupont Wasilla AK 99687 Grace Amoroso Kennebunkport ME 4046 Tina Brown Juneau AK 99801 Marjorie Dole Trenton ME 4605 Antonello Palermo AK 90127 Leslie Clapp Blue Hill ME 4614 Alice Toury maraussan AK 34370 Michael Haskell Scarborough ME 4074 gretchen small Ketchikan AK 99901 Dawn DiBlasi Fairfield ME 4937 Guy Lopez Anchorage AK 99515 Susan Weems Brunswick ME 4011 Elizabeth Neumann Anchor Point AK 99556 Sherry Clukey Bucksport ME 4416 Sybille Castr Kenai AK 99611 Amy Clark brewer ME 4412 Joclyn Reamey Dillingham AK 99576 Tonja duBois Bangor ME 4402 Renae Thompson Anchorage AK 99507 Brittany Lebel Brooksville ME 4617 Becky Breeding Chugiak AK 99567 Shirley Hale lovell ME 4051 Susan Vogt Fairbanks AK 99712 Sue Hartman Cumberland Center ME 4021 Susan Kerwin Kotlik AK 99620 Bridget Kazukieicz Waterboro ME 4087 Morgan MacConaugha Anchorage AK 99507 Jeff Kazukiewicz waterboro ME 4087 Jeannie Bench Anchorage AK 99510 Trish Stevens Troy ME 4987 Betty Dean Sterling AK 99672 Nancy Docimo solon ME 4979 Joni Baker Anchorage AK 99511 Fiona Broksch Wyreema ME 4352 Evelyn Seguela Homer AK 99603 Christian inchaustegui Mexico ME 4460 Lynnda Strong Sitka AK 99835 Robert Fritsch Dexter ME 4930 Michael Salzmann anchor point AK 99556 John Ackerman