July 28, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
We are closing the Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area for Georges Bank cod to common pool vessels fishing on a groundfish trip with trawl, sink gillnet, and longline/hook gear for the remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31, 2017.
The closure is effective today, July 28, 2017, at 0845 hours. The area will reopen at the beginning of Trimester 2, on September 1, 2017.
The closure applies to the following statistical areas: 521, 522, 525, and 561. See map below.
If you have crossed the vessel monitoring system demarcation line prior to 0845 hours on July 28, and are currently at sea on a groundfish trip, you may complete your trip in all or part of the closed area. If you have set gillnet gear prior to July 28, 2017, you may complete your trip to retrieve that gear.
We are required to close this area because the common pool fishery is projected to have caught 90 percent of its Trimester 1 Total Allowable Catch for GB cod. This closure is intended to prevent an overage of the common pool’s quota for this stock.
For more details, read the notice (pdf) as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin available on our website.
