SavingSeaFood - Maine works to ensure access to recovering scallop stocks

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Maine works to ensure access to recovering scallop stocks

Danvers, Mass. — As Maine’s inshore scallop stocks rebound, state fishery managers said they wanted to ensure that federally permitted fishing vessels from Maine are able to access the resource on an equal basis with state-permitted vessels.

The state’s request was approved as part of a package of actions taken by the New England Fishery Management Council at its Sept. 26-29 meeting.

Enacted as part of Framework 23 to the Scallop Management Plan, the approved modifications requested by the state of Maine for the Northern Gulf of Maine scallop management program will allow vessels that hold a federal permit to fish for scallops in the Northern Gulf of Maine to now also fish in state waters on a trip-by-trip basis without those catches counting against the quota, called a “total allowable catch,” for the federal area.

Read the complete story from Village Soup.

MELISSA WOOD, NATIONAL FISHERMEN: Meting out the meager

May 22, 2012 - Listening to the New England Council's Groundfish Advisory Panel talk about how that industry is going to pay for monitoring costs is kind of like trying to figure out how to pay your bills when you've just lost your job. Though monitoring is important keeping costs down is critical. As Panel Member Gary Libby pointed out, "If we had 100 percent monitoring we probably wouldn't have an industry."

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