February 24, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
Here are several timely meetings and management actions that directly relate to the work of the New England Fishery Management Council.
- Scallop AP: The AP will meet on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Boston. The agenda and meeting materials are available here.
- Scallop Committee: The Committee will meet on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at the same hotel in Boston. Here are the meeting materials.
- Scallop AP and Committee: The Scallop AP and Committee will meet again back-to-back on Thursday and Friday, March 26 and March 27, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Boston. More information will be posted on the Council’s scallop webpage in the near future.
- Scallop Framework Adjustment 32: The Council signed off on Framework 32 during its December 2019 meeting. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) has reviewed the document and is accepting public comments on the proposed rule through March 6, 2020. Here is the Framework 32 webpage.
- Of Note: NOAA Fisheries released its Fisheries of the United States 2018 Report. Scallops ranked fourth in the nation in the category called “highest value species groups,” coming in at $541 million. Roughly $532.3 million of that total came from sea scallop landings and the remainder was due to bay scallops. Scallop landings helped make New Bedford, MA the highest value fishing port in the U.S. for the 19th consecutive year.
- Draft Addendum III: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will hold a hearing on Draft Addendum III to the interstate herring plan at 11:00 a.m. on March 3 at the same location as the New England Council’s Herring AP and Herring Committee meetings. According to ASMFC, Draft Addendum III “proposes options to better manage the Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) sub-annual catch limit under low quota scenarios.”
- The Council developed Framework Adjustment 8 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan to set skate wing and skate bait specifications for the 2020-2021 fishing years. NOAA Fisheries is collecting public comment on the framework through March 6, 2020. Documents are available on the Framework 8 webpage.
- Detailed descriptions of the seminars are available at Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2020.
- Tables with daily at-a-glance schedules are available on the forum’s forms and schedules webpage.