NOAA announced interim fishing measures they describe as protecting "the Northeast groundfish stocks most in trouble, while still allowing the fishing industry to target some healthy stocks as the fishery rebuilds."
According to NOAA the new measures will:
Continue to allow commercial fishermen to target healthy stocks such as haddock on Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine. For hook gear fishermen, expand the size of the area where they have special access to haddock and lengthen the fishing period in it from three months (October to December) to nine months (May to January). Decrease minimum legal size for haddock by one inch, allowing more fish caught to be landed. Give businesses more flexibility by allowing roll-over of unused bycatch allocations during the first three quarters of the fishing year, and freer transfer of groundfish permits and leasing of days-at-sea. Enlarge the fishing area in southern New England waters where each fishing day-at-sea is counted as two days against an individual vessel’s total days-at-sea allotment to give greater protection to winter flounder, the stock most in need of protection. Prohibit vessels from keeping southern New England winter flounder, northern windowpane flounder, and ocean pout. Limit witch flounder landings to 1,000 pounds per day-at-sea, or up to 5,000 pounds per trip. Read the complete NOAA press release.