February 7, 2024 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council voted on recreational fishing measures for three groundfish stocks when it met January 30-February 1, 2024 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The proposed measures, which are in the form of recommendations to NOAA Fisheries, include bag limits, fishing seasons, and minimum fish sizes for Gulf of Maine cod, Gulf of Maine haddock, and Georges Bank cod. NOAA Fisheries will strive to implement final measures by May 1, which is the start of the 2024 fishing year for groundfish.
The Council also received a presentation from NOAA Fisheries on its Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP), which included a status update on the agency’s Fishing Effort Survey Pilot Study and next steps.
Additionally, the Council:
• Discussed the upcoming management track stock assessments for the four new Atlantic cod biological units and received an overview of what to expect next with the Atlantic Cod Transition Plan;
• Received a progress report on the Groundfish Plan Development Team’s work to develop metrics to evaluate the groundfish monitoring program in Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan; and • Reviewed a quarterly outlook for the year ahead.