July 8, 2024 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council has agreed to establish a new Ecosystem and Climate Action Steering Committee to help prioritize and organize its work on ecosystem approaches to fishery management in conjunction with preparing fisheries to be more resilient to climate change.
During its June 2024 meeting in Freeport, Maine, the Council covered a wide range of topics that collectively will guide its ecosystem/climate work down the road, including:
• Initiatives and projects being funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA);
• Work being conducted by the East Coast Climate Coordination Group (E3CG) and its Core Team;
• NOAA’s Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI);
• The 2024 State of the Ecosystem Report for New England (SOE New England);
• The Council’s Risk Policy, which is undergoing extensive revisions; and
• Options for more wholistically addressing ecosystem approaches to fishery management (EAFM).
Here is a brief rundown of each topic, culminating with the Council’s decision to form an overarching Ecosystem and Climate Action Steering Committee.
IRA-FUNDED PROJECTS:
The Council will be working on six projects under IRA funding. The project titles are shown at right. Descriptions of all six initiatives are outlined in this document, which is posted on a new webpage called Council-Related IRA Projects.
The Commerce Department is distributing a total of $20 million to the nation’s eight regional fishery management councils to “support the councils’ development and advancement of climate-related fisheries management and implementation.” The New England Council is receiving approximately $2.37 million from that pool to carry out its six initiatives. Work will be conducted under various timelines, with some projects running through 2027.