December 11, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council selected final measures for Framework Adjustment 66 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan during its December 5-7, 2023 meeting in Newport, RI. The action, once approved and implemented by NOAA Fisheries, will guide the groundfish fishery for fishing year 2024.
Some of the Framework 66 provisions apply to fishing years 2025 and 2026 as well. Each new groundfish fishing year begins on May 1.
The framework includes:
• Fishing year 2024 and 2025 total allowable catches for three shared U.S./Canada resources – Eastern Georges Bank cod, Eastern Georges Bank haddock, and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder (see table on page 2);
• Fishing year 2024 and 2025 specifications for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder, whitehake, and Gulf of Maine haddock;
• Fishing year 2024, 2025, and 2026 specifications for Acadian redfish, northern windowpane flounder, and southern windowpane flounder;
• A subcomponent analysis that led to adjustments in groundfish quotas for Gulf of Maine cod, Gulf of Maine haddock, white hake, northern windowpane flounder, southern windowpane flounder, and Atlantic halibut based on accounting for catches in state waters and other federal fisheries;
• Removal of the management uncertainty buffer for sectors for white hake and Gulf of Maine haddock until the next specifications cycles and assessments for these stocks in 2025 and 2024, respectively, if the at-sea monitoring target coverage rate is set at 90% or greater;
• Atlantic halibut management revisions to address the impacts of large swings in Canadian halibut catch on U.S. management actions; and
• Temporary modification of the trigger for the Atlantic sea scallop accountability measures implementation policy for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder.