June 11, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council covered a wide range of habitat-related issues during its June meeting in So. Portland, ME. These fell into three categories.
- Great South Channel Habitat Management Area (HMA) Research Planning: This work is a follow-up to the Council’s Clam Dredge Framework, which was approved in December 2018 and is currently under review by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries). The framework proposes to allow hydraulic clam dredge and mussel dredge fishing within three exemption areas of the HMA, and it also proposes to create two large research-only areas to investigate whether surfclam and mussel dredging could occur within the areas without harming sensitive habitat.
- Offshore Wind Updates: The Council received an overview of the status of offshore wind development in the Northeast region.