July 10, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council met June 23-25, 2020 by webinar. In addition to the news already released about groundfish, monkfish, and scallops, here’s an overview of the other issues the Council worked on during this meeting.
Research Priorities: After considering input from its various fishery-related committees and the Scientific and Statistical Committee, the Council agreed to submit an updated list of Research Priorities and Data Needs for 2020-2024 to NOAA Fisheries.
Skates: At the end of last year, the Council tasked its Skate Committee with defining a clear problem statement, goals, and objectives for Draft Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The amendment is being developed to consider whether limited access is appropriate for the skate wing and/or skate bait fisheries. The committee worked on this task in late-March using additional data provided by the Skate Plan Development Team. The Council reviewed the new problem statement, along with an additional objective, and discussed whether it wanted to continue pursuing the development of a limited access program for skates. The Council did not approve the problem statement but agreed to have the committee continue to work on its initial tasking.