February 17, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council is developing Amendment 8 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to update two objectives in the original FMP that have become outdated. This amendment is the result of a process that began with Amendment 5 and led to Framework 9, which the Council debated during its February 1-3, 2022 webinar meeting. Here is the sequence of events.
- Amendment 5: The Council began work on this amendment in 2017 and went through two rounds of scoping. As part of the action, the Council considered establishing limited access in the skate wing and/or bait fisheries and other measures to prevent the triggering of incidental skate possession limits, improve the precision and accuracy of catch data, and better define skate fishery participants. In September 2021, the Council discontinued work on the amendment and concurrently initiated Framework Adjustment 9 to pursue two remaining elements of Amendment 5.
- Framework 9: This framework was initiated to: (1) update the FMP’s objectives; and (2) revise conditions for federal skate fishing permits. In February 2022, the Council selected “No Action” for the permitting alternatives and agreed to update the FMP objectives through another action — Amendment 8.
- Amendment 8: The Council has taken final action on the updated FMP objectives. The Council now will submit these changes to NOAA Fisheries for review and implementation under Amendment 8. Updates to the FMP’s goal and objectives need to be implemented through an amendment and therefore could not be accomplished through Framework 9, which is why this additional step is needed.