As you know, last week the New England Fisheries Management Council approved a sector/catch share program for groundfish management (Amendment 16). The Council approved 17 new sectors in addition to the existing two Cape Cod sectors. Sectors will develop their own sets of rules but must operate within a Council-provided quota on each sector’s harvest level, based on historic catch levels by each sector member between 1996-2006, using landing data. Fishermen who do not join sectors (fishermen in the “common pool”) will be subject to the current Days-At-Sea management program, closed area system and gear-type specific rules. (For a more detailed summary, see the bottom of this email.)
Draft Amendment 16 must still be approved and implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service. It is expected to be submitted to NMFS later this summer, with a proposed rule published in fall or winter and implementation on May 1, 2010.
The NEFMC and NMFS both have acknowledged that there are challenges to the success of the approved program, which must be addressed with improved science and more effective monitoring and enforcement.