NEWPORT, R.I. — November 18, 2014 — With fishermen still reeling from a set of new area closures that NOAA clamped on the industry last week, federal regulators may set more new rules governing the 2015 fishing season during a series of meetings here this week.
The New England Fishery Management Council is meeting through Thursday, with questions expected regarding the new rolling closures the federal government put in place last Thursday as emergency measures aimed at protecting what a NOAA stock assessment says are badly depleted Gulf of Maine cod stocks.
The council's Scientific and Statistical Committee says an acceptable catch for cod next year is 386 metric tons. The current acceptable biological catch is 1550 metric tons.
The talks are also expected to set rules for the coming fishing season that begins next May 1, with cod and groundfish discussions planned for today and Wednesday.
The meeting comes on the heels of last week's announcement by John K. Bullard, NOAA's Gloucester-based Northeast administrator, of the the need to close commercial and recreational cod fishing in parts of the Gulf of Maine. The six-month emergency restrictions include a 200-pound limit on how much a fishing vessel can catch during a single trip.
Fishermen and industry backers, however, have widely questioned the credibility of the latest NOAA stock assessment, which was carried out as an "unscheduled" study and without any input from fishermen or other industry officials despite calls for more cooperative research and industry input.
Governor-elect Charlie Baker also joined in saying he wanted "answers" regarding discrepancy between the claims in NOAA's study and the working findings of fishermen who are on the water.
All of the closures involve areas geographically close to Cape Ann that provide prime fishing areas for Gloucester’s dwindling small-boat fleet.
The emphasis on closing the nearby areas underlined recent charges from Gloucester community leaders and fishing stakeholders that the city’s fishing community will suffer disproportionately under the new measures.