January 8, 2024 — An emergency action that boosted the Gulf of Maine haddock catch to prevent premature 2023 closings is now being extended to the end of the fishing year April 30, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced Monday.
Faced with warnings from fishermen of unusually high catch rates, the New England Fishery Management Council in April 2023 asked NMFS for an increase in the allowable biological catch (ABC) of Gulf of Maine haddock for the coming fishing year that began May 1.