NOAA Fisheries Service has extended the deadline for eligible Northeast multispecies permit holders in the common pool to join a sector for fishing year 2012 (May 1, 2012, through April 30, 2013) to April 30, 2012.
Typically, sectors must submit membership rosters to NMFS by December 1 for the following fishing year, with the following exception: Permit holders who purchase a permit after December 1 have the opportunity to join a sector until April 30, the day before the start of a fishing year.
We recently determined that Gulf of Maine cod is overfished and in poor condition, and we are considering implementing interim measures in fishing year 2012 to address this issue. Because any reduction to Gulf of Maine cod would negatively impact some vessels, and because of concern about small trimester quotas for stocks such as Gulf of Maine cod in fishing year 2012, this extension will provide additional flexibility for common pool vessels.
Read the complete notice from NMFS.