Saving Seafood

USDA to buy USD 20 million worth of Atlantic groundfish

May 28, 2025 —  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has unveiled plans to buy USD 20 million (EUR 17.7 million) worth of Atlantic groundfish as part of a bulk purchase of fresh food to distribute to food banks and nutrition assistance programs.

“These purchases deliver healthy, nutritious, American commodities to individuals and families in need. At a time when President Trump and his cabinet are Making America Healthy Again, USDA is proud to play a role in supporting those in need by providing access to the safest and highest-quality fresh fruits, vegetables, and seafood in the world,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a statement.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Data now coming straight from the deck

May 14, 2025 — A new kind of data collection is taking root in New England’s groundfish world, and it’s coming from a place that’s been underrepresented for a long time- the recreational for-hire fleet.

Over the past year and a half, a collaborative project called RecBio, short for the Recreational Biological Sampling Program, has been quietly revolutionizing how scientists and fishermen work together to gather vital biological data on Atlantic cod, and more recently, winter flounder. The program is led by Willy Goldsmith of Pelagic Strategies, Anna Mercer of NOAA’s Cooperative Research Branch, and Jeff Kneebone from the New England Aquarium. But the real force behind it? The captains themselves—charter operators who’ve stepped up to fill a critical data gap.

The goal is simple, but the impact is far-reaching: generate time- and location- specific age and length data from the for-hire fleet to help inform federal stock assessments—particularly for species like cod, for which the composition of recreational catch has historically been hard to quantify beyond just weight or poundage.

The catalyst for the project came from inside the Council process. “This project was actually first conceived by a couple of New England Council members representing the for-hire fleet,” shared Goldsmith. “Council member Capt. Mike Pierdinock, president of the Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association, came to us and said, ‘We really don’t have a lot of information on what the recreational sector is catching—especially with this new stock structure for cod.’” Current Council Chair Capt. Rick Bellavance, who serves as President of the Rhode Island Party and Charter Boat Association, agreed.

Until recently, Atlantic cod was assessed and managed under just two stock units: the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. In 2023, the structure expanded to four, including the Western Gulf of Maine (WGOM) and Southern New England (SNE), two areas where for-hire charter captains operate heavily. But under the previous system, biological data like age and length from recreationally caught fish was almost nonexistent. In some cases, there were zero recorded lengths from specific stock areas for entire years. And when it came to the age data? Nothing.

“There’s just not the same reporting and accountability requirements on the recreational side as there are on the commercial,” said Goldsmith. “It’s a different world, which makes it difficult to understand what’s really happening on the water.” This is particularly important given that the recreational fleet often targets cod (and other species) in different areas and using different gears than in commercial fisheries, meaning that scientists and managers may have an incomplete picture of stock status and trends.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

New England council sets 2024 groundfish quotas

December 19, 2023 — Groundfish catch limits for the 2024 Northeast fishing year were approved by the New England Fishery Management Council at its December meeting in Newport, R.I.

Framework Adjustment 66 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan would take effect with the start of the fishing season May 1, once approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Some provisions will apply to the 2025 and 2026 fishing years as well. The framework includes:

·       Fishing year 2024 and 2025 total allowable catches for three shared U.S./Canada resources – Eastern Georges Bank cod, Eastern Georges Bank haddock, and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder.

·       Fishing year 2024 and 2025 specifications for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder, white hake, and Gulf of Maine haddock.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

New England council moves toward new groundfish catch rules

August 10, 2023 — The New England Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Committee will host an Aug. 17 meeting  “to discuss draft goals and objectives for modifying or replacing the existing acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules for groundfish,” the council announced.

The ABC control rules are used in setting annual catch limits, to define how catch and fishing mortality changes with stock size. The meeting will include the council’s scientific and statistical committee and advisory groups along with the public in the discussion, starting at 9 a.m. at the Four Points by Sheraton in Wakefield, Mass.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Council Seeks Applicants for All 2023-2025 Advisory Panels; Wide Range of Monkfish, Groundfish, Rec Fishermen Needed

July 25, 2022 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is accepting applications from commercial and recreational fishermen, as well as other stakeholders, to serve on its advisory panels (APs) for the next three years. The term runs from January 2023 through December 2025. The application deadline is August 31, 2022.

The Council currently has nine active advisory panels that cover issues related to groundfish, recreational fishing for groundfish, Atlantic sea scallops, Atlantic herring, monkfish, habitat, skates, whiting, and enforcement.

The Council jointly manages monkfish and spiny dogfish with the Mid-Atlantic Council. The Mid-Atlantic Council has the administrative lead for spiny dogfish and handles the advisory panel solicitation for that fishery, while the New England Council has the administrative lead for monkfish and conducts the Monkfish AP solicitation.

The Council strives to populate its advisory panels with members who: (1) have different areas of expertise; (2) use different gear types; (3) come from the full geographic range of the fishery; and (4) have varied social and economic perspectives.

Read the full release here

U.S. to spend $25 million to distribute East Coast fish to nutrition programs

December 27, 2021 — The federal government will spend $25 million on East Coast fish to aid nutrition assistance programs and help New England’s struggling commercial fishing industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it would make the purchase on Atlantic groundfish. That is a group of species such as cod, haddock and pollock that come to the docks in states including Massachusetts and Maine and are popular in seafood markets and restaurants.

The purchase came after members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation called on the USDA to purchase more East Coast seafood through its programs that distribute food to residents in need.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald