October 25, 2021 — The federal government is shutting down the harvest of an important species of fish for the rest of the year because of concerns about overfishing.
Fishermen from Maine to North Carolina commercially harvest Atlantic mackerel, which is used as food as well as bait. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it closed the fishery starting Oct. 15.
Read the full story from the Associated Press
October 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries is closing the entire Atlantic mackerel fishery in federal waters through the end of the fishing year on December 31, 2021.
Effective at 0001 hour on October 15, 2021, vessels are prohibited from fishing for or landing more than 5,000 lb of Atlantic mackerel per trip in or from federal waters through December 31, 2021. Vessels may not land Atlantic mackerel more than once per calendar day.
The most recent management track assessment from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center concluded that the species remains overfished and overfishing increased slightly. We are implementing this closure to minimize additional catch for the remainder of the current fishing year.
If you have started a trip prior to October 15, 2021, you may offload and sell more than 5,000 lb of Atlantic mackerel from that trip, as long as the vessel entered port before 0001 hr on October 15, 2021.
For more information, please read the notice as filed in the Federal Register, and the permit holder bulletin posted on our website.
Questions?
Fishermen: Contact Alyson Pitts, Regional Office, 978-281-9352
Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103
July 21, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries is finalizing the Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish quotas for the 2021-2023 fishing year and reaffirms 2021 chub mackerel specifications as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
This action:
For more information, read the final rule as filed today in the Federal Register and our bulletin.
May 26, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries proposes Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish quotas for the 2021-2023 fishing years and reaffirms 2021 chub mackerel specifications as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
This action would:
Read the proposed rule as published today in the Federal Register. Supporting documents for this rule are available on the MAFMC website.
Comments on this rule must be received by 5 pm on June 10, 2021 and may be submitted though the online portal.
Questions?
Industry: Aly Pitts, Regional Office, 978-281-9352
Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103
March 31, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
In order to participate in the Atlantic mackerel fishery you must follow certain notification, reporting, and monitoring requirements.
General requirements are below:
For more information and additional requirements please read our bulletin.
Questions?
Industry: Contact Aly Pitts, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9352
Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175
August 3, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries implements measures adopted by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council as part of Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan to manage chub mackerel.
Because a directed fishery for Atlantic chub mackerel recently emerged in the Mid-Atlantic, in 2018 the Mid-Atlantic Council implemented initial measures to maintain existing catch levels while it developed a long-term management approach. In the intervening 3 years, the Council has collected more detailed information on chub mackerel and has developed management measures to help achieve and maintain the sustainability of the chub mackerel resource.
This action designates essential fish habitat; sets catch limits for 2020-2022; and implements an annual catch limit, accountability measures, possession limits, permitting and reporting requirements, and other administrative measures for Atlantic chub mackerel caught from Maine through North Carolina.
For more details, please read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register or the bulletin describing final measures. Supporting analysis for this rule is available on the Council’s website.
December 17, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The proposed action would:
Read the proposed rule as published today in the Federal Register. Supporting documents for this rule are available on the MAFMC website.
To submit comments, please use the Federal e-rulemaking portal, or send comments by regular mail to Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA, 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope, “Comments on the Proposed Rule for 2020 Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Specifications.”
Comments are due by 5 pm January 16, 2020.
December 12, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
We approved Amendment 20 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan on October 22, 2018. This action created a new Tier 3 longfin squid incidental moratorium permit.
How Do I Qualify for a Longfin Squid Moratorium Tier 3 Permit (SMB1C)?
To qualify for an SMB1C longfin squid permit, a vessel must have been issued an open access SMB3 permit and landed at least 5,000 lb of longfin squid in any year during 1997-2013. We will use available dealer landings data to determine whether a vessel qualifies for a SMB1C permit. To be issued the new Tier 3 longfin squid incidental permit, vessel owners must apply for this new permit by February 29, 2020.
Where Do I Get an Application?
The application form is available online and will also be mailed to you. For more information see our bulletin.
August 6, 2019 — For the first time, the Atlantic mackerel — native to the Gulf of Maine — has been added to a federal list of overfished species.
The listing appeared in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2018 Status of U.S. Fisheries Annual Report to Congress.
The report details the status of 479 managed stocks or stock complexes in the U.S. to identify which stocks are subject to overfishing, are overfished, or are rebuilt to sustainable levels, according to a news release.
Although the number of U.S. fish stocks subject to overfishing remains at a near all-time low, the Atlantic mackerel was added to the list for the first time.
March 12, 2019 — The East Coast harvest of an economically important species of small fish will be scaled back for the rest of the year.
Fishermen catch millions of pounds of Atlantic mackerel from Maine to Virginia every year, as the fish is widely used as food. However, federal rules state that the mackerel fishery must be restricted once fishermen approach their limit for the catch of river herring and shad, which are other species of small fish.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said 95 percent of the catch cap has been exhausted. That means mackerel fishing vessels will be prohibited from fishing for more than 20,000 pounds of mackerel per trip from Tuesday to the end of the year.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News