Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Announces Final Rule for the 2021-2023 Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Specifications

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:

  • Maintains the 2020 specifications through 2022 for Atlantic mackerel (19,184 mt acceptable biological catch (ABC)), through 2021 for Illex squid (30,000 mt ABC), and through 2023 for longfin squid (23,400 mt ABC).
  • Reduces the butterfish allowable catch by 72 percent, from the current 22,752 mt to 6,350 mt in for the remainder of 2021. Given recent catch trends, this reduction is not expected to negatively impact the commercial fishing industry.
  • Maintains the 3,884 mt butterfish catch cap in the longfin squid fishery.
  • Implements 48-hour Illex reporting after July 15 for commercial dealers for the remainder of the fishing year. Tthe current requirement is weekly reporting.
  • Increases the Illex squid ABC from the 30,000 mt ABC in the proposed rule to 33,000 mt in the final rule.
  • Changes the Illex closure threshold to 94 percent from 95 percent.
  • Reaffirms the previously approved 2021 through 2022 chub mackerel specifications.

For more information, read the final rule as filed today in the Federal Register and our bulletin.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rule for the 2021-2023 Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Specifications

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:

  • Maintain the 2020 specifications through 2022 for Atlantic mackerel, (19,184 mt ABC), through 2021 for Illex squid (30,000 mt ABC), through 2023 for longfin squid (23,400 mt ABC).
  • Reduce the butterfish allowable catch by 72 percent, from the current 22,752 mt to 6,350 mt in for the remainder of 2021. Allowable catch for butterfish in 2022 would increase to 11,495 mt. Given recent catch trends, this reduction is not expected to negatively impact the commercial fishing industry.
  • Maintain the 3,884 mt butterfish catch cap in the longfin squid fishery.
  • Implement 48-hour Illex reporting after July 15 for commercial dealers for the remainder of the fishing year (the current requirement is weekly reporting.).
  • Change the Illex closure threshold to 94 percent from 95 percent.
  • Reaffirm the previously approved 2021 through 2022 chub mackerel specifications.

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

Reminder: Requirements for the Limited Access Atlantic Mackerel Fishery

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

  • Submit weekly vessel trip reports (VTRs) for all permits.
  • Provide 48-hr pre-trip notification to retain more than 20,000 lb (9.07 mt) of mackerel.
  • Please call Sara Weeks at 508-642-6005 for a mackerel trip that will not be catching and retaining herring. For a trip that would be a herring or groundfish combination trip with mackerel, please notify NOAA Fisheries via PTNS at least 48 hours prior to beginning any trip to be considered for monitoring coverage.
    • Enter trips up to, but no more than, 10 days in advance.
    • Login with your vessel permit number and Fish Online PIN.
    • Call the Fish Online Help Desk at 978-281-9188 if you need a PIN.
    • Enter your fishery, trip type, sail date, port of departure, trip length, and gear type.
    • Call the PTNS Help Desk at 855-FISHES-1 if you need assistance or have questions.
  • Declare trips via VMS and submit daily catch reporting via VMS for limited access mackerel vessels
  • Provide 6-hr pre-landing notification via VMS to land over 20,000 lb (9.07 mt) of mackerel

NOAA Fisheries Implements Atlantic Chub Mackerel Measures

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.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Proposes Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Quotas for the 2020 Fishing Year

December 17, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The proposed action would:

  • Rollover the 2019 Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) level (29,184 mt) to 2020 for Atlantic mackerel;
  • Update the Atlantic mackerel recreational deduction to include updated catch accounting methodology from 1,209 mt to 1,270 mt for 2020 to help avoid an ABC overage;
  • Maintain the 129 mt river herring and shad catch cap and eliminate the initial 89-mt trigger provision that would close the fishery if 89 mt of river herring and shad were observed to be caught before 10,000 lb of mackerel has been caught; and
  • Maintain the previously approved 2020 specifications for Illex squid (26,000 mt ABC), longfin squid (23,400 mt ABC) and butterfish (32,063 mt ABC), including the 3,884 mt butterfish catch cap in the longfin squid fishery.

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.

Reminder: Longfin Squid Incidental Catch Permit Application

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.

Mackerel, small but economically important, hits ‘overfished’ list

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.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Mackerel fishery to be scaled back for rest of 2019

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

Council Approves Chub Mackerel Management Measures

March 11, 2019 — The following was published by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

At their meeting in Virginia Beach, VA last week, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved a suite of management measures for Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) in federal waters from Maine through North Carolina. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the Chub Mackerel Amendment will add chub mackerel to the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan.

The management measures approved by the Council include an annual total allowable landings limit of 4.50 million pounds, a 40,000 pound commercial possession limit when 90% of this limit is projected to be landed, and a 10,000 pound possession limit when 100% of this limit is projected to be landed. In addition, commercial fishermen will be required to have one of the existing federal commercial permits for longfin squid, Illex squid, Atlantic mackerel, or butterfish in order to retain any amounts of chub mackerel in federal waters from Maine through North Carolina. Fishermen who do not already have one of these permits can obtain one of the existing open access permits. Similarly, for-hire vessels will be required to have the mackerel, squid, butterfish party/charter permit in order to retain chub mackerel.

The Council developed these management measures to help ensure orderly growth and sustainability of the emerging chub mackerel fishery which recently developed in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England. In addition, Council management will help elevate the priority of data collection for this data-limited species. The Council has already taken steps to address an important data limitation by funding a study on the importance of chub mackerel in the diets of tunas, marlins, and other predators in the mid-Atlantic.

Questions? See http://www.mafmc.org/actions/chub-mackerel-amendment or contact Julia Beaty, Fishery Management Specialist, jbeaty@mafmc.org, (302)526-5250.

2019 River Herring and Shad Catch Cap Harvested for Atlantic Mackerel Vessels

March 11, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As of March 8, Atlantic mackerel vessels are projected to have harvested 95 percent of the 2019 river herring and shad catch cap.

Under the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan, once 95 percent of the river herring and shad catch cap is projected to be harvested, federal limited access Atlantic mackerel vessels are prohibited from fishing for or landing more than 20,000 lb of Atlantic mackerel per trip or landing more than once per calendar day for the remainder of the calendar year.

As of 00:01 local time on March 12, 2019, vessels issued federal Atlantic mackerel permits may not fish for, possess, transfer, receive, land, or sell more than 20,000 lb of mackerel per trip or calendar day through December 31, 2019.

Vessels that have entered port before 00:01 local time on March 12, 2019 may land and sell more than 20,000 lb of mackerel from that trip.

Read the rule as filed this afternoon in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin on our website.