December 4, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government is closing the public comment period on a plan to change the way it manages ocean habitat off of New England.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is looking to change the way it manages the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and southern New England waters. The three areas are critical for commercial fishing operations and marine animals such as whales and dolphins.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Haven Register
November 29, 2017 — The US’s National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) has released a proposal that could mean dramatic changes for the way fishing is managed off the coasts of the New England states, the Associated Press reports.
The proposed “Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment” from NMFS, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, would address the way such species as scallops and haddock are harvested in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and other areas, and how rare whales are protected.
Read the full story at Undercurrent News
November 24, 2017 — The federal government is close to enacting new rules about New England ocean habitat that could mean dramatic changes for the way it manages the marine environment and fisheries.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has been working on the rules for some 13 years and recently made them public. They would change the way the government manages the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and southern New England waters, which are critical pieces of ocean for rare whales, unique underwater canyons and commercial fishermen.
The new rules would affect the way highly valuable species such as scallops and haddock are harvested, in part because it would alter protections that prohibit fishing for species in parts of the ocean. The proposal states that its goal is to minimize “adverse effects of fishing on essential fish habitat.”
Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News
November 10, 2017 — There is $300 million worth of mature scallops in waters off the Cape that virtually everyone agrees should be harvested. But that potential economic boon to local fishermen may never materialize.
“Before long, they are just going to die,” said Beau Gribbin, a Provincetown scalloper, explaining that the shellfish only live for about 10 years.
Gribbin was in Washington, D.C. last month working to make sure that doesn’t happen. He joined fellow scalloper Tom Reilly from Chatham, and staff from the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, advocating for approval of the so-called Omnibus Habitat Amendment.
The amendment would open up several areas that have been closed to scallopers, including Area 1, part of George’s Bank, and the nearby Nantucket Lighship area, while also creating stronger protections for other crucial areas where groundfish spawn. (These areas were closed in 1994 to protect essential fish habitat.)
He said his arguments were well received on Capitol Hill, but it is still unclear what will happen. Gribbin is already worrying about the unpalatable alternative of having to travel down South next season to make sure his business remains solvent.
In years past, he and many of the two dozen or so scallop captains across the Cape have worked out of Delaware and Maryland to make their quotas. Scallopers have invested greatly in the fishery; they own quota and not using it would mean payments lost and increasing debt.
Read the full story at the Harwich Wicked Local
November 6, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
We are seeking public comment on an action that would:
Read the proposed rule and supplemental documents as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. You may also submit comments through regular mail to: John Bullard, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
The comment period is open through December 5.
To learn more about NOAA visit their site here.
October 6, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Today, we published a Notice of Availability for the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2.
We are seeking public comment on an action that would:
Read the Notice as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. You may also submit comments through regular mail to: John Bullard, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
The comment period is open through December 5, 2017.
October 2, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
During its late-September meeting in Gloucester, MA, the New England Fishery Management Council received a comprehensive overview of the “very successful” 2017 scallop survey season. The Council then reviewed the range of measures under development for Framework Adjustment 29 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. These measures, once fully developed and approved, will apply to the 2018 scallop fishing year, which will begin on April 1 instead of March 1 as in previous years.
Five separate groups contributed to the 2017 scallop surveys:
Read the full release at the New England Fishery Management Council
September 29, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — American fishermen may soon have less access to haddock and slightly more access to cod in a key fishing area, following an agreement between U.S. fishing regulators and Canada.
The U.S. shares the total allowable catch for eastern Georges Bank cod and haddock with Canada. The bank is a piece of ocean located east of New England and south of Nova Scotia.
The New England Fishery Management Council accepted a 2018 catch share plan on Wednesday.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Herald
September 28, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council today accepted 2018 total allowable catches (TACs) for three groundfish stocks on Georges Bank (GB) that the U.S. shares with Canada – Eastern GB cod, Eastern GB haddock, and GB yellowtail flounder. The TACs were recommended by the U.S./Canada Transboundary Management Guidance Committee (TMGC) based on advice from the U.S./Canada Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC). The U.S. has members on both the TMGC and the TRAC.
The TACs will be included in Framework Adjustment 57 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, which is still under development. The National Marine Fisheries Service must approve the TACs before they are implemented.
Proposed Fishing Year 2018 U.S./Canada TACs in Metric Tons (mt)
|
Eastern GB Cod |
Eastern GB Haddock |
GB Yellowtail Flounder |
|
|
Total Shared TAC |
951 |
40,000 |
300 |
|
U.S. TAC |
257 |
15,600 |
213 |
|
Canada TAC |
694 |
24,400 |
87 |
The allocation shares for 2018 are based on the following formula: historical catches weighted 10%; and resource distribution based on trawl surveys weighted 90%.
The TACs reflect the following changes from 2017 levels for U.S. quotas:
Read the full release at the New England Fishery Management Council
September 22, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The annual NEFSC Fall Bottom Trawl Survey will be conducted on the NOAA Ship Pisces, which is a fishery survey research vessel similar to the Bigelow. Only Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine will be surveyed. The two most southerly areas, the Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England have been dropped.
If all goes smoothly in preparing the Pisces to support the survey, October 16 is the target start date carrying on through November 20.
Fishing gear will be moved from the Bigelow onto the Pisces, and some devices will be installed for monitoring trawl performance while the gear is fishing. Supplies and equipment needed for the survey are already aboard the Bigelow, and will be transferred to the Pisces. The modifications to Pisces are underway.
In a typical year, the Fall Bottom Trawl Survey occupies an average of 377 stations across the Northeast Continental Shelf from the Cape Hatteras to the northern Gulf of Maine in four segments, or legs. Each leg covers a different area beginning in the south and ending in the north.
The number of stations in the Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine survey areas will be similar to past years. Fewer data will be collected at each station because Pisces has less fish handling capacity than the Bigelow. However, samples critical for stock assessments will be collected, including lengths, weights, and hard parts used for aging fish (usually scales and ear bones). Two other NEFSC research cruises planned for this fall were also delayed by the Bigelow repair, and will be conducted on other ships.
The first leg of the Fall Ecosystem Monitoring cruise has been moved to the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter, an oceanographic research vessel. This cruise collects oceanographic data and plankton samples and has been conducted from the Gunter in the past. There is no firm plan for Leg 2 of this cruise, but the Bigelow is an option if it is ready as scheduled. A beaked whale sighting survey was moved onto a chartered vessel, the R/V Sharp, operated by the University of Delaware, and has been completed with fewer objectives than originally planned.
Meanwhile, repairs continue on schedule for the NOAA Ship Henry Bigelow. The ship is expected back in service in early November 2017.
Read this update on the Northeast Fisheries Science Center website.