Saving Seafood

PFMC: Groundfish Management Team to hold online meeting February 17, 2021

January 6, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will convene a webinar meeting of its Groundfish Management Team to discuss items on the Pacific Council’s March 2021 meeting agenda. This meeting is open to the public. The online meeting will be held Wednesday, February 17, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST). The scheduled ending time for this GMT meeting is an estimate, the meeting will adjourn when business for the day is completed.

Please see the meeting notice on the Council’s website for details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Todd Phillips at 503-820-2426;  toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Emergency Rule to Increase Carryover for NE Groundfish – Effective 12/31

December 30, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is announcing a temporary rule for an emergency action that increases the maximum level of Annual Catch Entitlement allowed to be carried over in the Northeast groundfish fishery from fishing year 2019 into fishing year 2020.

On July 2, 2020, the New England Fishery Management Council requested that NOAA Fisheries implement an emergency action to mitigate significant adverse economic impacts to the groundfish fishery caused by the state health and travel restrictions, and market disruptions at the end of fishing year 2019.

This action, which is effective tomorrow (December 31, 2020), increases the maximum carryover of fishing year 2019 sector Annual Catch Entitlement for Gulf of Maine haddock, Georges Bank haddock, and American plaice. The action also allows for unused leased-in Days-At-Sea to be carried over from fishing year 2019 into fishing year 2020 by common pool vessels.

For more details, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register, and our permit holder bulletin.

Read the full release here

NEFMC December 2020 Meeting Highlights – EBFM, Habitat, SBRM, Whiting, and More

December 22, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council met December 1-3, 2020 by webinar and covered a wide range of issues. In addition to its actions on scallops, groundfish, and skates, here are a few highlights.

EBFM: The Council reviewed the history of its work on ecosystem-based fishery management (EBFM) and thoroughly debated its next steps. Following this discussion, the Council voted to keep EBFM on its 2021 list of priorities and to:

  • Maintain its current approach toward EBFM; and
  • Conduct educational workshops to solicit stakeholder comments, recognizing that the workshops will not be scheduled until in-person gatherings can be held. These workshops will focus on the potential application of EBFM to a Georges Bank Ecosystem Production Unit. The Council has been referring to this as an example Fishery Management Plan for Georges Bank (eFEP).

Read the full release here

Fall Gulf of Maine Bottom Longline Survey Wraps Up

December 14, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The COVID-19 pandemic and typical fall weather conditions were challenges, but the Cooperative Gulf of Maine Bottom Longline Survey team and industry partners wrapped up a successful season in early November.

“Every single person on the bottom longline survey team worked incredibly hard to get the survey completed this fall,” said Anna Mercer, chief of the Cooperative Research Branch. “From building new software to installing new camera systems, from repeated COVID-19 testing to careful quarantining, from new work flows to new hardware, it was a true team effort.”

The survey targets groundfish at 45 stations across the Gulf of Maine using tub-trawl bottom longline gear. The survey plan focuses on rocky bottom habitat, where fish are difficult to sample with trawl gear.

Read the full release here

NEFMC Approves Most of Groundfish Framework 61; Final Vote on Redfish Universal Sector Exemption Slated for January

December 10, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its December 1-3, 2020 webinar meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council took final action on new groundfish catch limits and other measures as part of Framework Adjustment 61 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The measures will apply to the 2021 fishing year and beyond. One additional provision is still under consideration – a possible universal exemption for groundfish sectors that would make it easier for fishermen to catch redfish. The Council will make a final determination on the proposed exemption during its January 26-28, 2021 webinar meeting and then vote to submit the framework to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) for review and implementation.

Framework 61 includes:

  • Updated status determination criteria for Georges Bank winter flounder and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder to reflect results from the 2020 Management Track Stock Assessments, which were recently conducted for 13 large- and smallmesh Northeast multispecies stocks and Atlantic sea scallops;
  • A revised rebuilding strategy for white hake, which has an 87.4% probability of rebuilding the stock to its maximum sustainable yield within 10 years;

Read the full release here

PFMC: Ad Hoc Groundfish Electronic Monitoring Policy Advisory Committee and Technical Advisory Committee to meet January 20-21, 2021

December 8, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Groundfish Electronic Monitoring Policy Advisory Committee and Technical Advisory Committee (Committees) will hold three online meetings, which are open to the public.  The meetings will be held Wednesday, January 20, 2021 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Thursday, January 21, 2021 (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.) and Thursday, February 25, 2021 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Pacific Standard Time, or until business for each day is completed.

Please see the Ad Hoc Electronic Monitoring committees online meeting notice on the Council’s website for purpose and participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff Brett Wiedoff at 503-820-2424; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

PFMC: Groundfish Management Team to hold online work session January 11-15, 2021

December 3, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will hold a week-long work session that is open to the public.  The GMT meeting will be held Monday, January 11 through Friday, January 15, 2021 from 9 a.m., Pacific Standard Time, until business for each day has been completed

Please see the meeting notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Todd Phillips at 503-820-2426; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

MAINE: Portland nears a plan to face changing climate, rising sea level

November 11, 2020 — It’s not just the rising temperatures that should have Mainers concerned, according to experts. Kathy Mills, a scientist with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, last week said there are major concerns for local wildlife and the economy that depends on it.

“What we’re looking at is trying to understand how species shift on the east coast,” said Mills, who specializes in ecosystem changes and how New England fisheries are impacted by climate change.

For Portland, she said, there’s “not great news” ahead in terms of the impacts climate change will have.

“Portland is dependent on lobstering and groundfish fisheries,” Mills said, “and for those species as weather warms, we expect to see declines.”

Groundfish, which includes species like cod and haddock, are expected to decline as a local economic staple, she said. Mills said this doesn’t mean the fish are necessarily in danger of dying out, but rather are being forced into deeper, colder waters, where local fishermen are likely not going to follow.

Likewise, she said GMRI expects the lobster industry to see up to a 30 percent decline in the coming years as waters continue to warm. Herring, another staple of the fishing economy, is also expected to enter a decline.

“These are not necessarily declines in the stock overall, but in the fishing footprint,” Mills said.

But while the traditional fishing staples may disappear, Mills said the warming waters may result in fish not typically seen in Maine coming up the coast from the south. For example, she said they expect to see more Atlantic mackerel, sea scallops, summer flounder, black sea bass, and squid now found in the mid-Atlantic region.

“So there is an opportunity for other commercially valuable species,” Mills said.

She said fishermen here are already seeing black sea bass and squid, and they are expected to become more abundant in the coming years.

“Another species I was surprised to see is the striped bass,” Mills said. “This is a really popular recreational species, so will that become more prominent for the needs on the waterfront?”

Part of GMRI’s role, she said, is to provide information about what species will be relevant to fisheries in the area, and what the needs of local waterfronts might be. For example, she said, perhaps Portland should brace for fewer lobster traps and counter that with more midwater trawl nets.

Read the full story at the Portland Phoenix

NOAA Fisheries to Require Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting for Commercial and For-Hire Vessels

November 9, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective November 10, 2021

NOAA Fisheries is approving a recommendation from both the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils to require federally permitted commercial fishing vessels to submit vessel trip reports electronically within 48 hours of the end of a trip.

Upon request of the New England Council, we are also extending this requirement to vessels issued for-hire (charter/party) permits for New England Council-managed fisheries (i.e., Northeast multispecies). Vessels issued a Mid-Atlantic Council for-hire permit have been required to submit vessel trip reports electronically since March 2018. Note, reporting requirements for vessels issued only a federal lobster permit are being addressed in a separate rulemaking and this action does not affect those vessels.

The effective date of this action is being delayed for 1 year, until November 10, 2021, to allow ample time for training on the various electronic reporting applications and to allow vessel owners and operators the time to find the appropriate application for their operations. Information on eVTR applications is available on our website.  Additional information on training opportunities can be found on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s website.

For more details, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register or the bulletin.

NEFMC November 2020 Meeting Lineup – Groundfish, Scallops, Whiting, Habitat, and More

October 30, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled several advisory panel and committee meetings throughout November to address actions related to groundfish, Atlantic sea scallops, whiting, habitat, and more. Webinar registration links and related documents are – or soon will be – posted on each of the respective meeting webpages. Here’s the lineup.

GROUNDFISH ROUND 1 – Wednesday, November 4: The Council’s Groundfish Advisory Panel (GAP) and Groundfish Committee will meet back-to-back to continue work on Framework Adjustment 61 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The GAP will meet from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and the Groundfish Committee will meet beginning at 12:45 p.m. Here is the joint meeting notice.

GROUNDFISH ROUND 2 – Monday, November 30: The GAP and Groundfish Committee will meet back-to-back once again to continue work on groundfish issues in preparation for the December 1-3, 2020 meeting of the full New England Council. More information will be posted shortly on the Council’s website.

Read the full release here