Saving Seafood

Reminder: Gulf of Maine Cod Protection Closures

May 26, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Gulf of Maine (GOM) Cod Protection Closures, sometimes referred to as “rolling closures,” remain in place. There are five of these seasonal closures, which are active during different times of the year.

Closed to All Common Pool and Sector vessels

  • GOM Cod Protection Closure I: May 1 through May 31
  • GOM Cod Protection Closure II: June 1 through June 30
  • GOM Cod Protection Closure III: November 1 through January 31

Closed to Common Pool vessels, except Handgear A vessels

  • GOM Cod Protection Closure IV: October 1 through October 31
  • GOM Cod Protection Closure V: March 1 through March 31

Each of these areas are closed to Common Pool and/or Sector vessels on a groundfish trip.

Maps and coordinates for each GOM Cod Protection Area are available on the Northeast Multispecies Closed Area Regulations webpage.

NOAA Fisheries Announces Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area

May 22, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is closing the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to all federally permitted limited access general category scallop vessels effective 0001 hr, on May 23, 2020.

As of May 23, 2020, no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area. The scallop regulations require that we close this area once we project that 100 percent of the 2020 default total allowable catch for this area will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year, March 31, 2021.

If you have declared a trip into the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code and have crossed the VMS demarcation line before 0001 hr, May 23, 2020, you may complete the trip and retain and land scallops caught from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.

Read the full release here

Reminder: Herring Midwater Trawl Vessels May Not Fish in Groundfish Closed Areas Without a NOAA Fisheries-Certified Observer Onboard

May 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is temporarily waiving the requirement for all vessels with Greater Atlantic Region fishing permits to carry a fishery observer or at-sea monitor. The waiver is currently in effect through May 16, 2020, and future extensions of this waiver will be evaluated weekly.

Herring midwater trawl vessels may not fish in Groundfish Closed Areas while this waiver is in effect. Groundfish Closed Areas include Cashes Ledge Closure Area, Western Gulf of Maine Closure Area, Closed Area I North (February 1 – April 15), and Closed Area II. Midwater trawl vessels issued Atlantic herring permits are required to carry a NOAA Fisheries-certified observer onboard as a condition of fishing in a Groundfish Closed Area. Therefore, a herring midwater trawl vessel not carrying an observer onboard may not fish in a Groundfish Closed Area.

NEFMC Approves Scallop Amendment 21 Range of Alternatives; Requests Emergency Action

April 22, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) confirmed on Monday that they have approved a range of alternatives in Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan.

The vision of Amendment 21 is a “fleet made up of relatively small vessels, with possession limits to maintain the historical character of this fleet and provide opportunities to various participants, including vessels from smaller coastal communities.” The Council said that they have approved a range of alternatives that will be further analyzed for consideration in Amendment 21. This includes Northern Gulf of Maine management area issues; the limited access general category (LAGC) individual fishing quota (IQF) trip limit; and the potential one-way transfer of IQF from limited access vessels that hold IQF to LAGC IFQ-only vessels. Preferred alternatives will be selected during the Council’s June meeting.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Scallops: NEFMC Approves A21 Range of Alternatives; Requests Emergency Action Due to COVID-19

April 20, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council covered several important scallop-related issues during its April 14-15, 2020 meeting, which was held by webinar. Current COVID-19 restrictions on travel and public gatherings prevented the Council from meeting in person. Here’s a recap of the scallop highlights.

Amendment 21: The Council approved the range of alternatives that will be further analyzed for consideration in Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. This amendment is being developed to address:

  1. Northern Gulf of Maine Management Area issues;
  2. The limited access general category (LAGC) individual fishing quota (IFQ) trip limit; and
  3. The potential one-way transfer of IFQ from limited access vessels that hold IFQ to LAGC IFQ-only vessels.

Read the full release here

Fishermen seek delay in Gulf of Maine offshore wind planning

April 16, 2020 — Gulf of Maine fishermen this week asked three New England governors and federal officials for a six-month delay in planning for offshore wind energy development in those waters, as the seafood industry grapples with the upheaval of coronavirus.

In deeper waters of the gulf, wind power will be achieved only with the use of floating turbines. The extensive anchoring and cabling that would be required means “lease areas will become de facto closures to fishing,” the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance wrote in an April 14 letter the governors of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

“Technology is evolving to minimize the footprint of the base of an offshore wind platform, but current proposed technologies still have mooring lines and flexible cabling that will make any type of fishing – fixed or mobile gear – incredibly unlikely within a wind energy area.” According to the alliance, a coalition of fishermen, coastal communities and related businesses.

Meanwhile, “the fishing industry has been hit especially hard by the pandemic, forcing the commercial fishing sector to divert time and effort to addressing the current crisis, and leaving insufficient opportunities for engagement in offshore wind siting and other planning,” the alliance said in a news release accompanying the letter. “A six-month pause would not only demonstrate good faith to the fishing industry, but also allow for additional research on offshore wind’s impact on marine ecosystems and better data sharing that will benefit offshore development moving forward.”

Read the full story at WorkBoat

RODA request pause in offshore wind development amid COVID-19 pandemic

April 15, 2020 — The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance – a lobbying group formed in January 2018 to represent the East Coast fishing industry in discussions over offshore wind energy development – has called for all a six-month pause in the regulatory process pertaining to offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The call for a delay came via a letter sent to governors of New England states, including Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Janet Mills of Maine, and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire. The letter was also sent to Walter Cruickshank, the acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The letter sites the importance of public participation in regulatory decisions, which is hampered by measures many states are taking to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Ocean Portal Could Be a Boon to Fishermen

April 14, 2020 — After looking at the Northeast Ocean Data Portal, a major energy company wanted to propose a wind farm in the Gulf of Maine in an area where they saw no documented fishing activity.

The Portal pulls together huge amounts of information on every conceivable ocean use, from cultural resources to marine transportation to fishing activity. The fishing data is robust and includes information from dockside reports and vessel tracking systems.

But then they called Annie Hawkins, executive director of Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, RODA. She suspected the area was hugely important to the lobster industry and was certainly used — a lot.

Current regulations don’t require lobstermen to have vessel tracking systems. Where they fish isn’t plugged into any standardized data collection, so it doesn’t show up on the Portal.

“That could have gone in the very wrong direction,” Hawkins said.

She is quick to add the portal does show an incredible amount, and has been useful in a number of instances.

But there are big gaps. When the portal was first being set up a decade or so ago, it was part of a larger “ocean planning” process from which many fishermen felt excluded, said Hawkins. That led to fishermen not providing insight, and a lot of relevant information wasn’t included.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Area 1A Days Out Meeting Scheduled for May 12

April 9, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Atlantic Herring Management Board members from the states of Maine, New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will meet on May 12, 2020 from 10 a.m. to Noon, to discuss days out measures for the 2020 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishing season. Days out measures can include specification of the number of consecutive landings days, weekly landings limits, and restrictions on at-sea transfers. This meeting will be held via webinar and conference call. The call and the webinar information are included below:

Atlantic Herring Days Out Meeting
May 12, 2020
10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Webinar link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6623839982257804812
Phone: 1-888-585-9008 followed by the Conference Room: 853-657-937

Federally-permitted Herring Category A vessels must declare into the Area 1A fishery at least 45 days prior to the start of the fishing season. Small-mesh bottom trawl vessels with a federal Herring Category C or D permit must declare into the Area 1A fishery by June 1, 2020. States will send additional correspondence regarding the notification procedure.

The 2020 Area 1A allowable catch limit (ACL) is 3,344 metric tons. In October 2019, the Board established the following allocations for the 2020 Area 1A ACL: 72.8% available from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% available from October 1 – December 31. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per day harvested from Area 1A until June 1, 2020.

Please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0723 or krootes-murdy@asmfc.org for more information.

The attached announcement can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/AtlHerring_DaysOutMtgMemo_May2020.pdf and the draft agenda is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/AtlHerringDaysOutAgenda_May2020.pdf.