August 17, 2015 — The following is an opinion piece written by David Frulla and Anne Hawkins, of the Fisheries Survival Fund, which appears in the September 2015 issue of National Fisherman magazine: Old closed areas, like old attitudes, die hard. After 10 years’ work, the New England Fishery Management Council took final votes in June on Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2, addressing essential fish habitat protection in the Gulf of Maine, on Georges Bank and in the Great South Channel. One last major vote involved Georges Bank. Discussions had proceeded for months about how to work within the existing alternatives to refine a carefully drawn area that closed three areas for habitat protection. The council’s choice for Georges came down to two options: doing nothing or a new alternative based on more than a decade of new scientific data and analyses. Ultimately, the council chose progress. The argument to do nothing was driven by a false choice that has gained attention as rhetoric began to outpace the facts contained in council decision documents. For two-plus years, environmental NGOs have made the false argument that more than 7,000 square miles of allegedly pristine habitat on Georges Bank will be .thrown open to mobile bottomtending gear, to be replaced by only 2,000 square miles of habitat protections. Lost in the blizzard of misinformation is the fact that the habitat amendment subjects more area on Georges Bank to habitat management than “no action.” And now, a warning: We’ll mire you in some details. Sound bites are easy. It’s harder to explain change involving complex analyses and choices. The history: In December 1994, NMFS closed 6,711 square miles of Georges Bank, via the emergency enactment of Closed Areas I and II. The closure’s focus was reducing fishing mortality on cod, yellowtail and haddock to aid rebuilding. Then, in 2006, Scallop Amendment 10 and Groundfish Amendment 13 designated 1,965 square miles within the two closed areas as closures to protect habitat. The council needed to close areas to protect habitat on Georges and it decided to work within the existing groundfish closures rather than closing additional areas. The areas designated as habitat closures have remained permanently closed, while much of the remaining 4,746 square miles (6,711 minus 1, 965) have been used as scallop and/ or groundfish special access areas, among other things. The changes: In contrast to the 1,965 square miles on Georges Bank specifically managed for habitat now under “no action,” the habitat amendment would specifically manage approximately 2,470 square miles for habitat: about two-thirds of the existing Habitat Area of Particular Concern in Closed Area II, plus some area outside it; a new Georges Shoals area, to the west, currently open to fishing; and a dedicated habitat research area within existing Closed Area I. Almost all these 2,470 square miles will be closed. Less than 10 percent would be open to scallop access area fishing, and about half that to limited groundfishing. In addition, the habitat amendment closed for habitat approximately 1, 700 additional square miles in the Great South Channel. Most is within a new habitat of concern for juvenile Georges Bank cod. This would replace a somewhat larger closure within the Nantucket Lightship Closed Area. Virtually none of the existing area habitat closure is habitat of concern for juvenile Georges Bank cod, or anything. When viewed across the entire Georges Bank cod stock area (Georges Bank and the Great South Channel), the habitat amendment would include roughly 4, 170 square miles for habitat management (totally closing more than 90 percent of it) versus 4,050 square miles for “no action,” and it includes far more habitat of concern for juvenile Georges Bank cod than “no action.” The habitat amendment also closes more areas that peer-reviewed analyses identify as vulnerable gravel and cobble substrate. What of the rest of the “lost” Georges Bank and Great South Channel groundfish closures? The remaining areas include: current access areas, such as the scallop and groundfish special access areas in southern Closed Area II and central Closed Area I, and portions of the closed areas that the habitat amendment’s peer-reviewed metrics show have little to no habitat value whatsoever. The amendment does not, moreover, open these areas without restriction, but rather imposes approximately 5,500 square miles of seasonal spawning closures. Protecting spawning is the remaining conservation consideration now that quotas control groundfish fishing mortality. The result: More, not less. Altogether, approximately 7,764 square miles of the Georges Bank cod stock area on Georges and in the Great South Channel will either be managed as-a habitat area or seasonal spawning closure. Moreover, the council designed these areas using peer-reviewed models, rather than 2006’s dead reckoning approach limited to existing groundfish closed areas. In total, across Georges Bank, the Great South Channel and the Gulf of Maine, the habitat amendment would close more area for habitat than is currently closed. As the late Paul Harvey might say, ‘.’That’s the rest of the story.” View a PDF of the opinion piece from National Fisherman magazine here
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Lobster Catch Up In Maine, Down In Southern New England
August 7, 2015 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has released a preliminary assessment of the U.S. Atlantic coast lobster stock, and it presents a mixed picture. The Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank has seen a record high abundance of lobster, while Southern New England’s stock has diminished, due in part to rising water temperatures, a report indicates.
“The Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank stock is not overfished and not experiencing overfishing,” according to a panel assessment representing the Commission, in an Aug. 5 news release. “The Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank were previously assessed as separate stock units and are now combined into one stock unit due to evidence of seasonal migratory patterns and connectivity between the two areas. Conversely, the Southern New England stock is severely depleted with poor prospects of recovery, necessitating protection.”
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is an interstate compact, working with the federal government. The Commission was established in 1942 to sustain healthy fisheries along the U.S. coastline.
Read the full story at Penobscot Bay Pilot
NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Revision of Maine State Waters Scallop Exemption Program
August 5, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Today, NOAA Fisheries announces a proposed rule that would allow vessels with both Maine commercial licenses and Federal Northern Gulf of Maine scallop permits to continue fishing in Maine’s state waters once the Federal total allowable catch in this area is harvested.
Maine requested this exemption as part of the Scallop State Water Exemption Program, which allows Federal permit holders to fish in the state waters scallop fishery on a more equitable basis where Federal and state laws are inconsistent.
The Program specifies that a state with a scallop fishery may be eligible for state waters exemptions from specific regulations if it has a scallop conservation program that does not jeopardize the objectives of the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP.
We have determined that Maine qualifies for this exemption, and that allowing this exemption would have no impact on the effectiveness of Federal management measures for the scallop fishery overall in this area.
Maine requested this exemption only for Northern Gulf of Maine permit holders. Limited access, individual fishing quota, and incidental scallop vessels would still be required to stop fishing for scallops in state waters of the Northern Gulf of Maine if the Federal catch allocation is reached.
Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, which is open for public comment through September 4.
Submit your comments online through Regulations.gov or by mail to:
John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator
NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Office
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930
Please mark the outside of the envelope: Comments on Atlantic Sea Scallop Proposed Rule.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175 or Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.
Gulf of Maine Research Institute Releases Information About FishTank Workshop
July 27, 2015 — The following was released by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute:
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute will be facilitating a FishTank Workshop entitled “Taking Stock: A Workshop to Collaboratively Improve Assessments”, taking place on November 9 & 10, 2015 at the Radisson Hotel Plymouth Harbor, 180 Water Street, Plymouth, MA 02360.
Registration starts, August 1 and can be done on-line at http://www.gmri.org/fisheries-convening/fish-tank/register
A little background:
The most recent Fish Tank series (http://www.gmri.org/fisheries-convening/fish-tank/meeting-materials) brought together commercial and recreational fishermen, scientists, and policy representatives from across the region to spark productive conversations and brainstorm ideas to improve the increasingly complex stock assessment process and data streams feeding into the assessment. The goals of these sessions included:
· identifying potential data gaps in the Gulf of Maine cod stock assessment,
· formulating industry-led research questions to address data gaps through collaborative research or the use of fishery-dependent data,
· sharing ideas with NOAA Fisheries on improving communications around stock assessments.
From these meetings, it is our intent through this workshop to develop plans to take action on industry recommendations, discuss how data from research projects can be integrated into the stock assessment process, and determine best approaches to obtain funding for project ideas. We also hope to have panel sessions to showcase other initiatives in the region around improving stock assessments, as well as results from relevant collaborative research projects in the region that may inform stock assessments.
MASSACHUSETTS: School district signs up for local seafood
July 14, 2015 — CHICOPEE, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts public school system is the first school district to sign on to a Maine science institute’s seafood certification system.
A spokesman for Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, Maine, announced the partnership with the Chicopee district on Tuesday. The institute says the agreement means the district’s 7,800 students will be able to eat seafood that is responsibly harvested and traceable to the Gulf of Maine.
Chicopee sustainability coordinator Madison Walker says the move supports the region’s food economy. She says it will also help teach students about the fishing industry and marine ecosystems.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Herald
UMASS’ SMAST SHARES A $335,000 GRANT FROM SCIENTIFIC CONSORTIUM
July 10, 2015 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Fishermen will be directly involved in a research project announced by the Northeast Consortium, a University of New Hampshire-based organization that fosters collaborative research.
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology will share a $335,000 contract to support research into the spawning habits of cod on Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine.
The work is under contract from the New England Fishery Management Council, which in recent years has driven the decisions to virtually shut down the cod fishing in those areas.
The research at SMAST will include data from interviews with current or retired fishermen who fish for cod on Georges Bank.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times
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