Monkfish Fishery Management Plan Archives

Monkfish: Council Initiates Framework 13 with Fishing Year 2023-2025 Specifications and Other Management Measures

April 15, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council initiated Framework Adjustment 13 to the federal Monkfish Fishery Management Plan when it met April 12-14, 2022 in Mystic, Connecticut. This was a hybrid meeting with both in-person and remote participation by webinar.

Framework 13 will include specifications for the 2023-2025 monkfish fishing years and consider the development of alternatives for:

Revising days-at-sea allocations and possession limits, including the incidental possession limit
Management measures to reduce monkfish discards in the Southern Fishery Management Area
Requiring 12” mesh for monkfish gillnets; and
Requiring vessel monitoring systems (VMSs) across the monkfish fishery.

Gillnet usage is more prevalent in the southern management area. In the north, monkfish tends to be caught more often in trawl gear.

Read the full release from the New England Fishery Management Council

NEFMC Adopts Monkfish RSA Priorities; Shelves Amendment 6

June 20, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council today approved 2018-2019 priorities for the Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. The seven categories of priorities are equally ranked and cover:

Research on monkfish life history, focusing on: (a) age and growth; (b) longevity; (c) reproduction; and (d) natural mortality;
Studies related to: (a) stock structure and stock identification; and (b) implications for stock assessment and fisheries management;
Migration patterns focusing on: (a) short- and long-term movements with respect to management areas and off-shelf movements; and (b) habitat use;
Research concerning trophic interactions of monkfish with other species;
Cooperative research surveys to supplement current survey coverage;
Research concerning bycatch and discard mortality focusing on: (a) target species, including monkfish and groundfish; and (b) non-target species, including non-marketable monkfish or skates; and

Trawl and gillnet gear studies focusing on: (a) size and/or species selectivity; and (b) bycatch reduction, including reducing bycatch of and interactions with protected species. In late July or August, NOAA Fisheries will issue a notice soliciting research proposals from interested applicants. More information is available at https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/coopresearch/rsa_program.html.

Monkfish Amendment 6 “Shelved”

The Council also voted to “permanently shelve” Amendment 6 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan. The original purpose of Amendment 6 was to “consider one or more catch share management approaches for the monkfish fishery, including, but not limited to, individual fishing quotas (IFQs), sectors, and/or community quotas.”

Given the lack of consensus and limited support among industry members for pursuing some – or even any – of these approaches, the joint New England/Mid-Atlantic Monkfish Committee voted to “shelve Amendment 6 permanently.” The Mid-Atlantic Council concurred during its June 6-8 meeting in Norfolk, VA, and the New England Council followed suit during its June 20-22 meeting in Portland. Next, the Monkfish Plan Development Team will summarize state regulations and state waters landings for the Monkfish Committee to review. For more information, visit the Council’s monkfish website page at http://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/monkfish.

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Monkfish Management Measures

May 9, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries is requesting comments on a proposed rule to implement Framework Adjustment 10 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan. This action proposes to increase monkfish quotas for the next three fishing years.

The measures would increase quota in the Northern Fishery Management Area by 8.27% and would increase the incidental landing limits for vessels fishing on a groundfish Day-at-Sea:

Category C: from 600 to 900 lb tail weight/DAS
Category D: from 500 to 750 lb tail weight/DAS.

For the Southern Fishery Management Area, quota would increase by 0.96%, and the DAS allocation and trip limits would increase by 15 percent. Monkfish permitted vessels could fish in the SFMA for 37 DAS, up from 32. Trip limits would also increase:

Category A and C: from 610 to 700 lb tail weight/DAS
Category B and D: from 500 to 575 lb tail weight/DAS

These proposed management measures are designed to increase monkfish landings, provide operational flexibility, and increase economic efficiency.

To get all the details on these proposed management measures, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register today and the background documentsposted on our website.

We are accepting comments through May 24.

Please submit comments either through the online e-rulemaking portal or by mailing your comments to:

John Bullard, 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 Monkfish Framework 10.”

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov

Monkfish Permit Holders: No Changes to Monkfish Posession Limits for Now

May 4, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We would like to remind monkfish permit holders that there have not been any changes to the monkfish possession limits for 2017.

We have not yet published a proposed rule soliciting public comment on Framework Adjustment 10 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan. If approved, Framework 10 would increase several possession limits.

We anticipate the proposed rule will be filing soon, and will announce when the proposed and final rules are published.

New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee to Continue Working on Three-Year Monkfish Specs

September 22, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council today initiated a framework adjustment to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan to develop 2017-2019 fishing year specifications for both the Northern and Southern Fishery Management Areas. The Monkfish Committee will continue to work this fall on specifications and any other needed measures for the fishery. The Monkfish Plan Development Team (PDT) will conduct the necessary days-at-sea and trip limit analyses. The Council is scheduled to approve the framework with final specifications during its Nov. 15-17 meeting in Newport, Rhode Island.

The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) has recommended “status quo” area-specific acceptable biological catches (ABCs) and overfishing limits (OFLs) for 2017-2019 as follows in metric tons (mt):

Northern Area ABC – 7,592 mt
Northern Area OFL – 17,805 mt
Southern Area ABC – 12,316 mt
Southern Area OFL – 23,204 mt

The SSC reviewed the new 2016 index- based operational stock assessment for monkfish before making these recommendations, which followed PDT advice.

The full range of specifications will include area-based caps on total allowable landings (TALs), days-at-sea allocations, and trip limits.

Under current monkfish regulations, the northern and southern ABCs are reduced by 13.5% and 6.5% respectively to account for “management uncertainty.” The PDT will analyze a lower deduction of 3% in both areas since TALs have not been reached in recent years. The Council is striving to maximize fishing opportunities in both areas while simultaneously providing adequate stock protection.

On a related note, Northeast Fisheries Science Center surveys – namely the scallop survey and fall bottom trawl survey – signaled “an above average recruitment event” in 2015 for monkfish. While the news is welcoming, the SSC cautioned that it was “unclear as to whether this large recruitment event would transfer into the fishable population.”

The Monkfish PDT will closely monitor the progress of the 2015 recruitment event and report back to the Monkfish Committee and Council when additional information is available.

The Council’s Monkfish Advisory Panel will meet Oct. 12 and the Monkfish Committee will meet Oct. 18 to continue discussing the framework. Meeting details will be announced in the near future.

See the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Management Measures for the Monkfish Fishery

June 23, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries is requesting comments on a proposed rule to implement Framework Adjustment 9 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan.

We are proposing to:

Allow certain monkfish vessels enrolled in a Northeast multispecies sector to declare a groundfish day-at-sea while at sea;
Eliminate monkfish possession limits for some vessels fishing in the Northern Fishery Management Area; and
Allow vessels to use smaller mesh gillnets to target dogfish and monkfish in the Southern Fishery Management Area.

These proposed management measures are designed to further increase monkfish landings, provide operational flexibility, and increase economic efficiency.

To get all the details on these proposed measures, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register today and the background documents posted on our website.

We are accepting comments through July 8.

You may submit comments by any one of the following methods:

Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope “Comments on the Proposed Rule for Monkfish Framework 9.”