Saving Seafood

MAINE: Conservation success or pests? Seals spark passionate debate

October 5, 2020 — Nick Muto has fished up and down the New England coast and there is nothing that gets his blood boiling more than the sight of a seal.

Muto, whose two boats fish for groundfish such as skate and monkfish as well as lobster, is among a growing group of anglers, beach goers and local officials who are quick to blame everything from disease to depleted fisheries to increased shark sightings on the exploding seal population.

“Areas that we used to traditionally fish that were as close to guarantees as you could get have been strip mined of fish, and the fish have been driven out of there by seals,” Muto said. “They have eaten fish out of our nets. They have been caught in our nets. They are everywhere.”

The debate over seals was reignited after the death in July of a swimmer killed by a great white off Harpswell, Maine. Seals are often shark prey, and experts believe Julie Dimperio Holowach may have been mistaken for a seal.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

NOAA Fisheries Approves Framework Adjustment 12 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan

September 16, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries approved Framework Adjustment 12 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan, including the 2020 annual catch limits and total allowable landings limits for both the Northern and Southern Fishery Management Areas. We are also projecting quotas for 2021-2022.

No changes are being made to day-at-sea allocations or possession limits.

This rule also includes two regulatory clarifications:

  1. To the interactive voice response system, requiring monkfish vessels to call in a trip no more than an hour in advance of leaving port.
  2. To the monkfish whole weight incidental possessions limits in the Northeast multispecies exempted fisheries, applying the current tail-to-whole-weight (landed) conversion factor of 2.91.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register , the bulletin and supporting documents on the Council’s website.

Read the full release here

NEFMC Discusses Skates, Atlantic Herring, Red Hake, EBFM, Habitat, and Research Priorities at June Meeting

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

The New England Fishery Management Council met June 23-25, 2020 by webinar. In addition to the news already released about groundfish, monkfish, and scallops, here’s an overview of the other issues the Council worked on during this meeting.

Research Priorities: After considering input from its various fishery-related committees and the Scientific and Statistical Committee, the Council agreed to submit an updated list of Research Priorities and Data Needs for 2020-2024 to NOAA Fisheries.

Skates: At the end of last year, the Council tasked its Skate Committee with defining a clear problem statement, goals, and objectives for Draft Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The amendment is being developed to consider whether limited access is appropriate for the skate wing and/or skate bait fisheries. The committee worked on this task in late-March using additional data provided by the Skate Plan Development Team. The Council reviewed the new problem statement, along with an additional objective, and discussed whether it wanted to continue pursuing the development of a limited access program for skates. The Council did not approve the problem statement but agreed to have the committee continue to work on its initial tasking.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Proposes Framework Adjustment 12 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan

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

NOAA Fisheries is proposing Framework Adjustment 12 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan, including the 2020 annual catch limits and total allowable landings limits for both the Northern and Southern Fishery Management Areas. We are also proposing projected quotas for 2021-2022.

This rule proposes two clarifications:

  1. To the interactive voice response system, requiring vessels to call in a trip no more than an hour in advance of leaving port.
  2. To the monkfish whole weight incidental possessions limits in the Northeast multispecies exempted fisheries.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register and supporting documents on the e-rulemaking portal (link).

The comment period is open through July 30, 2020.

You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2020-0064, through the e-rulemaking portal (link).

Read the full release here

Monkfish: NEFMC Receives Report on Estimating Discards for TAL Calculations

June 29, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has received a new report that provides insightful information about monkfish discards and how alternative approaches for projecting future discards might be used when setting limits on total allowable landings (TALs) in the fishery.

The Council sets monkfish specifications every three years using data from the previous three years. In September 2019, the Council signed off on 2020-2022 specifications using data from 2016-2018. Discards during that three-year period were notably higher than the past period, increasing from 13.9% to 18.2% in the Northern Monkfish Management Area and from 24% to 50.8% in the Southern Management Area.

Since discards are subtracted from the annual catch target to get to the landing limit for fishermen (see flow chart below), the large change in discard estimates was concerning, especially in the southern area, because the estimates were reflective of a high discard period that was not expected to continue in the future.

Read the full release here

Sale of monkfish will pay for science to study them

March 20, 2020 — An Arizona university will be able to use about money generated from the sale of monkfish to study the monster-like sea creatures.

Monkfish are harvested as food off the East Coast, where they are brought to land in states such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine. The New England Fishery Management Council said a program called the “research set-aside” will allow Arizona State University to use new tagging technology to investigate the movements of the fish.

The university will collaborate with the New England Aquarium on the project, which is valued at about $4.2 million. The research set-aside program generates money for science from the harvest and sale of fish that are “set aside” for this purpose.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Monkfish RSA Program Supports Two Novel 2020-2021 Projects

March 16, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The 2020-2021 Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program will support two innovative projects designed to help researchers and fishery managers better understand the stock structure and movement of monkfish and more easily detect these fish on the seabed, which could be useful in survey applications.

Monkfish is managed jointly by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils. The New England Council has the administrative lead. The Monkfish RSA Program was established in Amendment 2 to the Councils’ Monkfish Fishery Management Plan. The amendment specifies that 500 monkfish days-atsea will be “set aside” annually from the total number of monkfish days allocated to limited access monkfish vessels in order to address research priorities identified by the Councils. The intent is that this research will enhance everyone’s understanding of the monkfish resource and contribute to the body of information that’s available for management decision-making

Read the full release here

Culinary events seek to build demand for Maine’s underappreciated fish

February 5, 2020 — A new series of events called “What’s the Catch?” seeks to build consumer awareness of Maine’s underutilized fish species.

Greater consumption of species like monkfish, redfish, flounder and hake could help fishermen who primarily depend on the lobster fishery to diversify their income. And that’s an important consideration if today’s robust lobster stocks ever decline, Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, told Mainebiz.

The association is collaborating with Luke’s Lobster on the series, which features a different fish species at four monthly events and highlights fishermen and the working waterfront.

Hosted the second Wednesday of each month from January through April, the series is part social event and part educational.

The January event featured monkfish. The next event, featuring redfish, is scheduled for Feb. 12, from 6-8 p.m., at Luke’s Lobster on the Portland Pier. The March 11 event features flounder, and the April 8 event will focus on hake.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

NEFMC Approves 2020-2022 Monkfish Specifications

September 26, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has approved new specifications for the 2020-2022 monkfish fishing years. The fishery operates within two areas – the Northern Fishery Management Area (NFMA) and the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA) – with a boundary line that roughly bisects Georges Bank. Landing limits and management measures vary by area, as do fishing practices.

The Council supported a 10% increase in the acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the northern area and status quo for the ABC in the southern area based on recommendations from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which worked with guidance from the Monkfish Plan Development Team (PDT). Under the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan, deductions are made from the ABC to account for management uncertainty and discards in order to determine the level of total allowable landings (TAL) for each area (see flowchart below).

Read the full release here

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – August 21, 2019 – Monkfish, Skates, Red Crab, GB Yellowtail OFLs, ABCs

August 14, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet on Wednesday, August 21, 2019.  The public is invited to attend in person or listen live via webinar or telephone.  Here are the details.

LOCATION:  The meeting will be held at the Hotel Providence in Providence, RI.

START TIME:  9:00 a.m

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting will be available at Listen Live.  There will be no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422.  The access code is 927-194-100.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will develop overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for:
  • Monkfish fishing years 2020 through 2022;
  • Deep-sea red crab fishing years 2020 through 2022;
  • The Northeast skate complex for fishing years 2020 and 2021; and
  • Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for fishing years 2020 and 2021 as managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.
The SSC also may discuss internal organization issues and other business.
 
COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8 a.m. on Monday, August 19.  Address comments to Council chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  The address for mailing comments is:  New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill #2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
 
MATERIALS:  Meeting materials will be posted on the Council’s website at SSC August 21, 2019 documents.
 
QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 106, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.