Saving Seafood

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

Feds holding the line on monkfishing rules for now

May 5, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — Federal fishing regulators say the rules for harvesting monkfish are staying the same for now.

Monkfish are bottom-dwelling fish that resemble sea monsters and are prized by some chefs. They are fished commercially along the East Coast and are a popular item at fish markets and restaurants.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there have not been changes to monkfish possession limits for 2017.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Virginian-Pilot

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.

Commercial fishing representative discusses new South Fork Wind Farm with Richard Rose on CBS New York

January 31st, 2016 — On January 25th, the Long Island Power Authority approved the South Fork Wind Farm, a new wind development off the coast of Long Island. On January 30th, Bonnie Brady, the executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, sat down with Richard Rose on CBS New York to discuss the adverse impact the new project would have on local fish and fishermen.

Located 30 miles southeast of Montauk, New York, the South Fork Wind Farm will cost $740 million to construct the wind farm that will stretch over a 15 square mile area. In the interview Ms. Brady noted that the project would come at the expense of the many nearby fisheries, including the “most healthy stock of cod in the Northeast,” fluke, scallops, monkfish, and over 30 other different species of fish.  

Specifically, Ms. Brady cited the threat to local fish stocks from a construction process known as “pile driving,” which emits a loud sound that injures, and can kill, nearby fish and marine mammals. In addition, the process plows six feet beneath the ocean floor, dispersing sediment and killing larvae as a result of a large increase in pressure.

“Pile driving kills anything with a swim bladder within three-quarters of a mile. When you puncture a swim bladder, you don’t float, you sink,” Ms. Brady said. “If you’re at the bottom of the ocean because you’re a ground fish to begin with you’re not going to be coming up.”

Ms. Brady continued that these fishing areas would be very difficult for local fishermen to replace.

“Fishermen go to the areas where fish are, specifically based on temperature and bait. And as a result, during certain times of the year they move offshore and onshore,” Ms. Brady clarified in the interview.

Ms. Brady also took issue with the lack of consultation with the commercial fishing industry before approval of the wind farm. She explained that wind farm proponents failed to reach out to the commercial fishing industry to assess areas of economic importance or high environmental sensitivity that should be excluded from the wind farm area.

As fishing vessels often have difficulty navigating the wind turbine array, a return to the area can be problematic.

“The reality is we as fishermen depend upon the fish, not only for this generation but for generations in the future,” Brady said. “We, more than anyone else, know what goes on underneath the waterline because we are the ones who follow the fish and catch them in providing food for the nation.”

Watch the full interview at CBS New York

Some of Earth’s oldest creatures are now protected off the Jersey Shore

December 15, 2016 — To preserve some of the oldest living creatures on Earth, the federal government announced Wednesday that it had created an enormous protected area off the coast of New Jersey to protect deep-sea corals and other hidden ecological treasures.

At more than 40,000 square miles (the size of Virginia), the Frank R. Lautenberg Deep Sea Coral Protection Area includes about a dozen deep-water chasms, including the fabled Hudson Canyon. The area begins more than 70 miles offshore and parallels the coast from Long Island to North Carolina. Lautenberg, the U.S. senator from New Jersey who died in 2013, championed several deepwater species.

The agreement was hashed out by several stakeholders including NOAA Mid-Atlantic Fisheries, fishermen  and marine scientists.

Cold-water corals live hundreds of meters under the water. Until the fishing industry started harvesting using bottom trawling, the creatures were undisturbed for millennia. Commercial fishermen using “canyon busters,” however, have raked the world’s sea floors to harvest mackerel, monkfish and squid. The equipment boosts fisheries production but also topples and destroys the fragile coral. What survives can take centuries, even thousands of years, to bounce back. As a result, species that depend on the coral for their habitats — spider crabs, the bizarre rhinochimera, and scores of other rarely seen animals — are also left unprotected and imperiled.

Read the full story at The Philadelphia Inquirer

Fishermen to be allowed to catch more monkfish next year

November 21, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Fishermen will likely be allowed to catch more monkfish next year.

Monkfish are a species of bottom-dwelling fish that are a popular item at restaurants and seafood markets. The regulatory New England Fishery Management Council has approved rules for the fishery that will allow fishermen to bring ashore more than 15,000 metric tons of the fish next year.

Fishermen have typically caught between 7,000 and 10,000 metric tons of monkfish annually since 2009.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the News & Observer

Monkfish Specifications Expected to Rise in FY 2017-2019

November 15, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Monkfish total allowable landing (TAL) limits for the 2017-2019 fishing years are on track to increase under Framework Adjustment 10 to the federal Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). So are: (1) days-at sea allocations and trip limits for the Southern Fishery Management Area; and (2) incidental catch limits for monkfish C and D permit holders working under groundfish days-at-sea in the Northern Management Area.

The New England Fishery Management Council approved the framework today at its meeting in Newport, RI. The Mid-Atlantic Council, which jointly manages monkfish, is scheduled to take action at its Dec. 12-15 meeting in Baltimore, MD. The National Marine Fisheries Service must approve the framework before the new days-at-sea allocations and trip limits can be implemented.

The New England Council adopted the following allocations for days-at-sea:

  • Northern Fishery Management Area: status quo, 45 monkfish days-at-sea; and
  • Southern Fishery Management Area: 37 monkfish days, a 15% increase from 32.

Monkfish days-at-sea allocations have not been restricting fishing effort in the northern area, where the majority of fishermen catch monkfish while groundfish fishing. Therefore, the Council decided to leave monkfish days-atsea at status quo in the north – 45 days – and instead raise the incidental landing limit for Category C and D monkfish permit holders working under a groundfish day-at-sea. The Council took this step to help northern area fishermen better utilize the available TAL. In 2015, for example, only 71% of the TAL was harvested in the north.

Read the full release as a PDF here

Changes could come to East Coast monkfish business

September 30, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Interstate fishing regulators are working on a new plan to manage the monkfish fishery on the East Coast.

Monkfish are bottom-dwelling fish that are fished commercially and are a popular menu item in seafood restaurants. The New England Fishery Management Council has initiated a plan to create new fishing specifications for the fish for the next three years.

A spokeswoman says the council’s monkfish committee will work this fall on specifications for the fishery. Rules will be approved in November. The rules could also remain status quo.

Fishermen catch monkfish from Maine to North Carolina, though most are brought ashore in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Journal

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