Saving Seafood

NEFMC Approves Framework 9 Monkfish Fishery Management Plan

November 23, 2015 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council: 

The NEFMC took final action on Framework 9 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan. It is developed jointly with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Council, with New England in the lead. While this framework addresses monkfish issues, it also would modify the region’s groundfish regulations. If approved by NOAA Fisheries, it would:

  • Allow limited access monkfish category C and D sector vessels only to declare, and use, while at sea, a groundfish (or Northeast Multispecies) day-at-sea while fishing in the Northern Fishery Management Area (NFMA).
  • Eliminate the monkfish trip limit when on a groundfish/monkfish day-at-sea in the NFMA.
  • Reduce the minimum mesh size of standup gillnet gear in the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA). Vessels fishing on a monkfish day-at-sea with a stand-up gillnet in the Mid-Atlantic Exemption Area could use mesh a minimum mesh of 5- inches, fish with no more than 50 standup gillnets, and retain dogfish and monkfish.
  • Allow vessels fishing on a monkfish day-at-sea in the Southern New England (SNE) Dogfish Exemption Area to use a minimum standup gillnet mesh size of 6-inches, fish no more than 50 standup gillnets from May 1 through October 31, and retain both dogfish and monkfish. Vessels fishing on a monkfish day-at-sea in the SNE Monkfish and Skate Exemption Area could use a minimum mesh size of 10-inches year round and retain both dogfish and monkfish on the same trip.
  • Allow a 6.5-inch minimum mesh size for standup gillnet gear while fishing on a monkfish and groundfish day-at-sea in the SFMA.

The Council opted for No Action on three alternatives that would have: a.) allowed vessels in the SFMA to declare a monkfish day-at-sea while at sea; b.) increased the daily day-at-sea/ trip limit allocation for Category F (offshore) vessels; and c.) allowed vessels to re-declare or use a monkfish research set-aside day-atsea while already at sea using a monkfish dayat-sea. The decisions were made largely on the basis of concerns effort shifts from north to south.

Both Councils, voting at their respective June Council meetings, agreed on the management measures proposed in Framework 9. It will be submitted to NOAA Fisheries later this summer. The Monkfish Committee is scheduled to consider next Amendment 6, an action that will address among other issues, options for catch shares in this fishery.

View a PDF of the Newsletter

 

SMAST researchers employ new methods of fish geolocation

October 9, 2015 — Researchers at the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology are hoping that new methods of figuring out where fish go in the Gulf of Maine will begin to lead to a much better understanding of what is happening below the surface, aiding in stock assessments.

Dr. Geoffrey Cowles and his research assistants, graduate students Doug Zemeckis and Chang Liu, are partners in a multi-institution effort to tag yellowtail flounder, monkfish, and now cod to learn much more than past methods could tell them.

Called geolocation, the multi-partner research is using new measurements to begin to sort out where fish go after they are tagged and before they are (hopefully) recaptured.

Zemeckis went to sea on a state research vessel, and tagged dozens of cod with lipstick-sized devices that record temperature and pressure. Those can tell researchers quite a lot about where the fish spend their time.

Unlike simple tags, which just show where the fish was released and where it was caught, these devices record the data, which is being recovered and analyzed using methods that are still being developed.

Zemeckis said that since GPS signals do not penetrate water, global positioning doesn’t work for tracking fish.

Read the full story from the New Bedford Standard-Times

2016/2017 Monkfish RSA Federal Funding Opportunity

October 5, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

Dear Interested Parties:

For those who may not have heard, NOAA Fisheries is soliciting monkfish research proposals to use 500 Monkfish Days-at-Sea per year that have been set-aside by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils to fund monkfish research through the 2016 Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. Proceeds generated from the sale of monkfish harvested during a “set-aside day-at-sea” will be used to fund research activities and compensate vessels that participate in research activities and/or harvest monkfish while fishing under an RSA day-at-sea.

The deadline for receipt of the proposals is November 16, 2015. Please read the attachment for more detailed information or, if you have questions, contact Cheryl A. Corbett, Cooperative Programs Specialist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA  02543 or at 508-495-2070, or cheryl.corbett@noaa.gov. Her fax number is 508-495-2004.

Read the full announcement from NOAA here

2016 Monkfish Research Set-Aside Proposals Due November 16, 2015

September 17, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries, in coordination with the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (Councils), is soliciting monkfish research proposals to utilize 500 Monkfish Days-at-Sea (DAS) per year that have been set-aside by the Councils to fund monkfish research through the 2016 Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program.

Read the announcement summary or the full announcement on our website, or go to Grants.gov and use the following funding opportunity number: NOAA-NMFS-NEFSC-2016-2004598.

Questions? Contact Cheryl Corbett, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, by phone 508-495-2070, fax 508-495-2004, or email at cheryl.corbett@noaa.gov.

Monkfish