Saving Seafood

Groundfish: NEFMC Takes Final Action on Framework 69 With Catch Limits for Four New Atlantic Cod Stock Units

December 10, 2024 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council took final action on Framework Adjustment 69 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan when it met in Newport, Rhode Island December 3-5, 2024. The framework contains catch limits and management measures for the 2025 fishing year and beyond.

The Council received three reports before beginning its decision-making on Framework 69:

  • The Northeast Fisheries Science Center presented the peer-reviewed results of 2024 Management Track Stock Assessments for American plaice, pollock, witch flounder, Atlantic halibut, Georges Bank haddock, and Gulf of Maine haddock;
  • The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) presented overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for each of those newly assessed stocks; and
  • The Transboundary Management Guidance Committee (TMGC) presented recommendations for U.S./Canada shared groundfish resources on Georges Bank.

Read the full release from the New England Fishery Management Council

Council advances plan to cut Northeast US scallop quota 28 percent

December 6, 2024 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) voted to enact Framework 39 for the 2025 scallop fishing season – which includes a significant drop in the scallop allowable catch.

The Fisheries Survival Fund – which was established to advocate for the long-term sustainability of the Northeast U.S. scallop stock – supported the council’s decision and advocated for it to select Framework 39 before the council meeting. The organization said the allocations “reflect the need for pragmatic balancing” of fishing effort in the region to ensure the continued success of the fishery.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell also wrote to the council in support of Framework 39. New Bedford, Massachusetts is consistently ranked among one of the top ports by value in the U.S. – in part thanks to the high value of the scallop fishery.

“The scallop industry is a cornerstone of New Bedford’s economy, supporting not only fishermen and their families, but also the numerous shoreside businesses that rely on its success,” Mitchell wrote.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Scallops: NEFMC Signs Off on Framework 39 with Measures for Fishing Year 2025; May 15th Delayed Opening for Access Areas

December 5, 2024 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council took final action on Framework Adjustment 39 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan when it met December 3-5, 2024 in Newport, Rhode Island. The framework contains specifications and measures to guide the 2025 scallop fishing year, which begins on April 1. The action also includes default measures for fishing year 2026.

The framework must be reviewed, approved, and implemented by NOAA Fisheries before taking effect. Here are the Council’s recommended measures.

FULL-TIME LIMITED ACCESS VESSELS: The Council supported allocating full-time permit holders two access area trips in 2025 – one trip to Scallop Access Area I and the other trip to Scallop Access Area II. The Council endorsed a 12,000-pound trip limit, equating to 24,000 pounds total per vessel, as well as 24 open-area days-at-sea for this component of the scallop fishery.

PART-TIME LIMITED ACCESS VESSELS: Part-time permit holders would be allocated one access area trip into either Scallop Access Area I or Scallop Access Area II with a 9,600- pound trip limit, as well as 9.6 open-area days-at-sea.

Read the full release from the New England Fishery Management Council

New England fishers protest proposed changes to region’s cod management plan

December 4, 2024 — Commercial fishers in the U.S. region of New England are protesting a new cod management plan under consideration by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), claiming the changes will destroy the region’s historic cod fishery.

“These restrictions are going to be the end of the trawlers and anyone else buying fish,” New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) CEO Jerry Leeman said in a statement. “Everyone in the fisheries expects Addendum 25 to torpedo their businesses.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Vacancy Announcement: NEFMC Seeks Candidates for Public Affairs Officer

October 28, 2024 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) seeks candidates for the position of Public Affairs Officer (PAO). This is a highly visible, dynamic position. The PAO is responsible for managing communications with the public and media. These responsibilities include developing working relationships with media representatives, coordinating communications with other fisheries management and government agencies, keeping the Council informed on pertinent issues, and leading the Council’s social media outlets.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 15, 2024

PUBIC AFFAIRS OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Serve as the first point of contact for the public and press and respond to inquiries appropriately;
  • Serve as the primary source of information about the Council process;
  • Develop and distribute Council communications, including press releases, general announcements, news updates, requests for proposals, vacancy solicitations, and reminders for upcoming meetings;
  • Develop and manage the Council’s social media outlets;
  • Maintain communications with NOAA Fisheries, partner agencies, and other management bodies;
  • Serve on regional and national communications groups and participate in group projects and communications tasking;
  • Support content on the Council website in coordination with the Council’s Webmaster;
  • Develop Council meeting agendas with input from staff and external presenters;
  • Collaborate with outside presenters on materials and logistics for Council meetings;
  • Monitor news coverage involving issues of relevance to the Council and staff;
  • Assist the Council’s technical staff as needed;
  • Support the Council’s administrative staff with Council meeting preparations;
  • Report directly to the Council’s Executive Director and conduct assigned tasks.

QUALIFICATIONS: A complete list of educational requirements, professional requirements, and needed analytical skills is available in the vacancy announcement.

HIRING DATE: The anticipated hiring date is January 2025.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Applications must include a cover letter, at least two writing examples, and a resume detailing education and experiences. Address the submission package to Council Executive Director Cate O’Keefe and submit it by November 15, 2024:

  • Via email (preferred) to sgoutier@nefmc.org; or
  • Via U.S. mail to the New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950

SPECIAL CONDITIONS: This is a non-federal position. Upon hiring, the selected applicant will enter an initial probationary period of one year during which performance will be evaluated by the Executive Director.

MASSACHUSETTS: Statement from New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell on NEFMC decision on Northern Edge

July 3, 2024 — The following statement was released by New Bedford, Massachusetts Mayor Jon Mitchell:

“I am disappointed by the New England Fishery Management Council’s decision last week after scant public notice to reverse itself and halt further discussion of the opening of the Northern Edge scallop access area. The decision comes less than three months after the Council voted to advance the opening of the Northern Edge, which was grounded in more than a decade of research showing that scallops are abundant in the area. Halting work on the Northern Edge so abruptly is an affront to scallop fishermen who were given every reason to believe that the council was working toward a fair, long-term solution.”

Scallop Research Set-Aside projects for 2024

May 7, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries announced 14 projects to be funded through the 2024 Scallop Research Set-Aside Program, with researchers partnering with the scallop fleet to investigate sea scallop research priorities developed by the New England Fishery Management Council. 

Participants conduct research and harvest their set-aside award, generating funds for the research. Based on an ex-vessel price estimate of $14 per pound, NOAA Fisheries expects the awards to generate approximately $22 million; $5 million to fund research, and $17 million to compensate industry partners who harvest the set-aside scallops.

“In RSA programs, researchers compete for funding through a federal grant competition managed by NOAA Fisheries,” according to the announcement from the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic office. “No federal funds support the research. Instead, the programs award pounds of sea scallops from amounts “set-aside” annually for this purpose.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NEFMC: Scallop Research Set-Aside Program to Support 14 New Projects; Several 2024 Announcements Include Multi-Year Awards

May 2, 2024 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program will support 14 new projects that were selected from the 2024 RSA solicitation. Several awards will support multi-year research, including a four-year regional survey effort. The set-aside harvest is expected to generate $22 million in revenue. Of that total, $5 million will fund the targeted research and $17 million will compensate industry partners who harvest the set-aside scallops. To determine the award amounts, the price of sea scallops was projected to average $14 per pound of meats.

Council Priorities and Research Partners

Seven different institutions will lead the projects, partnering with fishermen, fishing businesses, and non-profit fishery research organizations. The new RSA projects address 2024-2025 research priorities identified by the New England Fishery Management Council in June 2023. At that meeting, the Council asked NOAA Fisheries to modify the Scallop RSA Program to allow for longer-term RSA awards for regional survey work, which the agency accommodated in this latest round of funding with a four-year award. Other Council priorities are listed here on page 1. RSA-funded scallop surveys have been a long-standing priority. They have become increasingly important in: (1) providing information that directly helps scientists determine the status and distribution of the resource; and (2) guiding the Council in making management decisions for this valuable resource.

The new awards were announced on May 2, 2024 by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) of NOAA Fisheries. The Council and NOAA Fisheries work together to support the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program. While the Council sets the research priorities, NOAA Fisheries manages the RSA competition and administers the program.

Read the full release from the NEFMC

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Mayor seeks access to new scallop territory

April 18, 2024 — New Bedford’s mayor testified in front of the New England Fisheries Management Council on Wednesday with the hope of re-opening one of the richest fishing grounds in the world.

New Bedford is already home to the largest commercial fishing port in the country, and Mayor Jon Mitchell said he is now working to give the city’s fishermen more resources to gather scallops, which he described as the prime drivers of economic activity.

“The basic policy that people have to understand is that the scallop industry is regulated by the federal government in a rotational method,” Mitchell said. “Kind of like what farmers do.”

“There are areas that are growing well with lots of scallops that are open up for fishermen,” Mitchell continued. “And places that are already fished with not many scallops to be caught are closed for a period of time.”

Mitchell testified before the council about reopening one specific area for scallops.

Read the full story at WLNE

 

New Bedford Mayor, Port Authority, Successfully Advocate Opening Northern Edge Scallop Grounds to Boost Fishing Opportunities

April 18, 2024 — New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell delivered compelling testimony before the New England Fishery Management Council on Tuesday, urging the Council to open the Northern Edge scallop grounds to New Bedford commercial fishermen. Mayor Mitchell emphasized the potential benefits of this move, highlighting its significance as a new source of scallops while other locations recover, and scallop recruitment progresses.

Mayor Mitchell, who also serves as chairman of the New Bedford Port Authority, had previously written to Council Chair Eric Reid, noting that the work of the Habitat and Scallop Plan Development Teams has been careful and thoughtful, and has led to the cautious and prudent recommendation to pursue the opening of Concept Areas #2 and #4. Despite being the smallest of the Concept Areas evaluated, Mayor Mitchell stressed their importance in providing much-needed scallop fishing opportunities.

Concept Area #4 was highlighted for potentially harboring the highest concentration of scallops in recent surveys. Mayor Mitchell underscored that scallops have been spawning in the entire Closed Area for years, suggesting that a significant portion of the overall biomass would remain intact even after opening these areas to fishing. Additionally, the identified areas exhibit the lowest amount of complex bottom conditions, reducing the likelihood of adverse habitat impacts from scallop fishing.

Citing a long-term study conducted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Mayor Mitchell emphasized that most habitats recover from scallop fishing impacts in less than 10 months, with even more complex habitats fully recovering within six years. This scientific evidence supports the feasibility and sustainability of opening the identified areas to scallop fishing.

It is anticipated that opening these areas wouldn’t necessitate new habitat closures elsewhere, easing the burden on other fishing interests.

National Marine Fisheries Service Regional Administrator Mike Pentony echoed support for moving forward with opening the two concept areas, noting that it was too early to abandon the concept areas over enforcement concerns, and that more can be done to improve enforceability if there are concerns.

Following Mayor Mitchell’s testimony, the Council took votes advancing Areas #2 and #4 towards a final action, possibly slated for September. This aligns with the Mayor’s request, both in his letter to Chair Eric Reid and in his in-person testimony.

The Port of New Bedford is the most valuable commercial fishing port in the U.S., maintaining its leadership position for more than two decades. With more than 7,000 jobs and 400 fishing vessels, the Port serves as a cornerstone of the regional economy, driving shoreside businesses and attracting significant public and private investments.

While New Bedford’s fishing vessels harvest multiple species, scallops remain the prime drivers of economic activity within the Port. Mayor Mitchell highlighted the fishermen’s commitment to maintaining the resource and their recognition of the strategic long-term importance of managing the scallop biomass.

The mayor’s letter to the NEFMC is available here.