Saving Seafood

December 2021 Highlights: NEFMC Supports Federal Trip Limit Increase for Spiny Dogfish; Approves 2022 Priorities

January 6, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council met December 7-9, 2021 by webinar and covered a wide range of issues. Here are some of the highlights.

Spiny Dogfish: The Council supported two actions related to spiny dogfish, which is managed jointly by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils. The Mid-Atlantic Council has the administrative lead for this fishery.

  • The New England Council supported increasing the spiny dogfish trip limit from 6,000 pounds, which currently is in place, to 7,500 pounds; and
  • As a 2022 dogfish priority, the Council supported pursuing a framework adjustment – at the lead of the Mid-Atlantic Council – to develop possible additional changes to the trip limit if warranted pending the results of the 2022 Spiny Dogfish Research Track Assessment.

The Council made these decisions after receiving a considerable amount of information, including:

  • Dogfish actions taken by the Mid-Atlantic Council during its October 2021 meeting;
  • Recommendations from the Spiny Dogfish Monitoring Committee, the Mid-Atlantic Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), and the Joint Spiny Dogfish Committee, which includes representation from both Councils; and
  • The 2021 Spiny Dogfish Advisory Panel Fishery Performance Report.

Read the full release from the NEFMC

Christmas season driving US scallop prices higher

December 27, 2021 — The Christmas season demand for fresh seafood is giving another jolt to Atlantic sea scallop prices.

The holiday peak comes on top of a year with tight supplies, as the U.S. East Coast scallop fleet and fishery managers wound down pressure on the resource. With the bounteous 2012-2013 class of scallops fading away, supplies will remain tight after the New England Fishery Management Council issued its specifications for the 2022 fishing year.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

NOAA Confirms 2022 At-Sea Monitoring Coverage Levels for Northeast Groundfish Sector

December 16, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries announced that for the 2022 fishing year, the total target at-sea monitoring overall level will be 99% of all groundfish sector trips subject to the at-sea monitoring program.

NOAA said it considered a “variety of factors” when it determined the coverage level for 2022 and wrote a letter to the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) to explain their decision.

In a bulletin, NOAA also said it has the funds to reimburse the industry for its at-sea monitoring costs. Plus, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will continue to administer the reimbursement program for Fishing Year 2022 as in prior years.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Scallop prices soar

December 16, 2021 — The Christmas season demand for fresh seafood is giving another jolt to Atlantic sea scallop prices, with $37 to $38 prices reported for U12 product in Massachusetts and New Jersey ports this week.

The holiday peak comes on top of a year with tight supplies, as the scallop fleet and fishery managers wound down pressure on the resource. With the bounteous 2012-2013 class of scallops fading away, supplies will remain tight after the New England Fishery Management Council issued its specifications for the 2022 fishing year.

In New Bedford, the Buyers’ and Sellers Exchange (BASE) seafood auction reported a Dec. 15 price record of $37 per pound paid for U12 Great South Channel scallops landed by the F/V Furious. At Barnegat Light, N.J., scallop prices touched $38.

The new peaks come after a season when the industry bounced back from its covid-19 nightmare of 2020, when prices already were approaching $30 in spring 2021.

The New England Fishery Management Council finalized the 2022 fishing year plan during online meetings Dec. 7-9 and issued the complete decision Dec. 14 on its Amendment 34 changes.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NEFMC Signs Off on 2022 Scallop Fishing Year Specifications in Framework 34, Folding in Approved Amendment 21 Measures

December 14, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council selected final measures for Framework Adjustment 34 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan when it met by webinar for its December 7-9, 2021 meeting. The Council also voted to send the framework to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) for review and implementation. The target implementation date is April 1, 2022, the start of the new scallop fishing year.

In short, the framework contains five distinct actions:

  1. Updated overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) specifications for the 2022 and 2023 fishing years as recommended by the Scientific and Statistical Committee in this report;
  2. Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Management Area measures and a total allowable landings limit for the NGOM area;
  3. 2022 specifications for the scallop fishery, including allocations of access area trips, days-at-sea, and LAGC IFQs, plus 2023 default specifications;
  4. Fishing trip allocations into available scallop access areas for limited access general category (LAGC) individual fishing quota (IFQ) permit holders; and
  5. Designations for where fishing can take place in 2022 under the Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. ∼ The complete list of alternatives considered by the Council is available in this document. ∼

Read the full release from the NEFMC

Groundfish: Council Picks Framework 63 Preferred Measures; Specifications Include 2022 Catch Limits for Georges Bank Cod

December 10, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its December 7-9, 2021 webinar meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council selected preferred alternatives for Framework Adjustment 63 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan. The Council then voted to submit the framework to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) for review, approval, and implementation. The target implementation date is May 1, 2022, the start of the next groundfish fishing year.

The framework contains revised fishery specifications for several stocks, including:

• Gulf of Maine cod for fishing years 2022 through 2024;

• Georges Bank cod for fishing year 2022, marking a sharp reduction from previous catch limits;

• Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for fishing years 2022 and 2023; and

• White hake for fishing year 2022, consistent with the new rebuilding plan for this stock.

In addition, the framework includes 2022 total allowable catches (TACs) for three resources on Georges Bank that the U.S. shares with Canada – Eastern Georges Bank cod, Eastern Georges Bank haddock, and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. The Council signed off on the U.S./Canada TACs during its September meeting. All other groundfish stock specifications remain unchanged from what the Council adopted in Framework 61.

Read the full release from the New England Fishery Management Council

New England council calls for offshore wind mitigation fund

December 10, 2021 — The New England Fishery Management Council updated its offshore wind energy policy, endorsing calls for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to establish “a compensatory mitigation fund for damages that occur to the marine environment and fish habitat,” and losses to fishing vessels as turbine arrays are built.

The council’s Dec. 7 deliberation came with a new presentation from BOEM on the agency’s push to review and approve up to 16 wind energy projects off the East Coast by late 2025.

BOEM opened a preliminary public comment process through Jan. 7 to prepare a “guidance” plan for fisheries mitigation measures, with a draft document planned in spring 2022 and a final proposal in the summer.

A summary released by the council on the first day of its Dec. 7-9 meetings noted the tight time frame.

“On a more time-sensitive note, the Council was briefed on BOEM’s request for information ‘to obtain input from the public, especially the fishing community, on avoiding, minimizing and, if needed, compensating for impacts from offshore wind energy projects to commercial and recreational fisheries.’”

During an Dec. 6 online Zoom meeting convened by BOEM, fishing industry advocates said the agency needs to take more time and in-person workshop meetings with fishermen to fully understand the likely effects of shutting them out of wind turbine arrays during construction — and how they may not be able to fish those areas in the future.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Proposed cod cuts to cost Gloucester fleet

December 9, 2021 — To help rebuild what NOAA scientists say is a Georges Bank cod stock that is overfished, the New England Fishery Management Council on Wednesday unanimously set new rules that would drastically reduce the cod catch in the fishing year 2022 that begins May 1. The cuts could cost the Gloucester fleet $1 million in revenue.

The council set limits on both commercial and recreational Georges Bank cod fisheries as it voted to pass along all components of so-called Framework 63 management measures to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which still has to approve this package of recommendations.

After several hours of debate and several back-and-forth amendments, the council declined to remand back to its Scientific and Statistical Committee its recommendations on a 57% lower acceptable biological catch of Georges Bank cod.

New England Fishery Management Council member Elizabeth “Libby” Etrie, program director of the fishing membership organization Northeast Service Sector, Inc. of Gloucester, appeared to have found a compromise position between a remand, which could have delayed the implementation of new fishing rules, and setting a 754 metric ton cod catch for three years, as the scientific panel had originally recommended.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Council Approves Revised Wind Energy Policy; Receives Offshore Wind Project Updates from BOEM

December 8, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has approved a revised wind energy policy that builds on the original policy and better responds to the rapidly changing ocean landscape associated with offshore wind development in the Greater Atlantic Region.

The Council took this action on the first day of its December 7-9, 2021 webinar meeting. Additionally, the Council received:

  • An update on the status of other 2021 habitat-related work; and
  • A presentation from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) covering the status of proposed and advancing wind energy projects off the Atlantic seaboard.

Wind Energy Policy

The Council adopted its original wind energy policy in 2018 based on the Mid-Atlantic Council’s 2016 policy. The revised policy was prepared by the New England Council’s Habitat Plan Development Team in collaboration with staff from the Mid-Atlantic Council and NOAA Fisheries.

The Council’s Habitat Committee and Advisory Panel reviewed the draft policy for Council approval. Because the New England and Mid-Atlantic Councils coordinate closely on offshore wind issues, the Council also considered comments from the Mid-Atlantic Council’s Ecosystems and Ocean Planning Committee and Advisory Panel.

Read the full release here