Saving Seafood

Council Takes Action on Scallops, Herring, and Habitat; Elects Officers

September 23, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council met from September 15-17, 2026, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The following is a summary of actions taken, updates, and other business affecting multiple Fishery Management Plans. Meeting materials, motions, and the meeting audio recordings will be available on the September 2026 meeting page.

COUNCIL ELECTS LEADERSHIP; WELCOMES NEWEST MEMBER

The Council opened its September 2026 meeting with the annual election of officers. The Council reelected Daniel Salerno (New Hampshire) as Chair and Melanie Griffin (Massachusetts) as Vice Chair. The Council filled the three remaining Executive Committee seats by electing Megan Ware (Maine), Michael Pierdinock (Massachusetts), and Jackie Odell (Massachusetts) from a slate of five candidates.

The Council also welcomed its newest voting member, Kirby Aarsheim (Massachusetts), who took the Oath of Office and committed to a three-year term.A partner at Farrell Smith O’Connell Aarsheim Aprans LLP, Aarsheim brings a lifetime of commercial fishing experience and expertise in fisheries management. She has served on the Council’s Sea Scallop and Enforcement Advisory Panels and remains active in regional maritime policy, including leadership roles with the American Bar Association’s Admiralty & Maritime Law Committee and the Propeller Club Port of Boston. She is also a commercial scallop vessel owner in New Bedford.Returning members Daniel Salerno, Terry Alexander (Maine) and Jackie Odell (Massachusetts) were also sworn in for new three-year terms. Council member bios are available here.

HERRING SPECIFICATIONS APPROVED; LEVELS REMAIN LOW

The Council took final action to set Atlantic herring specifications for fishing years 2027–2031. The Council voted to set annual catch limits (ACL) at 6,926 metric tons, a 24% decrease from the 2026 level of 9,134 mt, and at a constant level for each year (2027-2031). The Council recognized the potential for continued negative economic impacts on the fishing industry. The decision factored in the results of the 2026 stock assessment and peer review, the Council’s Risk Policy, recommendations from the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and the Herring Committee, with input from the Advisory Panel and Plan Development Team. The Council also discussed a separate action that would modify River Herring and Shad Management through an amendment as part of a multi-year priority. The current river herring and shad catch caps will remain at status quo levels while this work continues.

NOAA could take lead on scallop permit-stacking

September 22, 2026 — The New England Fishery Management Council will not prioritize scallop permit-stacking in 2027, potentially leaving NOAA to pursue the controversial permitting change through a federal process.

The council voted overwhelmingly last week to tell federal officials that it “lacks the operational capacity” to take up permit-stacking next year, according to reporting from The New Bedford Light.

The decision follows federal officials’ July request that the council consider six fisheries management actions stemming from President Trump’s 2025 executive order, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.” The order called for reducing regulatory burdens and strengthening U.S. seafood competitiveness.

Of those requests, NOAA would develop the regulatory changes rather than the council, while still providing opportunities for council and public input. Scallop permits have been tied to individual vessels for decades. Permit-stacking would allow owners to place more than one permit on a vessel, potentially allowing that vessel to make additional trips while owners retire older boats from their fleets.

The proposal, however, has divided members of the scallop industry.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

New England regulators won’t make scallop ‘permit-stacking’ a priority in 2027

September 21, 2026 — The New England Fishery Management Council won’t make a controversial scallop permit-stacking proposal a priority in 2027. That’s despite federal officials directing the regulators to do just that.

The council voted overwhelmingly last week to respond to the federal government’s early July request by saying that it “lacks the operational capacity” to take action on the permitting change next year.

Federal officials handed down six requests for the council to discuss, a byproduct of a 2025 Trump Administration executive order aimed at ending “overregulation” and the “erosion of American seafood competitiveness at the hands of unfair foreign trade practices.”

Only one of them, the permit-stacking request, had this caveat: If the council can’t take up the permit stacking issue, federal officials are prepared to consider doing it themselves.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

New England Fishery Management Council implementing measures to respond to Trump executive order

September 21, 2026 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has implemented multiple measures intended to directly address an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump that included a deregulatory wish list featuring desired changes to fisheries the council manages.

During its September 2026 meeting, the council committed to considering some of the measures that Trump proposed in his order, including opening scallop fishery access to the Northern Edge area of Georges Bank. Trump’s order directly called on the NEFMC to open the Northern Edge area, which would mark the first time in 30 years that fishing for scallops would be allowed in the region.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Council Addresses Executive Order and NOAA Directives through 2027 Work Priorities

September 21, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its September 2026 Council Meeting the New England Fishery Management Council addressed multiple management priorities that were identified by NOAA in a July 2, 2026 letter regarding Executive Order 14276, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness”. Updates and Council next steps on each item are outlined below. The Council will send an official response to NOAA by September 30, 2026.

IMPLEMENT ROTATIONAL ACCESS FOR THE NORTHERN EDGE SCALLOP FISHERY

The Council committed to considering scallop fishery access to the Northern Edge during the 2027 priority setting process at the December 2026 meeting. NOAA had requested the Council establish a controlled, rotational limited-access scallop fishery within the Northern Edge Habitat Areas of Particular Concern. This will allow time to evaluate the request alongside all potential 2027 priorities. The Council considered four potential management options to open the area to scalloping including a holistic habitat management review; a dedicated habitat action; a scallop action that builds on previous analyses and alternatives; or not including this work as 2027 priorities which could lead to a Secretarial Action. The Northern Edge is currently designated a Habitat Management Area, which closes it to dragging gear to minimize impacts on essential fish habitat for Atlantic cod, American lobster, Atlantic herring, among other species.

IMPLEMENT SCALLOP PERMIT STACKING

NOAA tasked the Council with pursuing an action on scallop permit stacking but due to capacity constraints, the Council will not include this issue as a 2027 priority, deferring to NOAA and a potential Secretarial Action. While the Council does not have a position on stacking permits, it last took up the issue of consolidation at the September 2022 meeting when it opted not to develop an action to allow leasing in the Limited Access component of the fishery following a scoping process. At the time, the Council cited concerns about job losses and other negative economic impacts on waterfront communities as reasons for not developing an action. The July 2026 NOAA letter also cited these associated risks of stacking including “foreign ownership, job reductions, and erosion of our critical working waterfronts.” Proponents of stacking cite the economic relief of reduced operational costs, reduced congestion in ports and while fishing, and the ability to fish two allocations on their safest and best vessel.

The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) Seeks Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) Nominees to Serve 2027-2029

September 9, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The NEFMC is seeking qualified candidates to serve on its SSC for a three-year term running from January 2027 through December 2029. The SSC provides independent scientific advice to assist the Council in developing, collecting, and peer-reviewing biological, statistical, economic, and social information for fishery management plans. View the full Request for Nominations.

DEADLINE: All materials must be received by October 30, 2026.

TO APPLY: Submit a brief letter of interest; resume or CV; and a completed Statement of Financial Interest Form to Sherie Goutier, Executive Assistant at sgoutier@nefmc.org or mail to: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950.

WHO SHOULD APPLY: Candidates should have expertise in stock assessment methods, population dynamics, statistics, fisheries biology, marine ecology, economics, or other social sciences as they apply to fisheries management.

QUESTIONS: For more information, please refer to the Council’s Operations Handbook. If you have questions or need further information, please contact Rachel Feeney: rfeeney@nefmc.org; (978) 465-0492 ext. 110. The full Request for Nominations is available HERE.

 

Meet the Autonomous Underwater Robot Expanding Our Ability to Survey the Seafloor

August 31, 2026 — For the past 3 years, our Habitat Camera (HabCam) Survey has had self-propelled underwater helpers. From June 30 to July 6 of this year, two Tethys-class long-range autonomous underwater vehicles, or LRAUVs, surveyed more than 200 nautical miles of pre-programmed track lines in the Mid-Atlantic. Together, they captured more than 68,000 images of the seafloor, collecting critical data used in fisheries stock assessments.

LRAUVs provide an alternative way to survey areas of the ocean where traditional research vessels cannot go because of offshore development. The data they collect complements our vessel-based HabCam Survey, which collects millions of seafloor images each year to understand Atlantic sea scallop populations.

Technology Strengthens the Sea Scallop Assessment

Our scientists identified sea scallops, fish, crabs, snake eels, squid, skates, and more in the seafloor images taken by LRAUVs this year. They will present these data, along with HabCam Survey data, to the New England Fishery Management Council at the end of August. The Council’s Scallop Plan Development Team will incorporate the data into the Atlantic sea scallop assessment. Ultimately, the data help generate more accurate estimates of sea scallop abundance and distribution to inform management decisions.

Advanced Technology Specialist Cameron Fairclough notes that this technology expands where and when we can collect data. “This autonomous underwater vehicle can image the seafloor and you can control it from your phone while it’s out in the middle of the ocean,” he explained.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Northeast Region Coordinating Council Seeks Peer Reviewers for Future Management Track Stock Assessments

August 17, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Northeast Region Coordinating Council Seeks Peer Reviewers for Future Management Track Stock Assessments

The Northeast Region Coordinating Council (NRCC) is seeking applications from qualified independent subject-matter experts to serve as peer reviewers for fishery stock assessments in the Greater Atlantic region including New England and Mid-Atlantic offshore waters.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and maintained by the NRCC.

PURPOSE: Peer reviews are a critical component of the stock assessment process, ensuring the highest standards of scientific rigor and integrity. Peer reviewers prep for and attend multi-day meetings in Woods Hole, MA, typically in June and September. The work also includes co-authoring a Peer Review Panel report.

TO APPLY: Please view the Call for Applications. A curriculum vitae, cover letter, and references can be sent to cokeefe@nefmc.org or mailed to:

Dr. Cate O’Keefe
New England Fishery Management Council
50 Water Street, Mill 2
Newburyport, MA 01950

For more information, please refer to the NRCC’s Description of Stock Assessment Process and NEFSC’s Management Track Stock Stock Assessments website, which includes the Management Track Generic Terms of Reference. If you have questions or need further information, please contact Cate O’Keefe: cokeefe@nefmc.org.

NEFMC given Trump priorities on scallop fishery, but rollout process remains murky

August 5, 2026 — U.S. President Donald Trump recently sent a deregulatory wish list to the country’s regional fishery management councils, and the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) now has to grapple with how to address his proposed changes to the scallop fishery.

In early July, White House Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro held a press conference touting the move by Trump and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as a means of “unlocking the fertile fisheries of America.” Included in that list of requests, the Trump administration is asking the NEFMC to open the Northern Edge of Georges Bank to rotational scallop fishing for the first time in 30 years and to implement permit stacking on commercial scallop fishing boats.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Long-awaited Framework takes effect for Northeast groundfish fleet

August 4, 2026 — After months of uncertainty that left New England groundfishermen planning around regulations that had yet to take effect, NOAA Fisheries has cleared the second major regulatory hurdle for the 2026 fishing year.

The agency published an interim final rule Aug. 4 implementing Framework Adjustment 72 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, making updated catch limits, revised sector allocations and other management measures effective immediately while accepting public comments through Sept. 3.

The action follows NOAA’s June implementation of Amendment 25, which restructured Atlantic cod management into four biologically distinct stocks. Together, the two rulemakings complete the regulatory changes that many fishermen and sector managers had been waiting on since before the start of the May 1 fishing year.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman