September 27, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has voted up a new set of specifications for the Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery for the 2024 through 2027 fishing years. The Council’s package maintains total allowable landings at 2,000 metric tons annually, which is roughly equivalent to 4.41 million pounds. This is the same landing limit implemented for fishing years 2020-2023. The fishing year for deep-sea red crab begins on March 1.

The Council’s decision was based on a recommendation from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which supported a 2,000-metric-ton acceptable biological catch (ABC) for this fishery. The SSC and Council both considered the findings of the 2023 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Management Track Stock Assessment before making decisions.

The fishery for Atlantic deep-sea red crab typically consists of four active vessels operating out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, which is where the product is processed.

The fishery is market driven, and landings often do not reflect availability of the resource but, rather, the limitation on market outlets. Market demand has increased in recent years, as has the carapace width of landed crabs, which also is likely due to market demand.

September 26, 2023 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council opened its September 25-28, 2023 meeting in Plymouth, Massachusetts by congratulating reappointed Council members and welcoming a new member to the table. The Council also held its annual election of officers.

Three current members were reappointed to serve an additional three-year term on the Council. They are:

• John Pappalardo of Massachusetts, who is beginning his third full term as an at-larger Council member;

• Daniel Salerno of New Hampshire, who is beginning his second term as an at-large member; and

• Alan Tracy of Maine, who is beginning his second term on the Council as an at-large member.

Jackie Odell of Massachusetts was appointed to her first three-year term on the Council in an at-large seat. All four members took the oath of office at the meeting’s start. NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator Mike Pentony administered the oath. The new terms run from August 11, 2023 through August 10, 2026.

LEADERSHIP: For the third year in a row, the Council unanimously ushered in Eric Reid and Rick Bellavance, both from Rhode Island, to lead the Council Chair Eric Reid, left, and Vice Chair Rick Bellavance, right. – NEFMC photo Council as chair and vice chair.

Eric is a fisheries consultant based in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. He was the Council’s vice chair for two years before taking over as chair. Over his 54- year career in commercial and recreational fisheries, he has been actively engaged in all facets of the industry both at sea and shoreside. He previously owned and operated his own vertically integrated business for 11 years. Chair Reid is a founding member of several industry organizations and serves as the New England Council’s liaison to the Mid-Atlantic Council. He also is a U.S. commissioner to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) and serves as Rhode Island State Senator Susan Sosnowski’s proxy on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). This summer, Eric was appointed to NOAA’s newly established Marine and Coastal Area-Based Management Advisory Committee, which advises the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.

Rick Bellavance is the owner/operator of Priority Charters, LLC, a charter fishing business located in Point Judith. A lifelong Rhode Island resident, he has engaged in a variety of recreational and commercial fishing industries for over 30 years and currently serves as the president of the Rhode Island Party and Charter Boat Association. Rick is a member of the Greater Atlantic Steering Committee for the Marine Resource Education Program (MREP). He strongly supports improvements to the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). Rick represents the Council on the NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section of ICCAT, as well as several Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Council committees.

September 21, 2023 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:

A joint subpanel comprised of selected members of the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils’ Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSCs) will meet via webinar to review essential fish habitat designation methods.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

September 18, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a four-day meeting from Monday, September 25 through Thursday, September 28, 2023.  This will be an in-person meeting coupled with a webinar option for individuals who cannot or prefer not to attend in person. Please participate remotely if you do not feel well.

LOCATION:  Hotel 1620, Plymouth, MA.

START TIME:  12:00 p.m. on Monday and 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  The webinar will end shortly after the Council adjourns each day.

PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITIES:  The Council wants to hear from you.  Here’s how you can let the Council know what you think.

• WRITE A LETTER:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 21, 2023. Please note that written comments must address items listed on the agenda for this meeting.
• TALK TO THE COUNCIL:  You’ll be able to address the Council directly through two different avenues:

1. By commenting on motions at the discretion of the Council chair (if commenting remotely, raise your hand on the webinar and unmute yourself when called upon); and
2. By speaking during the open period for public comment.  Here are the Guidelines for Providing Public Comment.

• OPEN PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT:  On Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at 4:30 p.m., the Council will offer the public an opportunity to provide comments on issues relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda.  Given the Council’s busy meeting schedule, we ask that you limit remarks to 3-5 minutes.
• • SIGN UP:  Interested in speaking?  If attending in person, fill out the sign-up sheet on the table at the entrance to the Council meeting room.  To speak remotely, email Janice Plante at jplante@nefmc.org to get on the list.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

• Here are instructions in the Remote Participation Guide for successfully joining and participating in the webinar.
• THIS IS KEY!  If you want to speak during opportunities for public comment, you need to: (1) register for the webinar; and (2) actually “join” the webinar.  People who call in by telephone without joining the webinar will be in listen-only mode.  Those who take both steps – register and then join the webinar – will see the meeting screen and be able to click on a “raise hand” button, which will let the meeting organizer know you want to be unmuted to speak.
• We have a Help Desk in case you get stuck joining the webinar or have trouble along the way.  Just email helpdesk@nefmc.org and we’ll get right back to you.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone without joining the webinar, dial +1 (562) 247-8321.  The access code is 184-787-597.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.  Remember, you will not be able to speak if you do not first join the webinar as described above.  This phone number provides a “listen-only” option without the webinar component.

AGENDA:  All meeting materials and the agenda are available on the Council’s website atNEFMC September 25-28, 2023 meeting webpage.  Additional documents will be posted as they become available.

THREE MEETING OUTLOOK:  A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is available HERE.

COUNCIL MEETING QUESTIONS:  Anyone with questions prior to or during the Council meeting should contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

September 2, 2023 — The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet by webinar to discuss issues related to groundfish, the new Catch Accounting and Monitoring System (CAMS), and other matters.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

August 30, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries is soliciting proposals for the 2024 Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. The funding opportunity opened on August 23, 2023 and will close on October 23, 2023. The solicitation and administrative aspects of the funding opportunity are being handled by the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO). All project proposals should support the New England Fishery Management Council’s scallop research priorities as shown in the table below and outlined in this report.

NEW THIS YEAR: As a result of changes recommended by the Council in June 2023 and subsequently approved by NOAA Fisheries, RSA proposals that support regional scallop surveys for stock assessment purposes and specification setting can be funded for up to four years covering 2024-2027. Regional survey proposals may be submitted for the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and/or the Mid-Atlantic area. The four-year opportunity does not apply to discrete, finescale surveys or other research priorities, which will continue to be funded under one-or-twoyear awards.

Multi-year regional survey applications must describe the research needs for each year of the proposed project period and demonstrate that a multi-year award is in alignment with the Council’s research priorities.

August 7, 2023 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet by webinar to discuss issues related to Atlantic deep-sea red crab, white hake, a NOAA technical memorandum, and other matters.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

WHEN:  Thursday, August 10, 2023

START TIME:  8:30 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to join the meeting through this webinar.  The Remote Participation Guide is posted here.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422.  The access code is 208-654-676.  Your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

• Review information provided by the Council’s Red Crab Plan Development Team and recommend the overfishing limits (OFLs) and acceptable biological catches (ABCs) for Atlantic deep-sea red crab for fishing years 2024-2027;

• Review draft analyses provided by Council contractors on recruitment assumptions used in stock projections for white hake and comment on their utility when modifying the rebuilding plan and setting specifications;

• Comment on the draft NOAA technical memorandum titled “Technical Guidance for Estimating Status Determination Reference Points and their Proxies in Accordance with the National Standard 1 Guidelines”; and

• Discuss other business, including brief updates on: (1) identifying SSC members to serve as discussion leads for developing ABC recommendations; (2) enhancing use of SSC sociocultural and economic expertise; (3) planning for the eighth meeting of the Council Coordination Committee’s Scientific Coordination Subcommittee; and (4) commenting on NOAA Fisheries’ intent to update National Standards 4, 8, and 9 Guidelines.

COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 8, 2023.  Address comments to Council Chair Eric Reid or Executive Director Cate O’Keefe and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  Additional information is available in the meeting notice.

MATERIALS:  All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC August 10, 2023 meeting webpage.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492, ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

August 4, 2023 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Committee will be hosting a facilitated meeting on August 17, 2023 to discuss draft goals and objectives for modifying or replacing the existing acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules for groundfish. ABC control rules are used in setting annual catch limits. They define how catch and/or fishing mortality change with stock size.

The Council is inviting members of the Groundfish Committee, the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), the Groundfish Plan Development Team, the Groundfish Advisory Panel, the Recreational Advisory Panel, the Risk Policy Working Group, and the public to participate in the discussion.

This will be a hybrid meeting conducted at the Four Points by Sheraton in Wakefield, MA, coupled with a webinar option. The start time is 9:30 a.m.

PLANNING TO PARTICIPATE? The Council is encouraging all groundfish stakeholders to engage in the conversation either in person or online. For planning purposes and to ensure a proper meeting room setup, the Council is asking everyone who intends to participate to fill out this Google form to indicate whether you plan to attend in person or tune in via the webinar. Your response is not binding! The form