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

The New England Fishery Management Council began planning its work priorities for the year ahead when it met in Plymouth, Massachusetts September 25-28, 2023. It also covered a series of other important topics ranging from East Coast climate change, fishery independent surveys, whiting, skates, strategies for avoiding conflicts with on-demand fishing gear, and much more. Here’s a brief rundown of what took place.

2024 COUNCIL PRIORITIES: The Council annually goes through a detailed, two-step exercise to establish work priorities for the following year. First, the Council engages in an initial discussion on priorities, which occurs in September. Second, the Council takes final action on work priorities during its December meeting. Priorities are divided into three categories: (1) required actions for which the Council has no discretion over and must do; (2) accepted actions the Council previously approved but need continued work; and (3) new proposals. Given the limitations on staff time and Council resources, the Council needs to carefully review the list of new proposals to identify its top priorities for future actions. The Council discussed the initial list of potential 2024 priorities as outlined in this document, and it added a few additional items. Council members currently are in the process of ranking new proposals in order of importance. The Executive Committee will review the results of the rankings and develop recommendations on final 2024 priorities for full Council consideration in December. Here is the audio of the September discussion.

CLIMATE CHANGE COORDINATION: The Council has been working with its East Coast partners since 2020 on climate change scenario planning. The planning phase culminated with a February 2023 summit. The Core Team working on the project then developed a Potential Action Menu to steer the implementation of actions to help fishing communities prepare for an era of climate change. The two groups leading these next steps are:

• The East Coast Climate Coordination Group, which is a leadership-level body made up of New England, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic Council executive directors, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) executive director, and NOAA Fisheries leaders from the regional offices and science centers. This group will oversee implementation of climate change actions. And,

• The East Coast Climate Core Team, which is a staff-level group with representation from the East Coast fishery management councils, ASMFC, and the NOAA Fisheries regional and headquarters offices and science centers. This group will provide relevant information and suggestions to help guide the coordination group’s work.

The New England Council received a progress report on next steps during its September meeting and engaged in a productive discussion. The East Coast Climate Coordination Group will hold its first meeting on November 7, 2023 in Gloucester. The New England Council will receive a report on this meeting in December. The history of the East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Initiative is documented here. A Scenario Planning Toolkit also is available to assist other organizations with climate change planning effort

October 24, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its late September meeting in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the New England Fishery Management Council acted on two items related to monkfish.

• The Council approved the range of alternatives for a joint action that is being developed in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Council to reduce the bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in the monkfish and spiny dogfish large-mesh gillnet fisheries; and

• The Council also approved the Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Working Group’s final report.

MONKFISH RSA WORKING GROUP: The working group was formed early this year to review and develop measures to improve the Monkfish RSA Program’s effectiveness. As part of its charge under the Council’s 2023 priorities, the working group evaluated the findings and recommendations of the broader 2019 RSA Program Review to determine which, if any, of those recommendations should be further considered for the Monkfish RSA Program.

Fishermen, NOAA Fisheries and Council staff, Monkfish Committee members, and others served on the working group, which held three meetings. The group categorized its recommendations as follows:

High Priority: The working group recommended making these changes first;

Important: The group recommended addressing items in this category after high priority items were considered; and

Do Not Recommend: The group discussed 13 other possibilities but opted to remove them from further consideration.

The recommendations were further categorized by: (a) communication improvements; and (b) RSA allocation improvements. An at-a-glance list of these recommendations by category can be viewed in this presentation. Detailed tables can be found in the final report

October 23, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet to discuss issues related to whiting and groundfish stocks.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

WHEN:  Friday, October 27, 2023

WHERE:  Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan Airport.  This is an in-person meeting, coupled with a webinar option.  Please do not attend this meeting in person if you do not feel well.

START TIME:  9:30 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 (631) 992-3221.  The access code is 957-827-573.  Your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

October 16, 2023 — The New England Fishery Management Council is seeking qualified candidates to serve on its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC).  The application deadline is December 20, 2023.

• SSC appointments are for three years with a limit of three consecutive terms. The term under this request for nominations will begin in January 2024 and end December 2026.
• SSC members receive a daily stipend for meetings and are reimbursed for travel expenses.
• Nominees must submit:

• • A resume or CV, including the length and type of relevant experience;
  • A brief letter of interest describing reasons for wanting to join the SSC; and
  • A completed Statement of Financial Interest Form.

• All materials must be received by December 20, 2023 and should be sent via email or mail to Joan O’Leary at:
  • joleary@nefmc.org;
  • New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950

SSC nominees 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. SSC members are expected to provide independent, scientific advice to the Council.

The purpose of the SSC is to assist the Council in the development, collection, evaluation, and peer review of statistical, biological, economic, social, and other scientific information relevant to the development of fishery management plans. The committee may:

• Provide guidance to ensure that fishery management plans are based on the best scientific information available.
• Provide the Council with scientific advice for fishery management decisions, including recommendations for acceptable biological catch, overfishing limits, and achieving rebuilding targets, as well as social and economic impacts of management measures.
• Provide peer reviews of regional scientific work, and methods and analyses prepared by the Council’s Plan Development Teams. Individuals may be appointed to serve on regional peer review panels, including for stock assessments.
• Advise the Council on the preparation of comments on scientific issues.

More information is available in the Council’s Operations Handbook. If you have questions or need further details, please contact Rachel Feeney: rfeeney@nefmc.org; (978) 465-0492 ext. 110.

October 10, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council received the peer-reviewed results of the 2023 Atlantic Cod Research Track Assessment when it met in late-September in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The results provide a new understanding of cod stock structure, which will guide the Council’s work in the year ahead as it develops an Atlantic Cod Management Transition Plan.

The Council also: (1) approved the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee’s 2024 total allowable catch recommendations for three shared U.S./Canada groundfish resources on Georges Bank; and (2) was The Atlantic Cod Research Track Assessment Working Group and Peer Review Panel determined that cod is comprised of four biological stock units, which cover: the Eastern Gulf of Maine; the Western Gulf of Maine (winter/spring spawners); Georges Bank; and Southern New England. – Working Group graphic presented with updates on two framework adjustments to the groundfish plan that are under development.

Atlantic Cod Stock Structure

The Council currently makes management decisions for Atlantic cod based on two biological stock units – one for Georges Bank and one for the Gulf of Maine

However, a years-long investigation into cod stock structure that led to a series of workshops and recently culminated with the 2023 Atlantic Cod Research Track Stock Assessment concluded that cod is better defined by four biological stock units:

• Eastern Gulf of Maine;

• Western Gulf of Maine (winter/spring spawners);

• Georges Bank; and

• Southern New England.

Going forward, overfished and overfishing determinations will be made separately for each of the four biological stock units. The first official status determination for each stock will be driven by the outcome of the June 2024 Management Track Stock Assessments for Atlantic cod.

Now that the results of the research track assessment are known, the Council’s work will ramp up as it addresses how to manage cod under this new understanding of cod stock structure. The Council is working on an Atlantic Cod Management Transition Plan through which it will develop criteria for future management units and quota allocation issues, among other topics. Here is the tentative timeline:

January through April 2024 – The Council will work on a first draft of the transition plan, which will include a discussion of whether potential management changes should be addressed through a framework adjustment or an amendment to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan (FMP); and Ø

May through August 2024 – The Council will continue to work on the transition plan. At this point, it will discuss whether any management changes should be incorporated into the annual framework action that will be developed over the summer and fall with specifications and other measures for the 2025 groundfish fishing year, which will begin on May 1, 2025.

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

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet to discuss issues related to Atlantic sea scallops, Gulf of Maine haddock, and the Northeast skate complex.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

October 2, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has agreed to develop an amendment to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to minimize user conflicts in the fishery and address other issues.

In preparation for this action, the Council also agreed to develop a scoping document and schedule a series of scoping meetings to receive initial input from stakeholders on the potential range of alternatives to be considered in the amendment.

HERRING AMENDMENT 10: The Council has been working on an action that previously was referred to as “revisiting the Inshore Midwater Trawl Restricted Area that was developed under Amendment 8.” The restricted area was implemented but subsequently vacated by a federal court on March 29, 2022.

During its September 25-28, 2023 meeting in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the Council voted to change the title of the new action to “an action to minimize user conflicts related to the Atlantic herring fishery.”

The Council already had approved a problem statement to guide this work, and it expanded the scope of the action when it met in June in Freeport, Maine.

At the September meeting, the Council took the additional step of designating the action as an amendment to, more specifically, “address spatial and temporal allocation and management of Atlantic herring at the management unit level to minimize user conflicts, contribute to optimum yield, and support rebuilding of the resource.”

September 28, 2023 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council covered several Atlantic sea scallop and habitat issues during its September 25-28, 2023 meeting in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Details follow on pages 2 through 5, but at-a-glance, the list of discussion items included:

• A high-level overview of findings from the 2023 scallop survey season conducted under the Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program;

• A snapshot of access area and closed area options being analyzed in Framework Adjustment 38 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan, which contains specifications for the 2024 fishing year, default specification for 2025, and other measures;

• A vote to develop options in Framework 38 to increase vessel monitoring system (VMS) ping rates in the scallop fishery to improve enforcement;

• Approval of the Scallop Survey Working Group’s Scallop Survey Guiding Principles;

• A presentation from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center covering fishery independent surveys, including 2023 federal scallop survey issues and future R/V Hugh R. Sharp contingency plans;

• A progress report on the framework action being developed to potentially authorize scallop fishery access to the Closed Area II Habitat Closure Area on the Northern Edge of Georges Bank, as well as a charge to the Scallop and Habitat Plan Development Teams (PDTs) to analyze four conceptual areas for potential scallop access on the Northern Edge factoring in habitat concerns;