Saving Seafood

Council meeting not a signal of normalcy

August 31, 2020 — The pandemic has kept us all closely tethered to home for the past five months, so it was nice for us here at FishOn to go over the bridge and up the line last Wednesday to cover an actual in-person event. No Zoom. No webinar. Just journalism in the great outdoors of Wakefield.

We covered the last public hearing conducted by the New England Fishery Management Council on the ever-contentious Amendment 23 — the measure to set future monitoring levels for sector-based groundfish vessels in the Northeast fishery.

The council, which is expected to take final action on the measure at its September meeting, did a good job of hosting the public hearing meeting under a tent in the parking lot of the Sheraton Four Points hotel.

Folks were masked and properly socially distanced. Capacity was 50 and about 20 fishing stakeholders attended the meeting, so there was plenty of room. Under the tent, it felt like junior high school detention (or so we understand) where they separate all the troublemakers as far apart as possible.

“It was a pretty big effort,” said Tom Nies, the council’s executive director said about a half hour before the scheduled start of the hearing. “The hotel was helpful. But we’re still working on some details.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Fish council hears comments on 100% monitoring option

August 28, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council returned to a semblance of normalcy on Wednesday, holding its first in-person, public meeting of any kind since the COVID-19 pandemic struck about five months ago.

In some ways, the public hearing on Amendment 23 — the measure to set monitoring levels for Northeast sector-based groundfish vessels — was unexplored terrain.

The ninth and final public hearing on the measure was the first al fresco meeting in the history of the council. Capacity was limited to 50, but there was more than enough space. About 20 attendees joined a handful of council staff under the tent in the parking lot of the Sheraton Four Points hotel, next to Route 128.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEFMC: In-person meeting on at-sea monitors Wednesday

August 26, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council will stage its first in-person meeting in about five months on Wednesday when it hosts the final public hearing on the measure to set future at-sea monitoring levels in the Northeast groundfish fishery.

The public hearing, to be held outside under a tent, is set for 3 p.m. at the Sheraton Four Points hotel in Wakefield, just off Route 128. The in-person hearing will be limited to 50 individuals to comply with the state’s outdoor gathering restrictions.

Those interested in attending must pre-register on the council website. The council extended the registration until noon Wednesday. The hearing also will be simulcast online via webinar.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEFMC Seeks Applicants for Whiting and Herring Advisory Panels

August 19, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is soliciting applicants to fill one vacancy on its Whiting Advisory Panel and another vacancy on its Herring Advisory Panel (AP). The appointments will run through December 2022. The application deadline is Friday, September 4, 2020.

Advisory panel members reflect a wide range of expertise covering different gear types, user groups, geographic locations, and social and economic perspectives.

“We’re looking for applicants who understand the whiting and herring fisheries and are ready to commit to an active role on an AP,” said Council Executive Director Tom Nies. “We recognize that being an AP member can be challenging and sometimes time-demanding, but the Council benefits from the expertise of its AP members and genuinely appreciates their involvement in the development of our actions.”

Read the full release here

The muddy waters of US ocean protection

August 18, 2020 — At the beginning of June, President Trump issued an executive order to open the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument to commercial fishing, chipping away at one of former President Obama’s last acts in office: the closure, in supposed perpetuity, of 5,000 square miles of ocean off the coast of Massachusetts.

The monument, straddling the edge of the continental shelf, is the only marine reserve on the Eastern Seaboard. The canyons and seamounts shelter 54 species of deep-sea corals and provide habitat to lobster, tuna, deep-diving beaked whales, and the now-critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

“This would be the only place along the entire Eastern Seaboard that has no vertical lines for entangling marine mammals,” said Auster.

The Antiquities Act affords the president unilateral power to protect the ocean. Unlike conservation through restrictive management or multi-use sanctuaries, a national monument protects everything it encompasses.

It does not require a process of approval by stakeholders, which for sanctuaries can drag out for many years—time that is precious for ecosystems on the brink of collapse. That’s precisely why the Councils, while they haven’t taken a stance against the use of the Antiquities Act in the ocean, have lobbied to remove fishing restrictions from the marine national monuments, which together constitute more than 99 percent of all the highly protected marine habitat in the U.S. If there are going to be national monuments in the ocean, they argue, the fisheries within them should be managed with the same multi-stakeholder consensus that applies throughout the rest of federal waters.

“The ban on commercial fishing within Marine National Monument waters is a regulatory burden on domestic fisheries, requiring many of the affected American fishermen to travel outside U.S. waters with increased operational expenses and higher safety-at-sea risks,” wrote Regional Fishery Management Council representatives in a May letter to the Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur L. Ross Jr.

Though few boats fish in the northeast canyons, and none fish on the seamounts, control over the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts is a matter of principle, and precedent, for the New England Fishery Management Council. Shortly after Trump’s executive order in June, the Council created a deep-sea coral amendment that imposed fishery closures and gear restrictions on a substantial portion of the monument.

Read the full story at the Environmental Health News

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Monday, August 24, 2020 – Groundfish Issues

August 17, 2020 — 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 via webinar on Monday, August 24, 2020 to discuss two groundfish-related issues.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

START TIME:  9:30 a.m.

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

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 930-5321.  The access code is 792-543-455.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

  • Review recent stock assessment information from the U.S/Canada Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC), review information provided by the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT), and recommend the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for the 2021 and 2022 fishing years;
  • Review information provided by the Groundfish PDT on possible rebuilding approaches for white hake and review the basis for the range of alternative rebuilding strategies developed by the PDT; and
  • Discuss other business as necessary.

COMMENTS:  Written comments must be received by 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2020 for consideration at this meeting.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies 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 24, 2020 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.

REMINDER – SSC SUB-PANEL PEER REVIEW:  A sub-panel of the SSC will meet via webinar on Friday, August 21, 2020 to conduct a peer review of the report titled Evaluating the Impact of Inaccurate Catch Information on New England Groundfish Management.  The Gulf of Maine Research Institute and collaborators prepared the report specifically for the Council under a Council-issued contract.  Webinar information and all related documents can be found at peer review.

Scallop RSA Program – Time to Submit 2021-2022 Project Proposals

August 14, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries has begun soliciting proposals for research projects to be carried out under the 2021-2022 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. The submission deadline is October 12, 2020.

Proposals should respond to the research priorities established by the New England Fishery Management Council. During its June 2020 webinar meeting, the Council determined that resource surveys should be the highest priority for the next round of RSA awards.

  • The Council also identified a number of “high” and “general research” priorities, which are summed up in the table below.
  • Details about all of the priorities are spelled out in this section of the Federal Funding Opportunity

Read the full release here

Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program Competition is Open

August 14, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries, in coordination with the New England Fishery Management Council, is soliciting proposals under the 2021/2022 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program.

The solicitation closes October 12, 2020. You can review the solicitation and apply online.

Projects supported under the program must enhance the knowledge of the scallop fishery resource or contribute to the body of information on which scallop management decisions are made.

Read the full release here

NEFMC Plans Outdoor In-Person Hearing for Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23

August 13, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Barring severe weather or changes in outdoor gathering restrictions issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New England Fishery Management Council will hold an outdoor, in-person public hearing for Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 beginning at 3:00 p.m. It will take place under a large tent on the grounds of the Sheraton Four Points in Wakefield, MA.

NOW’S THE TIME: This is the last public hearing the Council will hold on Amendment 23 before taking final action during its September meeting. If extenuating circumstances prevent the Council from holding the hearing in person, the hearing will be conducted by webinar on the same day at the same time.

Read the full release here

Fishing council plans in-person meeting on monitoring

August 6, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council is exploring the possibility of hosting an in-person meeting for the last public hearing before it takes final action on the Northeast groundfish monitoring amendment in September.

The council has set three more public hearings before public comment closes Aug. 31 on Amendment 23, which will set at-sea monitoring levels throughout the fishery. The first two — this Thursday and Aug. 10 — will be via webinar, as were the first four.

The final public hearing on Aug. 26 could be switched to an in-person, outdoor session under a tent at a greater Boston location — but only if it can conform with current Massachusetts COVID-19 safety restrictions for public gatherings. If not, the final public hearing will proceed as a webinar.

“The decision whether to hold the meeting in-person and outdoors primarily will depend on the guidance of Gov. (Charlie) Baker of Massachusetts and whether Massachusetts changes its restrictions on public gatherings,” Janice Plante, council spokeswoman, said Tuesday. “We don’t want to put anybody in a compromised position.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times