New England Fishery Management Council Archives - Page 40 of 101

NEFMC June 23-25, 2020 – By Webinar – Listen Live, View Documents

June 17, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting by webinar from Tuesday through Thursday, June 23-25, 2020. The public is invited to listen live and provide input during designated opportunities for public comment. The Council still cannot hold an in-person meeting due to travel restrictions and public safety guidelines associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

START TIME: The webinar will be activated at 8:00 a.m. each day. However, please note that the meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The webinar will end shortly after the Council adjourns each day.

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.
Here’s the Help Desk link in case you get stuck joining the webinar or have trouble along the way.

CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (213) 929-4212. The access code is 925-492-373. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA: All meeting materials and the agenda are available on the Council’s website at NEFMC June 23-25, 2020 Webinar Meeting. Additional documents will be posted as they become available.

RELATED – ATLANTIC HERRING STOCK ASSESSMENT PEER REVIEW: A management track assessment for Atlantic herring was recently completed. The peer review of that assessment will take place on Monday, June 22, 2020 at roughly 10:00 a.m., the day before the New England Council meets by webinar. All documents related to this assessment can be accessed via the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s data portal.

COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at the New England Council’s webinar meeting is Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 8:00 a.m.

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

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

JESSICA HATHAWAY: What fishermen want: Process not politics

June 10, 2020 — I had the honor of being in the press pool for the presidential fisheries roundtable last Friday. When the conversation came around to the input from industry reps, there seemed be some confusion about whether the removal of commercial fishing restrictions in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts monument was going to benefit the people at the table.

With the exception of Jon Williams, who fishes red crab traps in the monument area, that’s not why they were there. The truth is, most of the panelists have never and would never fish in the monument area. Even if this declaration weren’t destined to be tied up in court, the oversight of this habitat area would revert back to the New England Fishery Management Council, which implemented protections in 2002 and extended them in 2015.

The panelists’ support was not based on their personal vested interest in fishing that area. Rather, it was a philosophical objection to the process of declaring marine monuments. So what’s all the fuss, anyway?

The Antiquities Act of 1906 gives the president the power to declare monuments on lands owned or controlled by the federal government.

The use of the act in marine environments is different because ALL of our ocean rights are controlled by government — state governments out to three miles and federal government from three to 200 miles. U.S. citizens cannot own water unless we own all the land surrounding and under that water. Otherwise, we can only own *access* to water.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Scallop prices took 30 percent price hit from COVID-19

June 9, 2020 — Back in late December, before the covid-19 pandemic struck, the New England Fishery Management Council presented regulations for the 2020 fishing year. At the time, around 50 million pounds of U.S. landings and an estimated ex-vessel value of around $487 million was projected for 2020.

It is yet to be determined how things will play out for Atlantic sea scallops, but so far anecdotal reports indicate scallop prices had been down 30 percent or more around New Bedford, Mass. In April, the council asked federal regulators to make changes because of the impact the coronavirus has had on the fishery.

The 2019 fishing year went as expected, says Travis Ford of NMFS. Estimates say average prices were $9.20 per pound.

“Preliminary landings data suggest the fleet landed 58.15 million pounds of scallops in 2019,” according to Ford. “The biggest surprise was the conditions in the Nantucket Lightship-West Access Area. Based on 2019 surveys there was around 50 million-pound decline in total biomass estimate from 2018-19. This made it difficult for vessels to finish their trips in the area later in the fishing year.” Regulators are investigating what is behind the decline.

Rusty Parmenter, a Maine scallop fisherman who works in both federal and Maine state waters, says things have changed as restaurant markets shuttered in response to covid-19. The bulk of larger scallops are usually sold to restaurants and receive a premium price at the dock. Now, many are being frozen instead and sold to supermarkets.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Fishermen file lawsuit against herring at-sea monitoring rule

June 9, 2020 — The Cause of Action Institute has filed a motion for summary judgement on behalf of New Jersey, U.S.A., fisherman against a new set of regulations called the “Omnibus Amendment,” which requires some boats in the Atlantic herring fishery carry at-sea monitors at their own cost.

The new rule was designed by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), and was recently finalized by NOAA and the Department of Commerce. The New Jersey fishermen, according to a release from the Cause of Action Institute, object to the at-sea monitor requirements, as it is expected to cost fishermen “upwards of USD 700 [EUR 619] a day.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Food banks pushed to the brink

June 8, 2020 — The coronavirus pandemic and economic slowdown has left at least 20 million Americans out of work, sending demand skyrocketing at food banks and other feeding programs around the U.S. The Agriculture Department is already spending $3 billion on surplus meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables to help nonprofits meet their needs, but anti-hunger advocates say there’s another way Washington should help: Increase food stamp benefits so hungry families can buy more groceries instead of leaning on food banks.

The president on Friday threatened once again to slap duties on automobiles from the EU because of the bloc’s tariffs on U.S. lobsters. Trump said he’s putting Peter Navarro in charge of resolving the dispute, dubbing his hawkish trade adviser the “lobster king,” reports Pro Trade’s Doug Palmer.

The EU currently has an 8 percent tariff on live Maine lobsters, plus duties ranging from 16 percent to 20 percent on processed lobster. Meanwhile, Canada can export lobsters to Europe without paying any duties, leaving U.S. producers at a disadvantage.

“That’s an easy one to handle,” Trump said at a roundtable with commercial fishermen in Bangor, Maine, on Friday. But his administration has negotiated with Brussels for two years without reaching an agreement, and in November, the EU rejected a U.S. proposal for a mini-trade deal covering lobsters and chemicals.

China, another large market for lobster exports, also imposed retaliatory duties on American lobsters after Trump slapped tariffs on a wide range of Chinese goods. Trump on Friday directed Navarro to put pressure on Beijing by slapping even more tariffs on some Chinese goods.

Trump opened up a national marine monument in the North Atlantic to commercial fishing, undoing ecological protections implemented by the Obama administration. Under the proclamation, the New England Fishery Management Council will determine the amount of fishing allowed in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, some 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Mass. Pro Energy’s Ben Lefebvre and Eric Wolff have the details.

Read the full story at Politico

NFI Statement on Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument

June 5, 2020 — The following was released by the National Fisheries Institute:

The National Fisheries Institute applauds the Trump administration for withdrawing arbitrary fisheries restrictions on the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument off the coast of New England.

We welcome efforts to refocus on fisheries regulation that are transparent, participatory and science-based, and in this case best achieved through the New England Fishery Management Council.

The Magnuson Stevens Act has long provided options for management councils to designate fishing areas and marine habitat for protection. This method includes an opportunity for multi-stakeholder input and a robust review of the applicable science.

Advanced research assessments ensure proper levels of fishing are permitted in designated areas. Simply cordoning off zones on a map to harvesting without regard for the existing, well-constructed system has been duplicative and disadvantaged the men and women who work these fisheries and ultimately consumers.

Seafood sustainability means a commitment to quantifiable science and the communities that depend on American fisheries.

NEFMC Calendar: Here’s the June 2020 AP and Committee Meeting Lineup – Join Our Webinars

June 3, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled several advisory panel (AP) and committee meetings during the first three weeks of June to address actions related to Atlantic herring, Atlantic sea scallops, groundfish, whiting/red hake, research priorities, and ecosystem-based fishery management. All meetings will be conducted by webinar. The results will be discussed by the full Council when it convenes June 23-25, 2020, also by webinar. Here’s the June lineup.

WHITING/RED HAKE – Thursday, June 4: The Council’s Whiting Committee and Whiting AP will meet jointly to discuss proposed alternatives for rebuilding southern red hake, as well as other issues.

Read the full release here

NOAA Taking Emergency Action to Reduce Economic Harm to Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

June 1, 2020 — NOAA Fisheries announced on Friday a temporary rule that will extend portions of the fishing year 2019 carryover provisions in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan into the fishing year 2020. According to the government agency this is an emergency action that is necessary to provide the scallop fleet the opportunity to land allocations that may have gone unharvested. The hope is that this temporary rule will reduce economic harm to the scallop fishery caused by COVID-19.

The temporary rule goes into effect on June 1 and was brought on by a request from the New England Fishery Management Council during their April 15 meeting. During that meeting the Council requested that all 2019 access area carryover pounds, as well as unharvested RSA compensation pounds from fishing year 2019, be available for harvest for 180 days in fishing year 2020. The council also requested that the NLS-Wests remain an access area during the fishing year 2020, and that all LAGC IFQ vessels be allowed to roll forward all unharvested quota from fishing year 2019 for 180 days into fishing year 2020.

Read the full story at Seafood News

NOAA Fisheries Announces a Temporary Rule for Emergency Action to Extend Portions of the Fishing Year 2019 Carryover Provisions in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan

May 29, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces a temporary rule to extend portions of the fishing year 2019 carryover provisions in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan into fishing year 2020. At the request of the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries is taking emergency action to implement these measures.

This action:

Allows limited access general category individual fishing quota vessels to carryover all fishing year 2019 unharvested quota into fishing year 2020.
Allows any access area carryover pounds and unharvested research set-aside compensation pounds from fishing year 2019 to be available for harvest through August 31, 2020.
Extends the time period vessels may utilize their 2019 access area allocation in the Nantucket Lightship-West through August 31, 2020, and then close the area on September 1, 2020, in order to minimize unwanted bycatch.

Extending these carryover provisions further into fishing year 2020 will give vessels more flexibility: to harvest some carryover that would otherwise be lost (~5.2 million lb fleet-wide) to land this allocation at the opportune time, and to avoid unnecessary adverse economic impacts. Extending these carryover provisions will not cause any annual catch limits to be exceeded in the scallop fishery. The measures in this temporary rule are effective for 180 days, but the rule may be extended for an additional 186, if necessary.

Read the temporary rule as filed in the Federal Register, and the permit holder bulletin posted on our website.

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Thursday, June 4, 2020 – Research Priorities

May 26, 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 Thursday, June 4, 2020. The public is invited to listen live. Here are the details.

START TIME: 10:00 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) 655-0060. The access code is 374-434-055. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA: The SSC will meet to:

Review the New England Council’s 2020-2024 research priorities, including updates identified by the Council’s committees and plan development teams, and provide recommendations on the suggested revisions;

Receive a presentation on the Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Peer Review report; and

Discuss other business as necessary.

COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 2020. 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 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.