Saving Seafood

Fishing monitors not required through May 30; draft rule hearing Thursday

May 20, 2020 — Meanwhile, the New England Fishery Management Council is hosting a webinar public hearing on its draft groundfish monitoring amendment and has extended the public comment deadline to the end of June.

The council, which voted in April to postpone final action on draft Amendment 23 beyond its June meeting, will hold the webinar public hearing Thursday, May 21. One hearing was held May 12. If approved, the council would work with new NOAA to implement the new monitoring rules.

Thursday’s session is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and individuals may register through a link on the council’s website, nefmc.org.

More information on Amendment 23 and proposed changes to monitoring can be found at https://bit.ly/2zN4vcR

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Industry Spoke and We Listened: Communications Effort Focuses on Groundfish Monitoring and Amendment 23 Development

May 20, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries collaboratively manages U.S. fisheries with fishery management councils, fisheries commissions, and state partners. The New England Fishery Management Council is developing Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. Through this amendment, the Council is evaluating the current groundfish monitoring program and considering changes to improve the monitoring system. Early discussions during the development of Amendment 23 revealed that industry members wanted more information about our current monitoring system. The groundfish monitoring system is complex, and since the at-sea monitoring program is industry-funded, changes to this program have implications for the industry. Communication is key to our work and we always strive to do a better job communicating about our programs and systems. The development of this amendment presents an opportunity for us to improve understanding about our monitoring programs. We can also help industry and other stakeholders engage in the development of Amendment 23.

Creating a Plan to Improve Communication about Monitoring and Amendment 23

In 2018, we contracted with a team of public outreach specialists from Vision Planning and Consulting, LLC (VPC). They helped us develop a strategic communications plan to improve the way we communicate about groundfish monitoring and Amendment 23. We developed the plan to ensure that members of the industry, particularly those who may not always participate in Council meetings, have the information they need to engage meaningfully in the management process.

Read the full release here

Great South Channel Habitat Management Area

May 18, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces three exemption areas within the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area where dredge fishing for surfclams or mussels will be allowed.

The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) created the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area (HMA) as part of its Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2, which prohibited the use of all mobile bottom-tending fishing gear in the area. The HMA contains complex benthic habitat that is important for juvenile cod and other groundfish species, but also susceptible to the impacts of fishing.

This action allows the surfclam fishery to operate hydraulic dredge gear year-round in two small areas (McBlair and Fishing Rip) and seasonally in a third area (Old South) within the HMA. Mussel dredge fishing is also allowed in these exemption areas. These exemption areas were chosen to allow relatively limited access to some historical surfclam fishing grounds, while protecting the majority of the HMA. The three exemption areas total only 6.9 percent of the total area of the HMA, and do not include areas most clearly identified as containing complex and vulnerable habitats.

You can read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register.

Scallop RSA Share Day: Tune in on May 19th to Learn More about Industry-Funded Research

May 15, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will be hosting a Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program Share Day on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 via webinar beginning at 9:00 a.m. The event will feature updates and preliminary findings from projects recently funded through the RSA program. The presentations will benefit the Scallop Plan Development Team and Scallop Advisory Panel in making recommendations to the Scallop Committee and full Council for future research priority setting for this program. In addition, all scallopers and other stakeholders may be interested in hearing about how RSA projects enhance management of the fishery and address critical resource, gear, bycatch, and survey issues.

The Council annually “sets aside” 1.25 million pounds of scallop meats that can be used to support research in the fishery. The Council then determines research priorities. NOAA Fisheries manages the RSA competition and administers the program.

Read the full release here

Scallop sales following seafood trend: Big drop in foodservice, but surge in retail

May 13, 2020 — The scallop market in the U.S. has largely mirrored the trends seen in virtually every other seafood category, according to information shared by Bristol Seafood.

The information came via an industry webinar the company hosted in order to provide an update on how scallops have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bristol regularly releases a “factbook” covering what to expect in the coming year, but the pandemic had understandably rendered a portion of that information obsolete.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: Executive order calls for reducing aquaculture regs

May 12, 2020 — Around the same time last week that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released $300 million in coronavirus aid to the seafood industry, President Donald Trump issued an executive order “Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth.”

The major reasons given to issue the executive order were familiar objectives of the administration: reduce our dependence on imported seafood by decreasing the regulatory burden on fishermen and the aquaculture, while creating a level playing field with other countries.

“The Fisheries Survival Fund has long supported efforts to revise and streamline unnecessary regulations, an effort that is more important now than ever,” spokesman John Cooke wrote in a statement.

Trump ordered each of the country’s regional fishery management councils to submit a prioritized list of recommended actions to reduce regulatory burdens on fishermen and increase production within six months. But the Trump administration already asked NOAA and the New England Fishery Management Council three years ago to develop a list of unnecessary and duplicative regulations, which has already been submitted, and it may be much harder to find the regulatory fat this time around.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Peer Review Meeting, May 18-20, 2020 – Join the Webinar

May 11, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

An ad hoc sub-panel of the New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and outside scientists will meet May 18-20, 2020 via webinar to conduct a peer review of the Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Working Group’s report titled:  An Interdisciplinary Review of Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Stock Structure in the Western North Atlantic Ocean.

START TIME:  9:00 a.m. daily.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Register for the webinar HERE.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 655-0052. The access code is 805-785-106.

PEER REVIEW PANEL:  The panel is made up of the following reviewers.

  • Jake Kritzer – chair
  • Yong Chen (SSC member)
  • Jeremy Collie (SSC member)
  • Richard Merrick (SSC member)
  • Ike Wirgin

WORKING GROUP TERMS OF REFERENCE:  The Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Working Group was asked to inventory, summarize, and synthesize all relevant information to inform the most scientifically supported biological structure of Atlantic cod in U.S. waters using the following terms of reference (TORs).

  1. Inventory and summarize all relevant peer-review information about stock structure of Atlantic cod in NAFO Divisions 5 and 6 and interactions with 4X. Evaluate the relative importance of the information with respect to developing a holistic understanding of Atlantic cod stock structure.
  2. Identify and evaluate any new or existing data or information about the stock structure of Atlantic cod in NAFO Divisions 5 and 6 and interactions with 4X, and subject to a peer review by the working group. Integrate any additional information into the inventory developed in TOR 1.
  3. Using a holistic approach, synthesize all available information (TOR 1 and 2) and develop sets of possible biological stock structures and consider scientific support for each alternative. In developing alternative stock structures, consider the temporal stability of stock structure and how the available information can inform the knowledge of stock structure over time.
  4. Identify any major information gaps in data collection and the existing research with respect to cod stock structure. Develop a prioritized list of recommendations to address these gaps. Comment on the feasibility and time horizon (e.g., short-term, long-term) of the proposed research recommendations.

COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 14, 2020.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  The address for mailing comments is:  New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill #2, Newburyport, MA 01950.

 

MATERIALS:  Meeting materials are posted on the Council’s website at May 18-20, 2020 Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Peer Review.  Here is the primary Technical Memo.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Council Deputy Director Chris Kellogg at (978) 465-0492 ext. 112; ckellogg@nefmc.org, Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org, or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

Public hearings on at-sea monitors move online

May 8, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled two more webinar public hearings on its draft groundfish monitoring amendment and extended the public comment deadline to the end of June.

The council, which voted in April to postpone final action on draft Amendment 23 beyond its June meeting, has set the webinar public hearings for May 12 and May 21.

Both are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and individuals may register through a link on the council’s website.

The council also said it plans to hold additional public hearings beyond those scheduled for May, with details to follow. The date for final action has not been determined.

“We’ve updated the public hearings document and the presentation,” said Janice Plante, council spokeswoman. “The executive committee also will meet at some point and talk about the next step.”

The executive committee is scheduled to meet in early June, but Plante said that wouldn’t preclude it from earlier discussions on the future path for Amendment 23 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23: Join the May 12 and May 21 Public Hearing Webinars

May 6, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled two more public hearings on Draft Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23, which is being developed to improve the accuracy and accountability of catch reporting in the commercial groundfish fishery.

The Council held its first public hearing on April 15, 2020 by webinar. Given the continued restrictions on public gatherings due to COVID-19, the Council will hold the May 12 and May 21 public hearings by webinar as well. Here’s what you need to know to join in.

Read the full release here

NEFMC Discusses Red Hake Research Track Assessment, Rebuilding Measures

May 5, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its April 14-15, 2020 webinar meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council received a presentation from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center on preliminary results from the Red Hake Stock Structure Peer Review meeting. It then received a progress report on management measures that are under development to rebuild the southern stock of red hake. The Council is scheduled to take final action on this rebuilding package in June.

Currently, red hake is assessed as two distinct stocks – one northern and one southern (see map). As part of the research track assessment, a working group was established to evaluate whether it is appropriate to continuing using this two-stock assumption or whether an alternative approach would be better.

The working group was made up of scientists from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, state agencies, and academia. It met several times between November 2019 and February 2020 and examined red hake growth, maturity, spawning patterns, and other characteristics. The working group also was charged with evaluating how well the federal bottom trawl survey catches red hake and what that means for population assessments

Read the full release here