Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Fleet: Increased monitoring would be final nail in coffin

September 26, 2019 — Regional groundfishermen delivered a unified and dire message to the New England Fishery Management Council on Wednesday, testifying that any radical increases to at-sea monitoring coverage will bankrupt the multispecies groundfish fleet beyond repair and without benefit.

The council, meeting for the third day at the Beauport Hotel Gloucester, dedicated much of Wednesday’s agenda to groundfish issues — including the highly contentious Amendment 23, which will set future monitoring coverage levels and — ultimately — define the economic ability of commercial groundfishermen to continue fishing.

The four alternatives included in the draft amendment call for monitoring coverage levels of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of all commercial groundfish trips.

Groundfishermen, speaking Wednesday afternoon during the public comment period, drew a straight line from the increased monitoring costs to the economic collapse of the fishery.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEFMC Approves 2020-2022 Monkfish Specifications

September 26, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has approved new specifications for the 2020-2022 monkfish fishing years. The fishery operates within two areas – the Northern Fishery Management Area (NFMA) and the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA) – with a boundary line that roughly bisects Georges Bank. Landing limits and management measures vary by area, as do fishing practices.

The Council supported a 10% increase in the acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the northern area and status quo for the ABC in the southern area based on recommendations from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which worked with guidance from the Monkfish Plan Development Team (PDT). Under the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan, deductions are made from the ABC to account for management uncertainty and discards in order to determine the level of total allowable landings (TAL) for each area (see flowchart below).

Read the full release here

NEFMC Approves 2020-2021 Skate Specifications

September 25, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has approved Framework Adjustment 8 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The framework contains specifications for the 2020 and 2021 fishing years, including total allowable landings (TALs) for both the skate wing and skate bait fisheries that are slightly higher than current landing limits.

The Council adopted a 32,715 metric ton (mt) acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the skate complex based on advice from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC). This is 1,388 mt higher than what’s now in place. The Council supported the modest increase after the SSC determined it was scientifically justified and because the increase should allow the fishery to achieve optimum yield.

Under the skate plan, the annual catch limit (ACL) is equal to the ABC. Deductions from the ACL are made to account for: (1) management uncertainty; (2) projected dead discards; and (3) projected state landings, all to achieve the TAL for the overall federal fishery.

Read the full release here

NEFMC Elects Officers and Bids Farewell to Two Long-Time Members

September 25, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

At the start of its September 23-26, 2019 meeting in Gloucester, MA, the New England Fishery Management Council unanimously elected Dr. John Quinn of Massachusetts to serve a fourth consecutive term as Council chairman. The Council also elected Eric Reid of Rhode Island to serve as Council vice chair.

Dr. Quinn is Assistant Dean of Public Interest Law and External Relations at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) School of Law. He is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he spent 18 years serving on numerous important committees. He also represented many fishing interests while practicing law in private practice for over two decades in New Bedford before joining UMass. He is serving his third term on the Council.

Read the full release here

New England Fishery Management Council approves red crab fishery totals

September 24, 2019 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) decided on new specifications for the Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery a recent meeting on 24 September.

The council, which is meeting from 23 through 26 September, has increased the total allowable landings of the fishery by 12.7 percent for the next four fishing years. The proposed catch for the years 2020 to 2023 will now by 2,000 metric tons (MT), an increase of 225 MT over the 1,775 MT that the fishery has used for the last three specification cycles, according to a release from the NEFMC.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NEFMC Approves 2020-2023 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Specs

September 24, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council today voted on new specifications for the Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery that will increase total allowable landings (TAL) by 12.7% for the next four fishing years. The proposed TAL for 2020-2023 is 2,000 metric tons (mt), a 225-mt increase from the long-standing 1,775-mt landings cap that has guided this fishery for the past three specification cycles.

The Council supported the increase based on a recommendation from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), which used the best information available for this “data poor” stock. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) must review and approve the new specifications before the revised landing limit can be implemented. The red crab fishing year begins on March 1.

Read the full release here

NEFMC Initiates Framework for Atlantic Herring Offshore Spawning Protection

September 24, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has initiated a framework adjustment to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan to develop options to protect spawning herring in offshore waters.

One of the Council’s 2019 priorities was to consider offshore spawning protection for Atlantic herring on Georges Bank. In order to facilitate this work, the Council issued a contract to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) to review both historical and current scientific research, as well as other relevant information and previous management actions for spawning herring.

Read the full release here

Massachusetts meeting could have big consequences for US groundfish harvesters

September 23, 2019 — The financial well being of groundfish harvesters in the Northeastern US could be heavily influenced by a four-day meeting that kicks off in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Monday, the Gloucester Daily Times reports.

Wednesday is the key day, the newspaper advises. That’s when the meeting, held by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) at the Beauport Hotel, is expected to spend an entire afternoon focused on groundfish, including Amendment 23.

Passed by the NEFMC and approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Amendment 23 is to improve the accuracy of multispecies groundfish catch reporting data by setting industry-funded minimum coverages.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Council to review groundfish monitoring issues

September 20, 2019 — The New England Fishery Management Council will convene in Gloucester next week with an agenda that includes a groundfish monitoring measure that ultimately could determine the financial fate of the Northeast groundfish fleet.

The council is set to meet Monday through Thursday at the Beauport Hotel Gloucester. But for groundfishermen throughout the region, Wednesday is the key day.

The entire afternoon is set aside for discussing groundfish issues — including the current draft of Amendment 23, which when passed by the council and approved by NOAA Fisheries will set industry-funded monitoring coverages for the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery.

“We can’t stress enough how important it is for industry, for groundfishermen, to go to the meeting to hear what they might be facing down the road,” said Jackie Odell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition. “Whatever is decided, they will have to pay for it eventually.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Dredge Exemption Areas in the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area

September 17, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comments on proposed measures for three exemption areas within the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area (HMA) where dredge fishing for surfclams or mussel would be allowed.

The New England Fishery Management Council created the Great South Channel 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 would allow 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 would also be 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.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. You may also submit comments through regular mail to: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930

Comments are due date by October 17, 2019. For more details please read the draft environmental assessment as provided on the Council website.

Read the full release here