Saving Seafood

NEFMC to Host Coral Workshops to Solicit Input From Active Fishermen

February 8, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is hosting two workshops to bring together active fishermen who use bottom-tending mobile and fixed gear to discuss issues related to its Deep-Sea Coral Amendment.  Advance registration is strongly encouraged.  Here are the details.

PURPOSE:  The Council is seeking guidance primarily from active fishermen who use trawls, traps or pots, gillnets, longlines, and/or dredges offshore in the Gulf of Maine and in the slope/canyon region south of Georges Bank.  The Coral Amendment contains several alternatives that are under development.  The Council is looking for:  (1) industry feedback on fishing activity within proposed coral protection zones; and (2) help in refining management area boundaries to limit impacts to fishing operations while still providing protection for corals.

WORKSHOP #1, NEW BEDFORD, MA:  Two days, beginning Monday, March 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and continuing into Tuesday, March 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, 185 MacArthur Drive, New Bedford, MA 02740.  

AGENDA #1:  The New Bedford workshop will focus on fishing activity in and around the amendment’s draft deep-sea canyon coral zones and shelf/slope broad coral zones south of Georges Bank.  Generally speaking, these zones are deeper than 150 fathoms.  NOTE — large pelagic fishermen who work in the canyon/slope region are not proposed to be impacted by the Coral Amendment.

MAP #1:  A map of the area being addressed in Workshop #1 is available at zones south of Georges Bank.

REGISTRATION #1:  New Bedford Registration Form.

WORKSHOP #2, PORTSMOUTH, NH:  Single day, Wednesday, March 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Harborside, 250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801.

AGENDA #2:  The Portsmouth workshop will focus on fishermen and fishing activity in Jordan Basin and the Lindenkohl Knoll area of Georges Basin.  NOTE — proposals for the inshore areas around Outer Schoodic Ridge and Mount Desert Rock are not the intended focus of this Portsmouth gathering.

MAP #2:  A map of the area being addressed in Workshop #2 is available at Jordan and Georges Basins.

REGISTRATION #2:  Portsmouth Registration Form.

GENERAL INFORMATION:  Pre-registration is highly encouraged, even among stakeholders who have voiced an interest in attending but have yet to fill out a registration form.  Both venues have limits on room capacity, and workshop organizers plan to distribute background materials and related information to registrants in advance of each event.  Accurate head counts are important for planning purposes.  Visit the Council’s Coral Workshops webpage for full details.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Michelle Bachman, the New England Council’s habitat fishery analyst, at (978) 465-0492, ext. 120, email mbachman@nefmc.org.

MAINE: DMR seeks nomination

February 7, 2017 — The Department of Marine Resources is seeking recommendations from fisheries associations and individuals for Gov. Paul LePage’s nomination of a person to fill an at-large seat on the New England Fishery Management Council currently held by a Maine resident.

Recommendations should be submitted to this department by Feb. 20 to provide nominees with adequate time to complete the required paperwork. Call 624-6553, fax 624-6024 or email your recommendations to Amy Sinclair at amy.sinclair@maine.gov.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

Skates: RESCHEDULED – Narragansett, RI scoping hearing

February 7, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Due to inclement weather, the New England Fishery Management Council has RESCHEDULED its Narragansett, RI scoping hearing on Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan.  The new hearing date is Monday, Feb. 27. 

The hearing initially was planned to take place this Thursday, Feb. 9.  However, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island with potential snow accumulations of 8” to 12”.  Given the forecast, the Council determined it was best to prevent unnecessary travel. 

The Feb. 27 hearing will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography in the Coastal Institute Building’s Hazard Room.

Copies of the revised hearing notice, scoping document, and other Amendment 5 materials are available at skates.

Fishermen to Discuss Herring Buffer Zone in Plymouth

February 6, 2017 — A New England Fishery Management Council committee will meet Tuesday in Plymouth to discuss the progress being made to move midwater herring trawlers further offshore.

The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance and local fishermen are looking for regulations which would move the herring trawlers at least 50 miles from the Cape and Islands to protect the ecosystem and small-boat fishing fleet.

“It’s something that we’ve done up in the Gulf of Maine, prohibited these vessels from fishing at certain times of the year so that other fisheries can have a shot or a crack at fishing,” said John Pappalardo, the CEO of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. “And we are trying to do something similar down here.”

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

MASSACHUSETTS: A civil exchange of fish numbers

February 5, 2017 — Every now and then, the discussion of fisheries management breaks the stranglehold of graphs and numbers and jargon and entries into the Federal Register that read as if they were compiled by a computer whose native tongue is Drone-on.

Now and then, the discussion distills into rational conversation between two people who find themselves on opposite sides of the regulatory equation. It may happen in person or by email. It doesn’t matter. They are moments to be celebrated.

One such moment happened last week, when life-long (and highly respected) Gloucester fisherman Rick Beal penned a letter ostensibly to the New England Fishery Management Council, but really meant for all fisheries regulators.

He thanked the council for its Jan. 25 action nearly doubling the grey sole quota for 2017 and said he was “particularly encouraged” by comments of NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Director David Pierce regarding the importance of industry input.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Flounder catch limit increase to help New Hampshire fishing fleet

February 1, 2017 –Starting in May, there could be more locally caught flounder available. A recent decision by fishing regulators doubled the permitted catch limit for witch flounder, also known as grey sole.

The move is considered a victory for the local inshore dayboat fleet and came at a New England Fishery Management Council meeting held in Portsmouth last week. When adjusted for management uncertainty, the decision will result in a 2017 annual catch limit of 839 metric tons, nearly twice the 2016 annual catch limit of 441 metric tons.

Seabrook’s Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative board member and Hampton commercial fisherman David Goethel argued at the meeting to raise the flounder catch limit even more, he said. Although the new limit is significantly lower than prior to what Goethel calls “draconian cuts” imposed by regulators after 2010, he said any increase is better than none.

“It is good news,” Goethel said. “Anything that has the numbers going up instead of down is good news.”

Read the full story at the Eagle-Tribune 

 

NEFMC Skate Scoping Hearing Webinar, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017

January 30, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a scoping hearing via webinar on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017 on Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan.  This action could lead to the development of a limited access program for both the skate bait and skate non-bait/wing fisheries.  Input gathered during this early stage of the process is especially important since the Council is starting off with a blank slate.  The public is encouraged to participate.  Here are the webinar details.

START TIME:  6:00 p.m. 

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting will be available at:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/194149773

There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (646) 749-3122.

The access code is 194-149-773.

Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply. 

MATERIALS:  The scoping document and other related materials are available on the Council’s website at:  http://www.nefmc.org/calendar/jan.-31-2017-scoping-hearing-skate-amendment-5.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, email jplante@nefmc.org.

New England Fishery Management Council Approves Witch Flounder Specifications; Recommends 2017 Gulf of Maine Cod and Haddock Recreational Measures

January 26, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC):

The New England Fishery Management Council has approved new witch flounder specifications for the 2017-2019 groundfish fishing years. Allocations will be based on an acceptable biological catch (ABC) of 878 metric tons (mt). When adjusted for management uncertainty, the ABC results in an annual catch limit (ACL) of 839 mt. This value is almost double the 441 mt ACL currently in place for the 2016 fishing year, which ends April 30, 2017.

The specifications are part of Framework Adjustment 56 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The Council approved other framework measures in November (see list next page) but held off on witch flounder specifications pending the completion of a new benchmark stock assessment.

During its Jan. 24-26 meeting in Portsmouth, NH, the Council: (1) received a briefing on the new assessment; (2) made several decisions related to the assessment itself and witch flounder specifications; (3) approved revised 2017-2019 annual catch limits; and (4) voted to submit Framework 56 to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for approval. The target implementation date is May 1, the start of the 2017 fishing year.

The assessment was conducted as part of the 62nd Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW)/Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC), which wrapped up in December. The SARC and independent peer reviewers concluded that neither the overfished nor overfishing status of the stock could be determined, so both are now considered “unknown.” The model used to conduct the assessment was rejected because it exhibited a problematic retrospective pattern, meaning it tended to underestimate fishing mortality and overestimate biomass. The SARC instead used an “empirical approach” and based its conclusions on: (1) a three-year/six-survey moving average of exploitable biomass estimates; and (2) the mean exploitation rate observed from 2007-2015, which was 0.060.

The Council supported using this empirical approach but noted that the 2018 and 2019 ABCs are likely to change based on the 2017 operational assessment for witch flounder. The Council requested that the operational assessment consider changes to the exploitation rate used under the empirical approach.

Following the witch flounder discussion, the Council voted to submit Framework 56 to NMFS for review. The framework also contains:

  • A Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank northern windowpane flounder sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL) for the scallop fishery;
  • A temporary, two-year modification to the existing accountability measure policy for the scallop fishery so that accountability measures only apply when the scallop fishery exceeds its sub-ACL for George Bank yellowtail flounder or northern windowpane flounder and the overall ACL for that stock is also exceeded;
  • An increase in the herring midwater trawl fishery’s Georges Bank haddock sub-ACL from 1% to 1.5%; and
  • Proposed 2017 U.S./Canada quotas for shared stocks on Georges Bank.

Recreational Measures: In other groundfish related actions, the Council also asked NMFS to consider implementing the following Gulf of Maine cod and haddock recreational fishing measures for the 2017 fishing year. NMFS has the final say on this action, so the Council’s vote is only a recommendation.

  • Gulf of Maine cod – zero possession;
  • Gulf of Maine haddock – a 12-fish per-person bag limit, a 17” minimum size, and two closed seasons:Sept. 17, 2017-Oct. 31, 2017 closed

    March 1, 2018-April 14, 2018 closed

Recreational fishermen have exceeded their 2016 sub-ACLs for both stocks, and three months remain in the fishing year. Preliminary figures indicate that 192% of the Gulf of Maine cod sub-ACL has been harvested and 115% of the recreational fishery’s Gulf of Maine haddock sub-ACL has been taken.

Therefore, based on the best scientific advice available, the Council agreed to recommend zero cod possession for 2017 on all recreational trips by both private and for-hire vessels.

The Council then focused on trying to maximize recreational fishing opportunities on haddock while avoiding impacts on cod.

Southern Windowpane: The Council voted to ask NMFS to consider all possible remediation methods available to put in place a one-year exemption to the pending accountability measures for southern windowpane flounder for fishing year 2017.

Priorities: The Council reviewed its 2017 groundfish priorities, which include, among many other actions: setting ABCs and ACLs for all stocks; supporting operational assessments for all stocks; reviewing groundfish catch in “other” fisheries; revising Atlantic halibut measures; improving the recreational management process for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock; and launching a groundfish monitoring amendment.

Read the full release at the NEFMC

In boon for Gloucester fleet, flounder limits doubled

January 26, 2017 — In a victory for the local inshore dayboat fleet, fishing regulators on Wednesday approved new specifications for witch flounder that will nearly double the annual catch limit for the species in 2017.

Meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the New England Fishery Management Council approved an acceptable biological catch of 878 metric tons of witch flounder, also known as grey sole, for 2017. When adjusted for management uncertainty, the move will result in a 2017 annual catch limit of 839 metric tons — nearly twice the 2016 annual catch limit of 441 metric tons.

“I think the council was compelled by the industry’s own observation that we have a pretty strong witch flounder stock,” said Vito Giacalone, policy director for the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition.

The council action on witch flounder should provide a significant boost to the local dayboat fleet and the fortunes of the fishermen that are immutably tied to the stock.

“It’s huge,” Giacalone said. “Everybody who is left fishes for it. The inshore dayboat fleet is almost entirely dependent on this stock.”

The spike in the 2017 annual catch limit should provide a double-edged benefit, according to Giacalone.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Stakeholder Input at Core of Atlantic Herring Amendment 8; Council Votes for “No Action” on Framework Adjustment 5

January 25, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council yesterday reviewed results from its second Atlantic Herring Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) Workshop, which was held in early December.

After considering extensive input from workshop attendees and, subsequently, the Herring Plan Development Team (PDT), Herring Advisory Panel (AP), and Herring Committee, the Council whittled down the list of potential acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules to be analyzed for further deliberation.

The Council is developing a new ABC control rule as part of Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. A control rule is a method for establishing an annual catch limit or target fishing level based on scientific advice, and the Council is using the MSE process to incorporate ground-level stakeholder input and early-stage technical analyses before selecting a range of alternatives to send to public hearing later this fall.

Workshop attendees were asked to provide input on potential tradeoffs in the fishery, some of which involved choosing desired levels of herring yield and harvest while accounting for factors such as predator needs and uncertainty related to issues such as climate change.

Given the collective feedback, the Council took four types of control rules off the table: constant catch; conditional constant catch; biomass-based for five years; and biomass based for three years with restrictions.

This move allows the PDT to focus on analyzing annual and three-year-based biomass control rules, which were favored by a majority of workshop attendees.

In March, an independent peer review panel will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the MSE methods and data used to develop Atlantic herring ABC control rules and comment on any constraints that may hinder use of the MSE model and outcomes in preparing management alternatives.

Amendment 8 also contains a set of alternatives to address potential localized depletion and user conflicts. The Herring Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Sheraton Harborside in Portsmouth, NH to continue its work on refining these alternatives.

Framework Adjustment (FW) 5: The Council has been working on a range of alternatives to potentially modify the Georges Bank haddock accountability measures (AMs) that apply to the herring midwater trawl fishery. However, after reviewing the alternatives and receiving advice from the Herring AP and Committee, the Council voted to select “no action,” which means existing regulations will continue to govern AMs for the herring midwater trawl fishery.

The Council had considered using “proactive” closures to prevent herring vessels from fishing in areas where haddock are prevalent at certain times of the year. Ultimately, the Council concluded that haddock distribution is too unpredictable to select fixed closures, and offshore closures have the potential of forcing the herring fleet closer to shore.

Framework 5 included another option to seasonally split the haddock catch cap for herring midwater trawlers with 80% of the allocation made available on May 1 and 20% on Nov. 1. However, monitoring concerns led the Council to reject this alternative as well. Technical analyses indicated that both the seasonal quota split and proactive seasonal closures could produce negative, unintended consequences, which factored heavily into the Council’s final decision.

The Council’s November vote to increase the herring midwater trawl fishery’s Georges Bank haddock sub-annual catch limit from 1% to 1.5% through FW 56 to the groundfish plan also played a role in the decision. The higher haddock sub-ACL, if approved, will reduce the risk of triggering the herring AMs, which, in turn, will provide the midwater trawl fleet with more opportunity to maximize revenue from herring landings.

The AMs that remain in place are:

  • Inseason closures when the haddock bycatch cap is reached (see map); and
  • A pound-for-pound payback for any overages that do occur.

Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank Haddock Accountability Measure Areas that apply to Atlantic herring midwater trawl vessels when haddock bycatch caps are reached.

ASMFC: The Council also agreed to send a letter to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requesting that a New England Council representative be allowed to serve on the Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section in a non-voting capacity.

Read the release at the New England Fishery Management Council