Northern Gulf of Maine Archives

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rule for Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan

October 5. 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries published a proposed rule for Amendment 21 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The New England Fishery Management Council developed Amendment 21 to adjust the management of the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) as well as the limited access general category (LAGC) individual fishing quota (IFQ) program to support overall economic performance of the fishery while allowing for continued participation in the general category fishery.

Amendment 21 would:

•Account for biomass in the NGOM as part of the Overfishing Limit and the Acceptable Biological Catch to be consistent with other portions of scallop resource management.•Develop landing limits for all permit categories in the NGOM and establish an 800,000 lb NGOM Set-Aside trigger for the NGOM directed fishery.

•Expand the scallop observer program to monitor directed scallop fishing in the NGOM.

•Allocate 25,000 lb of the NGOM allocation to increase the overall Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA).

•Increase the LAGC IFQ possession limit to 800 lb per trip only for access area trips.

•Prorate the daily observer compensation rate in 12-hour increments for observed LAGC IFQ trips longer than 1 day.

•Allow for temporary transfers of IFQ from limited access vessels with IFQ to LAGC IFQ-only vessels.

For more information, read the proposed rule as filed in the Federal Register. The comment period is open through November 4, 2021. Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Travis Ford, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9233

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103

New scallop catch limits could ease tensions in northern Gulf of Maine

March 1, 2018 — New limits on the amount of scallops that can be harvested in part of the Gulf of Maine should help ease tensions between smaller boats from Maine and larger scallop vessels from Massachusetts during the upcoming federal scallop season, which is expected to get under way on April 1.

With the new rules, fishing boats that are restricted by the number of days-at-sea they can operate — the vast majority of which are based in Massachusetts — for the first time will have to adhere to catch limits in the Northern Gulf of Maine federal fishing area, which runs from roughly three miles from shore out to about 50 miles.

Boats with federal permits that restrict the number of days they can fish but which are allowed to fish anywhere along the East Coast cumulatively can catch only 65,000 pounds of scallops this year in the northern Gulf of Maine. In addition, only days-at-sea vessels that are participating in approved research projects will be allowed to fish in the area.

Prior to this year such boats faced no catch limits for scallops in the northern gulf and did not have to participate in research projects. Smaller Maine boats permitted only for the northern gulf have been limited to catching 200 pounds a day and, as a group, 70,000 pounds a year.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Fisheries Survival Fund Corrects the Record on Gulf of Maine Scallops

WASHINGTON — March 22, 2017 — The following was released by the Fisheries Survival Fund:

Atlantic sea scallops remain one of the most sustainably harvested stocks in the United States. With recent media attention on scallops in the northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM), the Fisheries Survival Fund, which represents the majority of the full-time Limited Access scallop fleet, has produced a fact sheet clarifying the true status of scallops in the region.

Recent data from the New England Fishery Management Council, which is responsible for sustainably managing the region’s scallop population, shows that Atlantic sea scallops in the NGOM are not overfished, nor are they experiencing overfishing. The Limited Access fleet is operating within its allocated federal quota, and the Atlantic sea scallop fishery remains certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. It also shows that most fishing in the area does not actually take place in the geographical NGOM, but rather in southwestern Stellwagen Bank, off the coast of Massachusetts. There are currently 36 active NGOM scallop fishing vessels in the NGOM, only 18 of which are home-ported in Maine.

We have provided a fact sheet below using the official documents in order to clarify these claims.

Fact Sheet on Scallops in the Northern Gulf of Maine

There is no overfishing of the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) scallop stock, nor is it rebuilding, as scallops in the NGOM are not considered a separate, unique stock. There are not separate reference points for NGOM scallops, nor are there separate Annual Catch Limits. For all management and scientific purposes, NGOM scallops are part of the overall scallop stock, and are included in the full scallop assessment. According to that assessment, scallops are not overfished and are not experiencing overfishing.
The catch limit for the general category scallop boats in NGOM, currently set at 70,000 pounds, is based upon historical catch. The NGOM scallopers were given these allocations because they did not qualify for the limited access scallop fleet. More information can be found in Amendment 11 to the scallop Fishery Management Plan on the NEFMC website: http://www.nefmc.org/library/amendment-11
There are 81 NGOM permits and only 36 active NGOM scallop vessels fishing in NGOM. Out of those, only 18 are home-ported in Maine. This can be verified in Table 4 below, which was obtained from the New England Fishery Management Council website, from the March 1 meeting of the Scallop Plan Development Team. The table can also be found in section 3.2.1 of Draft Discussions Document on NGOM management.
Most of the scallop fishing activity in the NGOM does not occur near Maine, but offshore Massachusetts, in the southwest corner of Stellwagen Bank. Some of this activity is outside the actual NGOM management area. A table illustrating this can be found below, and can also be found in the Draft Discussions Document on NGOM management in section 3.1.
The fishing activity of the limited access scallop fleet in the NGOM does not count towards the quota of the NGOM. The limited access fleet operates on a federal quota, in federal waters, under an entirely separate management system. This is not new: the limited access scallop fleet has been fishing in this area under this management program for many years.
The Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery is certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. The scallop fishery’s commitment to sustainability is also reflected in their participation in the Research Set Aside program. Every year, a portion of revenue from the scallop catch is redirected towards research, which allows the scallop fishery to be managed by the most up-to-date science.
All points made have been confirmed with the most up to date NEFMC findings. These links are provided below:
http://www.nefmc.org/calendar/mar-1-2017-scallop-plan-development-team-meeting
http://www.nefmc.org/library/amendment-11
http://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/Doc4-170224_NGOM-Discussion-Draftv.2.pdf
http://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/Doc4a-NGOM-PDT_DataRequest_Feb2017_V2.pdf

Read the release here

New England Fishery Management Council Approves Scallop Framework 28 with 2017-2018 Specs

November 17, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council yesterday approved Framework Adjustment 28 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The framework establishes specifications for the 2017 fishing year and sets default specifications for 2018.

If the framework is approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), full-time limited access scallop vessels in 2017 will be allowed to make four 18,000-pound “scallop access area” trips – one into the Nantucket Lightship Access Area, one into the Closed Area II Access Area, and two into the Mid-Atlantic Access Area (MAAA) with the option of making one of those Mid-Atlantic trips in the newly created Elephant Truck “Flex” Access Area (light green in chart). The Elephant Trunk Flex Area will be subject to a seasonal July 1-Sept. 30 closure. Part-time limited access vessels will be allowed to make two 14,400- pound trips into the available access areas, one of which must be in the Mid-Atlantic Access Area.

The Council approved a 2017 Northern Gulf of Maine TAC of 95,000 pounds, up from 70,000 pounds in 2016. However, the 2017 TAC will need to be adjusted to account for a 2016 overage. As a result, the Northern Gulf of Maine quota that will be available to the fishery on March 1, 2017 likely will be on the order of 75,000 pounds.

Framework 28 initially proposed to allocate 29.18 “open area” days-at-sea to full-time limited access vessels. Under the 13-month proration schedule and the automatic reduction that allows vessels to steam off of the days-at-sea clock south of Cape May, full-time vessels will be allocated 30.41 open-area days. Part-time vessels will be allocated 12.16 days-at-sea under the prorated schedule, up from the initial 11.67 allocation that resulted for a 12-month fishing year.

The Council agreed to base these allocations on spatial management – an approach that uses projected landings – under the existing allocation split between the two components of the fishery:

94.5% for the limited access component of the fishery; and
5.5% for the limited access general category individual fishing quota(IFQ) component.

For 2017, this means the IFQ fishery will be allocated 2.43 million pounds – prorated for 13 months at 2.49 million pounds – and 5.5% of the access area allocations. These trips will be equally distributed across all access areas, but the Closed Area II trips, which are a long haul for some general category boats, will be prorated 50% to the Nantucket Lightship area and 50% to the Mid-Atlantic/Elephant Trunk Flex Access Area, which are easier to steam to.

Also as part of Framework Adjustment 28 to the scallop plan, the Council agreed to:

Limit research set-aside compensation fishing to the Mid-Atlantic Access Area and open areas, excluding the Northern Gulf of Maine Management Area;
Restrict the possession of shell stock inshore of the days-at-sea demarcation line north of 42° 20’ N latitude to 50 US bushels, as is already the case south of the line;
Adopt 2018 default specifications equivalent to 75% of the 2017 open area days-at-sea allocations for full-time vessels with one 18,000-pound Mid-Atlantic Access Area trip. The limited access general category IFQ component will receive 75% of the 2017 quota allocation, access area trips equivalent to 5.5% of the default access area allocation.

Groundfish Actions Impacting Scallopers

During its Groundfish Committee report, the Council addressed two issues that impact the Atlantic sea scallop fishery:

Northern Windowpane Flounder – The Council voted to develop a Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank northern windowpane flounder sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL) for the scallop fishery under Framework Adjustment 56 to the groundfish plan. The sub-ACL will be a fixed percentage based on the 90th percentile of 2005-2014 scallop catch rates of northern windowpane. Under this formula, the scallop fishery will be allocated 21% of the total acceptable biological catch for this stock, which then will be reduced by 7% to account for uncertainty to determine the scallop fishery’s sub-ACL. The scallop fishery currently is not subject to a sub-ACL or accountability measures for northern windowpane, so this step represents a change for scallopers, assuming the action is approved by NMFS. The Council will be developing accountability measures for northern windowpane for fishing year 2018.
Accountability Measures (AMs) – The Council also voted to temporarily modify the existing AM policy for the scallop fishery for a two-year period so that accountability measures only will apply when the scallop fishery exceeds its sub-ACL for a groundfish stock and the overall ACL for that stock is also exceeded. The Council approved this temporary modification for both the George Bank yellowtail flounder and northern windowpane flounder stocks. Under current regulations, AMs also are triggered when the scallop fishery exceeds its sub-ACL by 50% and the overall ACL is exceeded. This new change removes the 50% trigger for the 2017 and 2018 fishing years.