May 1, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council will hold seven public hearings on its Draft Omnibus DeepSea Coral Amendment to collect input from fishermen and other stakeholders on the alternatives being considered to protect corals in the inshore and offshore Gulf of Maine and in the offshore canyon/slope region south of Georges Bank.
Hearings will be held May 22 through May 25 in five states – New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine sequentially – and then a webinar hearing will wrap up the series on May 26.
The alternatives in the amendment are designed to reduce potential impacts of fishing activity on corals. Restrictions on bottom-tending mobile and fixed gear are listed among the alternatives. However, the Council is considering possible exemptions for some or all types of fixed gear, such as lobster traps, deepsea red crab pots, and gillnets. At its April 20-22 meeting in Mystic, CT, the Council selected “preferred” alternatives. Some of these selections included fixed gear exemptions.