Red Hake Archives - Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rebuilding Plan for the Southern Red Hake Fishery

July 12, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comment on a proposed rule that would establish a 10-year rebuilding plan for the overfished southern red hake stock. The New England Fishery Management Council took additional time to develop this action given a pending research track assessment that could have potentially affected the rebuilding requirements for southern red hake and took final action in June 2020.

In addition, the proposed rebuilding plan would decrease the year-round possession limit from 5,000 lb to a dual 1,000/600-lb possession limit based on the selectivity of gear-type or mesh size used. The 600-lb possession limit would apply to standard small-mesh trawls (less than 5.5 inches square or diamond mesh), which are less selective, while the 1,000-lb possession limit would apply to large-mesh trawls and other more selective gear types which includes raised footrope trawls, large mesh belly panel trawls, and rope separator trawls.

For more details, please read the rule as published in the Federal Register. You can provide comments through our online portal. Comments are due by July 27, 2021.

Read the full release here

Comment on Proposed 2021-2023 Small-mesh Multispecies Specifications and Management Measures

June 11, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is proposing the New England Fishery Management Council’s recommended catch specifications for the 2021-2023 small-mesh multispecies fishery. These proposed catch limits would increase annual quotas for southern whiting and both red hake stocks, and decrease the quota for northern silver hake. Specifications for fishing years 2022 and 2023 are projected to be the same as the proposed 2021 limits.

This proposed rule would also increase the possession limit for whiting (silver hake and offshore hake) on trips using gear with less than 3-inch mesh to 15,000 lb, and reset the in-season adjustment trigger for northern red hake to 90 percent of the annual quota from the current trigger of 37.9 percent to reduce regulatory discards.

For more details on the proposed specifications, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register today. The comment period is open through June 28. Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal.

Read the full release here

New Jersey’s fishing industry fights to weather the pandemic as aid finally pours in

March 16, 2021 — Rich Isaksen has had no trouble catching fish during a pandemic.

Selling his catch, however, has been a disaster.

Isaksen is the president of the Belford Seafood Cooperative Association in Monmouth County, a collection of about 20 independent fishing boats. When governments around the region ordered restaurants to close in efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, demand for fish caught by people like Isaksen evaporated. Prices at the docks plunged.

In June, the fisherman was offered just three cents per pound for red hake, a fish that normally draws 50 or 60 cents per pound. It wasn’t an isolated case.

“Last week, I think they got $1.20 (per pound) for summer flounder,” Isaksen said. “Normally, that’s like three or four dollars.”

Wholesalers, to whom Isaksen’s co-op usually sells, tried to compensate for disappearing restaurant demand by peddling more to supermarkets and grocery stores. That helped some, Isaksen said, but he still estimates his 2020 income from selling to wholesalers was slashed in half.

“The thing about the fishing industry, there’s not a lot of people buying whole fish and cleaning them,” Isaksen said. “A lot of people are going to restaurants.”

Read the full story at NJ.com

NEFMC Approves Small-Mesh Multispecies Specifications for Fishing Years 2021-2023

February 11, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its late-January meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council approved new specifications for the small-mesh multispecies fishery for fishing years 2021-2023. These limits apply to whiting and red hake stocks and are based on recent stock assessment information and other data. The package contains:

Annual catch specifications for small-mesh stocks that follow overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations from the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) – except for southern red hake, where the Council went with a more conservative approach and selected an ABC that is 75% of the SSC’s recommendation in order to enhance stock rebuilding;
A provision to reset the total allowable landing (TAL) trigger for northern red hake from the current 38% to the original value of 90% so that in-season accountability measures don’t unnecessarily restrict the fishery at a very low level of landings; and
An adjustment to the whiting possession limit on trips using less than 3-inch mesh codend trawls so that fishermen can land up to 15,000 pounds of northern silver hake and southern whiting.

Read the full release here

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Thursday, November 12, 2020 – Small-Mesh Multispecies (Whiting) Issues, Stock Assessments

November 4, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar on Thursday, November 12, 2020 to discuss issues related to small-mesh multispecies – red hake, silver hake, and offshore hake. The public is invited to listen live. But first…

HERE’S AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: The Council is seeking qualified candidates to serve on its SSC for a three-year term from January 2021 through December 2023. The deadline for submitting nominations and related materials is 8:00 a.m. on December 20, 2020. Additional information is available in the request for nominations.

Now, here are the details for the SSC’s November 12^th webinar meeting.

START TIME: 9:00 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (914) 614-3221. The access code is 611-762-686. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA: The SSC will meet to:

Review recent information from: (1) the Fall 2020 Management Track Stock Assessments for northern and southern red hake, northern and southern silver hake, and offshore hake, and (2) the Council’s Whiting Plan Development Team;
Recommend the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) levels for each of those stocks for fishing years 2021-2023; and
Discuss other business as necessary.

COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10, 2020. Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org. Additional information is available in the meeting notice.

MATERIALS: All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC November 12, 2020 webpage.

QUESTIONS: Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4917, jplante@nefmc.org.

NOAA Fisheries Announces the Implementation of the Southern Red Hake Accountability Measure

August 24, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is announcing a reduction in the southern red hake in-season possession limit adjustment trigger from 90 percent of the total allowable landings (TAL) to 40.4 percent (123.2 mt) of the TAL because of a 2018 overage of the annual catch limit (ACL). In 2018, the fleet caught 49.6 percent more than the ACL allowed triggering the accountability measure that reduces the in-season possession limit adjustment trigger by 1 percent for each percent the ACL was exceeded.

Review of catch reports indicate that the new in-season possession limit trigger, that will be put into place by this action, has been reached (i.e., 145 mt of southern red hake have been harvested). As a result, the possession limit for southern red hake will be reduced from 5,000 lb to the incidental possession limit of 400 lb for the remainder of the fishing year.

This rule becomes effective August 25, 2020. For more details, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register, and our permit holder bulletin.

NEFMC Calendar: Here’s the June 2020 AP and Committee Meeting Lineup – Join Our Webinars

June 3, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled several advisory panel (AP) and committee meetings during the first three weeks of June to address actions related to Atlantic herring, Atlantic sea scallops, groundfish, whiting/red hake, research priorities, and ecosystem-based fishery management. All meetings will be conducted by webinar. The results will be discussed by the full Council when it convenes June 23-25, 2020, also by webinar. Here’s the June lineup.

WHITING/RED HAKE – Thursday, June 4: The Council’s Whiting Committee and Whiting AP will meet jointly to discuss proposed alternatives for rebuilding southern red hake, as well as other issues.

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

NEFMC Addresses Recreational eVTRs, Chub Mackerel; Receives Ecosystem, Stellwagen, Whale Updates

April 29, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council met April 14-15, 2020 by webinar and covered a wide range of issues. In addition to the actions it took on Atlantic sea scallops, groundfish, Atlantic herring, and red hake, the Council also:

Discussed matters involving recreational electronic vessel trip reports (eVTRs) and Atlantic chub mackerel – see pages 2 and 3 for details;
Received a presentation from: (1) the Northeast Fisheries Science Center on the 2020 State of the Ecosystem report covering New England, and (2) the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee, which made recommendations on the report;
Received a short update on work being conducted by the Council’s Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee;

Read the full story from the New England Fishery Management Council

New England Council Update – February 24, 2020

February 24, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Here are several timely meetings and management actions that directly relate to the work of the New England Fishery Management Council.

SCALLOPS: The Council’s Scallop Advisory Panel (AP) and Scallop Committee both have a couple of meetings coming up.

Scallop AP: The AP will meet on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Boston. The agenda and meeting materials are available here.
Scallop Committee: The Committee will meet on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at the same hotel in Boston. Here are the meeting materials.
Scallop AP and Committee: The Scallop AP and Committee will meet again back-to-back on Thursday and Friday, March 26 and March 27, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Boston. More information will be posted on the Council’s scallop webpage in the near future.
Scallop Framework Adjustment 32: The Council signed off on Framework 32 during its December 2019 meeting. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) has reviewed the document and is accepting public comments on the proposed rule through March 6, 2020. Here is the Framework 32 webpage.
Of Note: NOAA Fisheries released its Fisheries of the United States 2018 Report. Scallops ranked fourth in the nation in the category called “highest value species groups,” coming in at $541 million. Roughly $532.3 million of that total came from sea scallop landings and the remainder was due to bay scallops. Scallop landings helped make New Bedford, MA the highest value fishing port in the U.S. for the 19^th consecutive year.

ATLANTIC HERRING: The Council’s Herring AP and Herring Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Wakefield, MA. The AP will start off in the morning at 8:30 a.m. and the Committee will meet after lunch, roughly around 1 p.m. Here’s the agenda. Meeting materials for both the AP and Committee meeting are available here.

Draft Addendum III: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will hold a hearing on Draft Addendum III to the interstate herring plan at 11:00 a.m. on March 3 at the same location as the New England Council’s Herring AP and Herring Committee meetings. According to ASMFC, Draft Addendum III “proposes options to better manage the Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) sub-annual catch limit under low quota scenarios.”

FISHERY DATA: The Fishery Data for Stock Assessment Working Group has delivered its final report to the Council. The Council established the working group to explore how fishery-dependent data can be used to inform stock abundance and explain how this information is used in stock assessments. The group developed a number of recommendations. Learn more about the working group’s charge and membership.

ABC CONTROL RULE CONTRACTOR: The Council is seeking an independent contractor to develop alternatives for acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules for groundfish stocks that have undergone analytic assessments as of 2019. Letters of interest and supporting documents must be received by March 18, 2020. Details are available at groundfish ABC control rules. Here’s a link to the announcement.

SKATES – SAVE THE DATE: The Skate AP and Skate Committee will meet jointly on Thursday, March 26, 2020 at the Fairfield Inn in New Bedford. More information will become available shortly. Here is the Council’s skate webpage.

The Council developed Framework Adjustment 8 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan to set skate wing and skate bait specifications for the 2020-2021 fishing years. NOAA Fisheries is collecting public comment on the framework through March 6, 2020. Documents are available on the Framework 8 webpage.

RED HAKE: Here’s a reminder that the Red Hake Stock Structure Research Track Assessment Meeting will be taking place March 9-12, 2020 in Woods Hole, MA. The Council is working on an action to rebuild southern red hake. Visit the Council’s whiting webpage for future developments.

EBFM – SAVE THE DATE: The Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee and EBFM Plan Development Team will meet jointly on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at the Fairfield Inn in New Bedford. More information will become available shortly. Here is the Council’s EBFM webpage.

JOIN US! MAINE FISHERMEN’S FORUM: The Maine Fishermen’s Forum will take place March 5, 6, and 7, 2020 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, ME. Several Council members and staff are participating in many of this year’s seminars, including a special day-long offshore wind session. Council representatives also will be taking part in seminars about: Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23; changes in the federal Atlantic herring fishery; updates on the federal scallop fishery in the Gulf of Maine; an open forum with fisheries leadership; and reconsideration of Atlantic cod stock structure in U.S. waters.

Detailed descriptions of the seminars are available at Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2020.
Tables with daily at-a-glance schedules are available on the forum’s forms and schedules webpage.