September 26, 2018 — The New England Fishery Management Council is reopening the public comment period for the proposal to potentially limit access to the whiting fishery.
The council, meeting in Plymouth, said discrepancies of the estimated number of qualifying vessels in two of the proposed alternatives led the council to add an additional hearing via webinar “to explain the discrepancy and solicit additional comments from all interested stakeholders.”
Details on the date and format of the webinar are not yet available.
The council also said it expects to take final action on the proposed whiting amendment during its December meeting in Newport, Rhode Island.
The amendment, referred to as Amendment 22, proposes a limited access plan for the three stocks collectively regarded as whiting — northern silver hake, southern silver hake and offshore hake — as well as northern red hake and southern red hake.