December 7, 2018 — A regulatory board is allowing shellfish harvesting in a key management area off of New England, though more monitoring of the fishery will now apply.
The New England Fishery Management Council has approved new measures to allow the harvest of surfclams within the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area. The council says mussel fishermen will also be able to operate in the new areas.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S News and World Report
December 5, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council has signed off on new measures that will allow surfclam fishermen to continue fishing within strictly defined boundaries inside the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area (HMA). Increased monitoring provisions will apply. Mussel fishermen also will be able to fish in the new areas. The measures are included in the Council’s Clam Dredge Framework, which is a trailing action to Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment 2, often referred to as OHA2.
The amendment was implemented April 9, 2018 and prohibited the use of mobile bottom-tending gear within the HMA. However, the surfclam fishery was granted a one-year exemption to continue operating in all but the northeast corner of the area. This exemption expires April 9, 2019. If the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) approves and implements the Clam Dredge Framework, surfclam and mussel fishermen will be granted long-term exemptions under certain restrictions for the following subareas:
In addition, the Habitat Plan Development Team (PDT) will work with industry to prioritize research needs for two other sub-areas:
Once prioritized research needs are identified for Rose and Crown and Zone D, the Council’s intent is that fishermen and researchers will work collaboratively toward obtaining exempted fishing permits for these sub-areas to better define where concentrations of surfclams can be harvested without disturbing sensitive habitat. The Council said this research potentially could lead to the development of additional exemptions in the future.
Read the full release at the New England Fishery Management Council
September 11, 2018 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:
The Mid‐Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) seeks a highly-qualified contractor to document the distributions of Spisula solidissima similis and Spisula solidissima solidissima in the nearshore waters of the US Northwest Atlantic. This study should involve an examination of the extent of genetic and reproductive isolation among areas sampled for these species.
Please review the Request for Proposals for complete details and instructions for proposal submission.
Proposals are due by October 31, 2018.
March 22, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
An ad-hoc sub-panel of the New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar on Friday, March 30, 2018 to peer review two reports related to surfclam dredging activity in the newly designated Great South Channel Habitat Management Area. The public is invited to listen via webinar or telephone. Here are the details.
START TIME: 1:00 p.m.
WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting will be available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.
CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (951) 384-3421. The access code is 937-123-775. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.
AGENDA: The SSC will review the following two papers, which were supported by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING: The Council plans to use the results of these studies to support decision-making in an upcoming management action.
MATERIALS: Meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at SSC March 30, 2018 documents.
For a more detailed description of the meeting click here.