April 13, 2020 — The final agenda for the New England Fishery Management Council’s webinar-only meeting Tuesday and Wednesday has several items of significant interest to local groundfishermen.
On Tuesday, the council will hear a recommendation from its Executive Committee that it postpone final action on the contentious groundfish Amendment 23 to set at-sea monitoring levels because of the impact of the spread of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. That council had anticipated taking final action at its June meeting.
“While it is possible that restrictions on public gatherings may be lifted and in-person meetings may be allowed by late May, it is not unreasonable to expect interested parties can devote their attention to commenting on this amendment over the next two-three months,” Council Chairman John Quinn wrote in a memo to council members.