February 7, 2023 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:
During its January 24-26, 2023 meeting in Portsmouth, NH, the New England Fishery Management Council voted on a suite of recreational fishing measures for Gulf of Maine cod, Gulf of Maine haddock, and Georges Bank cod that it will recommend to NOAA Fisheries for the 2023 fishing year. The Council also received:
• A revised recommendation from its Scientific and Statistical Committee regarding fishing year 2023-2025 acceptable biological catches (ABCs) for Atlantic halibut, which the Council approved and incorporated into Framework Adjustment 65;
• A progress report on work being conducted to develop metrics to evaluate the groundfish monitoring program in Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan; and
• An update on the 2023 Atlantic Cod Research Track Stock Assessment.