Council Actions

October 2, 2012 — The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting will be held Tuesday, October 16 from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, and will be held at the Ocean Place, One Ocean Boulevard, Long Branch, NJ 07740.

Based on the input received during the Council’s Visioning Project, ocean pollution is one of the most widely shared concerns among all stakeholder groups.  At this month’s Council meeting, the nonprofit organization Clean Ocean Action (COA) will give an overview of their long-term efforts to stop pollution and their current campaign to permanently protect the waters of the New Jersey/New York Bight. After the presentation, COA and Council leadership will be available to answer questions from the public.
 
COA is a broad-based coalition of 125 groups and organizations that has been working for nearly 30 years to improve the water quality off the New Jersey/New York coast through research, education, and citizen action. Most notably, the efforts of COA were instrumental in the shutting down of eight ocean dumpsites that were polluting mid-Atlantic waters with dirt, sewer sludge, acid waste, dredged material, and industrial waste.
 
During the listening session, COA will describe their current campaign to establish permanent protection for the NY/NJ Bight with the Clean Ocean Zone (COZ) Initiative.  If passed, the Clean Ocean Zone bill would create a pollution-free area that would stop the regular authorization of destructive industrial practices in the COZ.
 
Following the presentation, COA and Council leadership will be available to answer questions from the public on the Clean Ocean Zone initiative or any other fishery issues of interest to the public. 
 
You can attend in person or via the internet.  For online webinar access register here.

 

 

PLYMOUTH, Mass. – September 27, 2012 – The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) met on Thursday to review recommendations from their Groundfish and Habitat Committees regarding a number of fishery related issues, including, but not limited to, closed area access. The subject of closed areas set the stage for a number of comments made by members of the Council, as well as the general public, which raised important issues related to the effectiveness of these areas and the time-sensitive nature of their reassessment.

The Council’s afternoon review of the Habitat Committee’s report dealt almost exclusively with Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) closures and aimed to draft adverse effects minimization alternatives as a part of Omnibus EFH Amendment 2. That same morning, the Groundfish Committee approached the council with recommendations that asked for an increase in access to the groundfish closed areas as a way of mitigating the low allowable biological catch (ABC) limits that are expected for fishing year 2013. Several access area-related comments made during those discussions can be found below.

Listen to John Bullard, the Regional Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Regional Office, comment on the need for a timely reassessment of closed areas access. This comment was made during the Council’s review of the NEFMC’s Habitat Committee report.

Listen to Habitat Committee Chair, Dave Preble, comment on the Council’s lack of punctuality in drafting Omnibus EFH Amendment 2 and how this relates to Council resources.

Listen to Emilie Litsinger, of the Environmental Defense Fund, address the reevaluation of New England’s closed area network, with regard to the groundfish fishery.

Listen to Maggie Raymond, of Associated Fisheries of Maine, note that while she was a supporter of the closed areas 18 years ago, she now believes that things needs to be done differently if they are to bring more fish across the dock.

Listen to Peter Shelley, of the Conservation Law Foundation, threaten legal action during his condemnation of the Council’s approach to Omnibus EFH Amendment 2 in relation to the groundfish fishery.

Listen to former Massachusetts State Representative and Waterfront attorney, John Quinn, refute Peter Shelley’s argument as he enters into the record National Standard 8 and his NEFMC oath of office.

Listen to Peter Baker, the Northeast Fisheries Director for the PEW Environment Group, express his disapproval of the Council's sector operations plan.

 

 

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — September 28, 2012 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council

A wide range of issues that will affect the region’s fishermen were addressed by the New England Fishery Management Council this week in Plymouth, MA.

Sea Scallops – As recommended by both the Scallop Advisory Panel and the Scallop Committee, the Council agreed to request that Emergency Action be taken by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to close the Elephant Trunk Access Area as soon as possible to protect the high level of recruitment that is now occurring there. The area is currently open to scallop days-at-sea fishing. For its part, the agency is very aware of the time- sensitive nature of the Council’s request.

U.S./Canada Issues – The Council approved a motion asking the U.S. contingent to the U.S./Canada Steering Committee to negotiate a one-time request to trade some amount of Georges Bank haddock from the 2013 U.S. share in return for an amount of Georges Bank yellowtail flounder from the Canadian’s 2013 share. Consideration of any details and final approval of this action will take place at the NEFMC’s November 13-15 meeting in Newport, RI.

The Council also approved the 2013 quotas for stocks governed by the U.S./Canada Resource Sharing Understanding for analysis and inclusion in Framework Adjustment 48 to the Groundfish Plan: 1.) Eastern Georges Bank cod – 600 metric tons or mt (U.S. share 96 mt, Canadian share 504 mt), 2.) Eastern Georges Bank haddock – 10,400 mt (U.S. share 3,952 mt, Canadian share 6,448 mt), 3.) Georges Bank yellowtail flounder – 500 mt (U.S. share 215 mt, Canadian share 285 mt). The Scientific and Statistical Committee recommendation of an Acceptable Biological Catch of 1,150 mt for a yellowtail bycatch only fishery also would be included in the Framework 48 analysis.

Groundfish, Framework Adjustment 48 – Under other Framework Adjustment 48 business, the Council voted to include an option that would set the scallop fishery Georges Bank yellowtail flounder sub-ACL between 8 and 16%.

Mitigation measures to offset the projected low 2013 ACLs for stocks of cod, yellowtail flounder and other species in the groundfish complex also were approved for analysis. These included smaller minimum sizes to reduce discards and seasonal openings of three areas that have been previously closed year-round to groundfish fishing. If approved at the November Council meeting these restrictions would provide that:

Access will only be granted for the parts of areas that are not defined as habitat closed areas, or that have not been identified as potential habitat management areas currently under consideration in a habitat action that is currently in development;

Access to Closed Area I and Closed Area II (on Georges Bank) will only be granted for the period May 1 through February 15;

Access to the Western Gulf of Maine Closed Area (off MA and NH) will only be granted during periods not subject to rolling closures that are applicable to sectors and already specified in the Groundfish Management Plan. (Groundfish continued on next page)

Please Note – Left out of the NEFMC press release distributed on 9/27/2012 were the following issues that are important to lobstermen as well as groundfish fishermen and were unanimously approved in an additional motion at the meeting. When considering sector requests for access to closed areas, the Council recommended that the NMFS Regional Office include, among other things, consideration of the potential for gear conflicts, shifts in fishing effort out of the closed areas and impacts on protected species and lobsters.

Atlantic Herring – Several approved motions will affect the development of the 2013-2015 herring specifications package. They include adoption of:

A value for Acceptable Biological Catch and an ABC control rule based on a constant catch strategy; and

As part of management uncertainty, a deduction of 6,200 metric tons for Canadian catch (the New Brunswick weir fishery) based on a 3-year average catch (2009-2011, rounded to the nearest hundred metric ton), as the preferred alternative in the action.

The following proposed alternatives would adjust accountability measures in the specs package:

A proactive accountability measure to close the directed fishery in a given management area when the catch is projected to reach 92% of the area annual catch limits under the following two conditions:

a. the stock is overfished or overfishing is occurring and;

b. the sub-ACL for a management area has been exceeded in either of the preceding two years.

If overfishing is not occurring and the stock is rebuilt (spawning stock biomass exceeds the target), the accountability measure (a pound for pound payback) will not be triggered until the sub-ACL is exceeded by 5% or more.

Habitat – The Council agreed to remove the coral protection alternatives from Habitat EFH Omnibus Amendment 2 and continue to work on the amendment as the highest priority for the Council. This action dovetailed with another motion that directs the staff to schedule a one-day Council meeting (or add a day to the January 2013 Council meeting) following a Habitat Advisory Panel/Plan Development Team meeting to develop and finalize area management alternatives. The goal would be to approve the area management alternatives as soon as possible and schedule public hearings.

Related to the above discussion was the approval of alternatives in the next available framework adjustment to the Scallop FMP that would focus on the potential creation of new access areas in existing habitat closures on Georges Bank, should those areas be modified or eliminated in the Habitat Omnibus Amendment. As stated in the Council motion, this consideration would be based on survey information and would follow the existing protocols for the creation of new rotational access areas and associated allocations.

Spiny Dogfish – The Council approved final measures to be adopted in Amendment 3 to the Spiny Dogfish Plan. Included were: allocations of up to 3% of the commercial quota to fund cooperative research through a research set-aside program; updates to the essential fish habitat definitions; the previous fishing year's management measures, including the quota, until they are replaced via rulemaking; and elimination of the seasonal allocation of the commercial quota. The Mid-Atlantic Council is expected to approve final measures in the joint plan at its October meeting.

Council Management Priorities for 2013 – In addition to the draft management priorities that were provided to the Council at the meeting (see www.nefmc.org, under Council Discussion Documents), two other items were proposed. These call for an amendment to consider limited access in the skate fishery in 2013, and also a 2013 framework adjustment to set fishing year 2014 sea scallop specifications (setting days-at-sea, access area trips, a Northern Gulf of Maine total allowable catch, the limited access general category IFQ, and potential modification of scallop access area boundaries, among other things). Final priorities will be voted on at the Council’s November meeting.

 

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — September 27, 2012 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) met on Thursday to review the recommendations of the NEFMC's Habitat Committee regarding Essential Fish Habitats. The Council also discussed their management priorities for 2013, as well as the standardization of by-catch reporting methodology (SBRM).

Listen to the Council's review of Omnibus EFH Amendment 2's Goals and Objectives as well as a discussion on whether or not to split deep-sea coral alternatives out of the Amendment.

Listen to Michelle Bachman, the NEFMC's Habitat Plan Development Chair, discuss the development of adverse effects and the minimization of options and alternatives for Omnibus EFH Amendment 2.

Listen to the public's comments regarding Michelle Bachman's presentation and Omnibus EFH Amendment 2. This section includes comments made by John Bullard, the Regional Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Regional Office.

Listen to the Council's discussion on Omnibus EFH Amendment 2, in regards to the scallop industry and the time-sensitive nature of their actions.

Listen to the Council conclude their discussion on Omnibus EFH Amendment 2.

Listen to the Council's initial discussion of 2013 management priorities.

Listen to the SBRM report and the Council's closing statements.

 

 

 

 

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — September 27, 2012 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) met on Thursday to discuss groundfish fishery specifications for fishing years 2013 through 2015 (Framework Adjustment 48) and to address sector management and monitoring issues in the groundfish fishery.

Listen to a review of the Framework Adjustment 48 documentation.

Listen to part 1 and part 2 of the Council's comments regarding the Framework Adjustment 48 overview and their deliberations on several amendments to the Framework.

Listen to the public's comments regarding Framework Adjustment 48.

Listen to the Council's discussion on habitat and closed areas within the groundfish fishery, with relation to Framework Adjustment 48.

Listen to the Council's discussion on sector management isses and yellowtail flounder and Atlantic cod discards.

Listen to the Council's closing remarks and their discussion on alternative management strategies.

 

 

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — September 27, 2012 — Amid a fishery disaster, there was a glimmer of hope for New England fishermen today when the full New England Fishery Management Council approved a motion to allow groundfishermen access to large areas off-limits to fishing.

The areas under discussion include portions of Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine that are not considered critical fish habitat areas. "We spoke in favor of these closed area 18 years ago," said Maggie Raymond, representing the Associated Fisheries of Maine, a coalition of 17 industry groups. "But we don't see that they have produced the desired result."
 
Cuts to the allowable catch for declining species such as cod and yellowtail flounder, scheduled to take effect May 1, threaten to force many fishermen out of business. Giving fishermen access to the closed areas would allow them to target other stocks such as pollock, redfish and haddock that are more abundant.
 
However a number of conservation groups spoke against the proposal. "We will fight this strenuously," said Peter Shelley, senior counsel for the Conservation Law Foundation who argued that the move violated the National Environmental Policy Act. "This proposal was developed explicitly to avoid environmental review," he said.
 
Peter Baker, fisheries director for the Pew Environment Group was also opposed, saying it would entangle the fishing industry in lawsuits that could prevent any boats from fishing.
 
"You'll see boats tied to the dock on May 1," he predicted.
 
Read the story by Don Cuddy in the New Bedford Standard-Times

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — September 26, 2012 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) met on Wednesday to review stock assessments and hear from the NEFMC's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) regarding acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for groundfish, Atlantic herring, and sea scallops for fishing years 2013 through 2014.

Listen to a summary of the findings of the 54th Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW)/Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC) Meetings, which addressed Atlantic herring and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder.

Listen to the public's comments on the overview of SAW/SARC 54. This public comment period includes input from the Mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Jon Mitchell.

Listen to the Council's comments on overview of SAW/SARC 54.

Listen to the SSC's report on ABC recommendations for groundfish stocks for fishing years 2013 through 2015.

Listen to public's comments regarding the SSC's report on ABC recommendations for groundfish stocks for fishing years 2013 through 2015.

Listen to the SSC's report on ABC recommendations for herring stocks for fishing years 2013 through 2015.

Listen to the public's comments regarding the SSC's report on ABC recommendations for herring stocks for fishing years 2013 through 2015.

Listen to the SSC's report on ABC recommendations for sea scallop stocks for fishing years 2013 and 2014.

Listen to public's comments regarding the SSC's report on ABC recommendations for sea scallop stocks for fishing years 2013 and 2014. 

Listen to John Bullard, the Regional Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Regional Office, as he discusses harbor porpoises.

Listen to part 1 and part 2 of the Herring Committee's report on herring fishery specifications for fishing years 2013 through 2015

Listen to the Scallop Committee's report on scallop fishery specifications for 2013 and 2014 (Framework 24).

Listen to the Transboundary Resource Assessment Committee's summary of the 2012 Eastern Georges Bank cod and haddock and the Georges Bank yellowtail flounder assessments.

Listen to part 1 and part 2 of the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee's recommendations for fishing year 2013 quotas for Eastern Georges Bank cod and haddock and the Georges Bank stock of yellowtail flounder.

 

 

September 27, 2012 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Arlington, VA — With the goal to improve the public’s understanding of the science behind the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s management of northern shrimp, the ASMFC Northern Shrimp Technical Committee will be conducting a Northern Shrimp Science Workshop on October 17 from 10 AM to 3 PM in Portland, Maine.  The Workshop will include a general overview of northern shrimp life history, the Commission’s stock assessment process (including an exploration of both the data and models used), the specification setting process, and plans for the upcoming benchmark stock assessment scheduled for 2013.
 
The Workshop will be held at Gulf of Maine Research Institute, TD Bank Boardroom, 350 Commercial Street, Portland, Maine. All interested parties are welcome to attend. A draft agenda is available on the Commission website at www.asmfc.org under Meetings. For more information, please contact Mike Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mwaine@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

 

 

September 27, 2012 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council today.   Saving Seafood will post the full audio of the debate as well as audio highlights shortly.

PLYMOUTH, Mass. – Sept 27,  The New England Fishery Management Council today took a step in the process to approve measures that could allow groundfish fishermen to harvest healthy stocks of fish from areas that have been closed to this fishery for decades.

Explicitly, the 18-member Council voted unanimously to support further analysis of a measure that calls for groundfish sectors, a type of harvesting cooperative established in 2010, to request exemptions from the longstanding prohibition on fishing in three year-round groundfish closed areas on a limited basis. These restrictions provide that:

    • Access will only be granted for the parts of areas that are not defined as habitat closed areas, or that have not been identified as potential habitat management areas currently under consideration in a habitat action that is currently in development;

    • Access to Closed Area I and Closed area II (on Georges Bank) will only be granted for the period May 1 through February 15; and

    • Access to the Western Gulf of Maine Closed Area (off MA and NH) will only be granted during periods not subject to rolling closures that are applicable to sectors and already specified in the Groundfish Management Plan.

Despite the vote, several Council members, fishermen and some advocacy groups voiced serious concerns about the proposal during a lengthy comment period that occurred prior to the vote. As one Council member put it, “This is not a fix-all, but a mitigation measure intended to address the low levels of some fish stocks that will be available to fishermen over the next few years.”

If these and other measures receive final approval at the Council’s upcoming meeting on November 13-15, 2012 in Newport, RI, the Council will submit final documents to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Secretary of Commerce for final approval and implementation. The plan is to have the measures in place at the start of the new fishing year that begins on May 1.

 

 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – September 19, 2012 – The New England Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Committee met on Wednesday to further develop Framework Adjustment 48 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The audio from that meeting is posted below in several segments.

Listen to part 1 and part 2 of the Groundfish Committee’s discussion on year-round closed areas, the exemptions in those areas and their environmental implications.

Listen to the public’s comments on the Groundfish Committee’s discussion regarding year-round closed areas.

Listen to the Groundfish Committee’s conclusion to the closed area issue.

Listen to the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee’s overview and preliminary discussion on groundfish ABC’s for fishing year 2013.

Listen to the Groundfish Committee’s discussion on the formation of the Closed Area Technical Team, which plans to make progress with groundfish issues related to the Omnibus Habitat Amendment, and will assist with Framework 48 analysis, with a focus on opening up closed areas.

Listen to the public’s comments regarding the Groundfish Committee’s continued discussion on closed areas, as well as issues with catch discards.

Listen to Mayor Mitchell’s address to the Groundfish Committee and public.

Listen to the Groundfish Committee’s discussion on accountability measures within the groundfish fishery.

Listen to part 1 and part 2 of the Groundfish Committee’s discussion on issues concerning observer coverage on fishing vessels.