Saving Seafood

Council Actions

AUDIO: NEFMC Scientific and Statistical Committee’s Sept. 13 Meeting Covers Broad Range of Management Issues

Providence, RI — Sept. 13, 2012 — The New England Fishery Management Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) met on Thursday to develop acceptable biological catch (ABC) limits and overfishing limits (OFL) for groundfish and scallop stocks. The SSC also met to discuss the terms of reference for a review of scallop survey methods that will be conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. The audio from that meeting is posted below in several segments.

Listen to the SSC's discussion on plaice projections and the development of OFL and ABC limits for fishing years 2013 through 2015.

Listen to the SSC's discussion on witch flounder projections and the development of OFL and ABC limits for fishing years 2013 through 2015.

Listen to the SSC's discussion on white hake OFL and ABC limits for the 2013 fishing year.

Listen to part 1 and part 2 of the SSC's review of scallop projections, yellowtail by-catch and scallop survey methods.

Listen to the public's comments regarding the plan development team's scallop recommendations as well as the SSC's decision regarding scallop OFL and ABC limits.

Listen to the SSC's discussion on the terms of reference for a review of scallop survey methods.

 

 

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Approves Northern Shrimp Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

Arlington, Va. — September 13, 2012 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section has approved for public review and comment Draft Addendum I to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp.  The Draft Addendum seeks to provide flexibility and transparency in the annual specification process with the goal of maximizing benefits to the fishery while ensuring stock rebuilding. It presents options to set a hard total allowable catch (TAC), allocate the TAC by gear type and/or state (including a transferability provision), and close the fishery when a percentage of the TAC is projected to be reached in order to account for late reporting.  The Draft Addendum also presents options to implement gear modifications to minimize the retention of small shrimp, establish set aside harvest for research, and require the payback of quota overages from one year to the next. The Draft Addendum responds to recent trends in the fishery and the resource that jeopardize the stability of the northern shrimp resource. For the last three fishing seasons, late and incomplete reporting and continued fluctuations in participation have led to overharvest of the TAC.  These overages coupled with a decline in stock abundance resulted in an overfished and overfishing stock status.  The Draft Addendum proposes refinements to the annual specification process to better control annual harvest and minimize risks to the resource as it rebuilds.
 
Additionally, the Draft Addendum explores longer-term management options, such as limited entry programs, for consideration in the future.  In response to concern regarding shifts in effort to the northern shrimp fishery from market demands, stock condition, and reduced fishing opportunities in other New England fisheries, Amendment 2 approved, for future consideration,  the establishment of a limited entry program for the northern shrimp fishery (June 7, 2011 was set as the control date for the fishery).  Draft Addendum I seeks to continue a discussion on the various components of a limited entry system, including the categorization of effort in the fishery for the most recent time period.  The Draft Addendum will not implement limited entry for the upcoming season but does solicit feedback from the industry regarding potential limited entry programs that would be relevant to northern shrimp fishery in the future. Final action on the Addendum is slated to occur in November.
 
Atlantic coastal states from Maine through Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Draft Addendum. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow:
 
Maine Department of Marine Resources
October 1, 2012; 4 PM
Meeting location to be determined
Ellsworth, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6562
 
October 2, 2012; 4 PM
Yarmouth Log Cabin
196 Main Street
Yarmouth, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6562
 
October 3, 2012; 4 PM
Rockland High School – Oceanside East
400 Broadway
Rockland, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6562
 
New Hampshire Fish and Game
October 2, 2012; 7 PM
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095
 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
October 4; 6:30 PM
Annisquam River Station
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Contact: Michael Armstrong at 978.282.0308

 
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum is available here or by contacting the Commission at 703.842.0740. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 12, 2012 and should be forwarded to Mike Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or mwaine@asmfc.org (Subject line: Shrimp Addend I).

Revised NEFMC September Council Meeting Agenda

September 11, 2012 —

The Council meeting agenda has been revised to include a report on Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) on Thursday September 27, at 3:30 p.m. The Council will be asked to approve alternatives for analysis and possible inclusion in the SBRM Amendment now under development.
 
The meeting will adjourn once this issue and any other outstanding business has been addressed. We apologize for any inconvenience the change may present to those individuals who are attending or listening to the meeting via webinar.
 
A revised version of the complete agenda is avaliable here.

 

 

 

 

NEFMC announces agenda and live streaming information for September meeting

September 5, 2012 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has released the agenda for its September 25-27 meeting in Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts. The public will be able to view the meeting online.

The meeting will be held at the Radisson Hotel, at 180 Water Street, Plymouth, MA, 02360. They will hold a webinar daily from September 25-27, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM EDT.

Register for the webinar here.

View the agenda for the meeting here.

 

 

Groundfish Oversight Committee meeting to be held in New Bedford

August 30, 2012 —

Date: Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: Fairfield Inn & Suites
185 MacArthur Drive
New Bedford, MA 02740
Phone: (774) 634-2000; Fax: (774) 634-2001

Agenda:

The Groundfish Oversight Committee will continue development of Framework Adjustment 48 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan that will include:

• Continued development of options to improve sector monitoring, including both at-sea and dockside monitoring. They may discuss appropriate monitoring coverage levels and full retention of allocated groundfish species.

• The Committee will develop measures that may help mitigate expected low catch levels in fishing year 2013. These measures could include modifications to groundfish closed areas (including habitat areas) and further review of a motion passed at the last committee meeting that would provide increased access to most groundfish closed areas, and may consider modifications to that motion that will be forwarded to the Council.

• Consideration of other modifications to the sector program, such as creating areas for fishing on Georges Bank (GB) that are not subject to the GB yellowtail flounder ACE limits.

• Consider options for addressing catches of groundfish stocks (primarily SNE/MAB windowpane flounder) by other fisheries (such as the fluke, scup and squid fisheries), and may either develop options for additional sub-ACLs or may propose changes to accountability measures to control those catches.

• The Committee may also discuss other issues that may be incorporated into the framework. Options  identified by the Committee will be included in a future management action (Framework Adjustment 48) that will be considered by the Council in the fall of 2012.

• An expected receipt of a preliminary report on catch advice developed for Eastern Georges Bank cod and haddock, and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder that will be developed by the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee.  The Committee may provide comments for consideration by the Council when it considers these FY 2013 quotas.

• Possible discussion of scallop/groundfish management issues, such as yellowtail flounder allocations and the timing of scallop vessel access to groundfish closed areas.

• Other business if necessary.

View the announcement on the NEFMC website

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special Mid-Atlantic Council Butterfish Meeting via Webinar: September 14, 2012

August 30, 2012 — To consider several issues regarding butterfish, the Council is meeting on September 14, 2012 at 10 am.  The Council has requested its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) to consider if an increase in the SSC’s 2012 acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendation for butterfish may be appropriate.  The Council could change its 2012 specifications recommendations depending on the SSC’s findings.  Solutions to a potential operational issue with the operation of the butterfish cap in 2013 will also be considered.
 

Friday, September 14
 
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.      2012 Butterfish Specifications

Review the SSC’s 2012 butterfish ABC recommendations from their September 13, 2012 meeting. Consider if anychanges to the Council’s recommendation for 2012 butterfish specifications are appropriate given the SSC’s recommendations.
 
11:30 a.m. – noon        Framework 7 to the Mackerel-Squid-Butterfish Management Plan – Meeting 1

Review staff analysis of butterfish cap issues and request additional analyses as appropriate.
 
For online access register here. Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with the information you need to join the webinar.  This link will also work for direct access without pre-registration at the time of the webinar.  A public listening station to allow public access to the webinar will also be available at the Council offices located at 800 N. State St., Suite 201, Dover, DE, 19901, phone 302-674-2331.  Please contact Jason Didden at jdidden@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5254 if you have any questions regarding the webinar process or if you would like to confirm that your computer is set up to access the webinar. The webinar works for most computers, but sometimes there are technical problems with remote voice communication from online participants, especially if they have not accessed a GoTo Webinar previously. In such cases, participants may still use a chat feature in the webinar to submit their comments or questions.
 
The above agenda items may not be taken in the order in which they appear and are subject to change as necessary.  Other items may be added, but the Council cannot take action on such items even if the item requires emergency action without additional public notice.  Non-emergency matters not contained in this agenda may come before the Council and / or its Committees for discussion, but these matters may not be the subject of formal Council or Committee action during this meeting.  Council and Committee actions will be restricted to the issues specifically listed in this agenda.  Any issues requiring emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act that arise after publication of the Federal Register Notice for this meeting may be acted upon provided that the public has been notified of the Council’s intent to take final action to address the emergency.  The meeting may be closed to discuss employment or other internal administrative matters.