Management & Regulation

April 30, 2012 – NOAA  announces the availability of funds for projects supporting the Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program.  For additional information on the application process, please click here.  

Deadline for Applications
Letters of Intent for the FY2012 BREP competition are due by May 4, 2012 to derek.orner@noaa.gov.
Full Applications for the FY 2012 BREP competition are due May 25, 2012.
 
For More Information
For more information about this funding opportunity, please contact Lee Benaka at lee.benaka@noaa.gov  —  or  —  Derek Orner at Derek.Orner@noaa.gov.  Additional contact information can be found within the Agency Contacts section of the FFO document.

 

 

Workshop Announcement: Stock Structure of Atlantic Cod in the Gulf of Maine Region
June 12th – 14th, 2012
Sheraton Harborside Hotel, Portsmouth, NH

April 30, 2012 – The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) announces a three-day workshop, sponsored by NOAA Fisheries Service, to address issues around cod stock structure in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, Scotian Shelf, and southern New England regions.  The workshop will explore current research to inform the cod assessment process.  Invited participants from the fishing and scientific communities will present on a range of topics with opportunities for discussion. The workshop is open to the public, but seating will be limited.  Online registration is available here or contact Patty Collins at pcollins@gmri.org or 207-228-1625 to register via phone or email.

 

 

The harbor porpoise is not rare, with a population estimated between 60,000 and 90,000.

But to keep the population healthy, the Marine Mammal Protection Act allows only a certain number of porpoises to be accidentally caught and killed annually.

Right now, the annual nationwide limit is 703, and the law requires regulators to bring the average down to a tenth of that, about 70 deaths annually, said David Gouveia, the marine mammal program coordinator the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northeast office.

The loss is huge in an industry that's fighting for its future as it faces significant cuts in key stocks such as cod in the Gulf of Maine and yellowtail flounder in Georges Bank. There's also no obvious end to the annual closure to protect porpoise, since the requirement to reduce accidental porpoise deaths down to 70 per year looks a long way off.

Read the complete story by Jay Lindsay of the AP at Bloomberg Business Week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 28, 2012 – U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is vowing a “full-court press” on federal fishing regulators to seek relief for New England groundfishing fleets facing an 80 percent cut in the amount of yellowtail flounder they’re allowed to catch.

The flounder regulation, set to take effect Tuesday, is among several measures that advocates said threaten the already failing industry — including a 22 percent cut in cod catches in the Gulf of Maine and the continued enforcement of a catch-measuring system fishermen said has cost them millions.

“I am deeply concerned about the recent yellowtail news,” Brown said. “That, combined with Gulf of Maine cod and the ongoing struggles under catch-shares, could mean a devastating year for Massachusetts fishermen.”

Read the complete story from The Boston Herald.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOSTON — April 27, 2012 – Federal fishing regulators have formed a group to help fishermen deal with a huge reduction in the yellowtail flounder catch on Georges Bank.

The announcement Friday comes a day after regional managers asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create the group.

Fishermen who target bottom-dwelling groundfish in Georges Bank face an 80 percent cut in their yellowtail catch limit, starting May 1. They say it will devastate the struggling industry.

Read the complete story by The AP at The Boston Globe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 27, 2012 – An 80 percent cut in the quota for yellowtail flounder in Georges Bank goes into effect May 1.

An 80 percent cut to the allowed yellowtail flounder catch in prime New England fishing grounds is set to deal a heavy blow to a local fishing industry already edging toward collapse.

The new regulatory quota for yellowtail in Georges Bank goes into effect May 1. Combined with various other problems, it's prompted officials, including Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, to ask the U.S. Commerce Department to declare New England's fishery a disaster.

(This story contains material copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Read the complete story from MPBN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD — Sharp restrictions on catching yellowtail flounder in the coming year will cause heavy economic damage to the fishing ports of the Northeast, say those affected.

But at this point no one appears to have a good grasp of how the loss of yellowtail allocation will ripple through the industry.

Vito Giacalone, analyst for the Northeast Seafood Coalition, based in Gloucester, said the New England Fishery groundfish catch could drop by half, or $30 million.

The Commerce Department shocked the industry this week by announcing that the allocation of yellowtail for the year starting May 1 would be 218 metric tons. (A metric ton is about 2,200 pounds.)

In the current year, the groundfish fleet working Georges Bank landed about 1,140 metric tons.

Losing four-fifths of the catch will cost roughly $2 million at the dock, said Dr. Brian Rothschild of the UMass School of Marine Science and Technology.

Read the complete story from The Standard-Times

 

 

 

 

 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced it will award up to $2.5 million in grants to marine researchers working to reduce bycatch in the fishing industry.

The Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program seeks to encourage the development of new fishing gear that will minimize bycatch and impacts of fishing on marine habitats according to the announcement.

"This is a national program and the spectrum associated with this is pretty broad,' said Ryan Silva, cooperative research liaison with the northeast regional office of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"We've already gotten some inquiries from researchers who engage in this type of work," Silva said. "We want to work with industry to reduce bycatch. This is the first year and we'll see where it goes."

Among the program's top priorities are the reduction of bycatch of protected species, such as sea turtles and Atlantic sturgeon which may be caught inadvertently in trawls and gillnets.

Read the complete story from The Standard-Times

 

 

 

 

 

BOSTON — April 27, 2012— An 80 percent cut to the catch of yellowtail flounder in prime New England fishing grounds is set to deal a vicious blow to a fishing industry already edging toward ruin.

The cut on yellowtail in Georges Bank, combined with major problems with other species, left regional fishery managers pondering Thursday whether to ask the U.S. commerce secretary to declare a federal disaster for the fishery, although they took no immediate action.

The Georges Bank fishing grounds, located to the west and southwest of Cape Cod, are frequented by larger offshore vessels with the greater range to reach it. Last year, U.S. groundfish fishermen on Georges Bank were allotted about 1,140 metric tons of yellowtail. This year, they're getting about 218 metric tons, effective May 1.

The cut comes after the most recent research showed diminishing numbers of yellowtail and the U.S. saw its portion of the stock, which it shares with Canada, shrink to its lowest level.

New Bedford fisherman Carlos Rafael said it's a devastating cut that will keep him away from abundant winter flounder stocks.

Rafael, who owns three dozen boats that target bottom-dwelling groundfish, said his operation is large enough to keep going, even though he says he'll likely have to shut down 20 of his boats. But smaller operations? "No way in hell they will survive," he said.

Vito Giacalone, a fisherman and policy analyst with the Northeast Seafood Coalition, a Gloucester-based industry group, said the New England industry could lose 30 million pounds of fish this year, which accounts for more than half the value of the fishery.

The coming yellowtail cut got a bit lost amid a series of other problems and crises, Giacalone said.

For instance, cuts in the catch of cod in the Gulf of Maine — 22 percent this year, with a far larger cut pending next year — are threatening to wipe out the industry from Provincetown to Maine. Also, some fishermen in the Gulf of Maine are being shut out of key fishing grounds for two months, starting in October, to protect harbor porpoises.

"Things are falling apart all around us on the regulatory level," Giacalone said.

On Thursday, members of the New England Fishery Management Council considered asking U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson to determine whether a disaster declaration was warranted before deciding on further internal discussions.

The council did vote Thursday to form a group that will focus on the yellowtail problem, including studying modifications to the sharing agreement with Canada.

Read the full story from the AP at the New Bedford Standard-Times.

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, APRIL 25, 2012
PRESS CONTACT, TINA BERGER, 703.842.0740

Please find attached the final agenda for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's 2012 Spring Meeting. Please note that the order and timing of meetings on Tuesday afternoon (May 1) have changed with the Executive Committee meeting from 12:30 – 2:30 PM, the South Atlantic Board meeting from 2:30 – 3:30 PM and the Shad & River Herring Board meeting from 3:45 – 6:15 PM. The agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of meetings. Interested parties should anticipate meetings starting earlier or later than indicated .

Supplemental meeting materials have been posted here for the following Boards  (click on "Supplemental Material" following each relevant board header to access information). CDs with the full meeting materials (original plus supplemental) will be available at the meeting.

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board
Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview
H.R. 3906 Proposed Amendment to the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act

Law Enforcement Committee
Revised Agenda
2012 Action Plan Tasks
ISFMP Charter LEC Responsibilities and Guidance

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board
Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview 
Updated Nominees for the Black Drum Stock Assessment Subcommittee
South Atlantic Advisory Panel Current Membership

Shad & River Herring Management Board
Revised Agenda and Meeting Overview

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board
Revised Public Comment Summary and Submitted Public Comment from April 13 – 20, 2012
Atlantic Menhaden Advisory Panel Report to the Board on the Public Information Document
Amendment 2 Guidance Document
Sturgeon Management Board
North Carolina Application for a General Incidental Take Permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973

ISFMP Policy Board
Revised Agenda & Meeting Overview
Compliance Committee Report
NEAMAP Report and 2012 – 2016 Management Plan

Spiny Dogfish & Coastal Sharks Management Board
Public Comment
2012/2013 Spiny Dogfish Preliminary Quotas

Horseshoe Crab Management Board
Reports from the Horseshoe Crab Advisory Panel, Shorebird Advisory Panel, Horseshoe Crab Technical Committee, and Plan Review Team on North Carolina Transfer Request
Coastwide Horseshoe Crab Tagging Program Guidelines
Horseshoe Crab Plan Review Team 2012 State Compliance Report Summary
Horseshoe Crab 2012 Fishery Management Plan Review for 2011 Season

Business Session
Legislative Tracking Sheet: 112th Congress, 1st Session