WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following statement by Acting NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, Samuel Rauch, and New England Fishery Management Council Chairman, C.M. "Rip" Cunningham was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries Service and the New England Fishery Management Council have formed a joint agency Working Group, modeled after our successful Gulf of Maine Cod Working Group, to explore measures to help fishermen facing a reduction in the Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder quota in 2012.
The U.S. and Canada coordinate management of three fish stocks that overlap the boundary between the two countries on Georges Bank. In the late summer of 2011, the two countries, through the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee, which includes representation from state and federal agencies and the fishing community, recommended shared total allowable catches for fishing year 2012 for cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder stocks.
The New England Fishery Management Council adopted these total allowable catches at its September 2011 Council meeting and incorporated them into its latest revision to the groundfish fishery management plan (Framework 47).
NOAA Fisheries Service has proposed to implement these quota recommendations which will result in a 61 percent decrease in the Georges Bank yellowtail quota.
Through the new working group, we will reach out to the broader fishing community and other stakeholders to advance selective fishing gear and practices and explore other ideas and management alternatives that will minimize the impacts on commercial fishermen. This working group will also provide a constructive platform for continued open and public planning and discussions about the challenges facing the industry in 2013. We hope to build off the successful model we employed with Gulf of Maine cod.
We will establish in the next few weeks a Yellowtail Flounder Working Group webpage to provide one-stop information on all working group meetings and activities.
U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) released the following:
Senator Snowe, Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, today applauded a commitment from staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that the agency will set up a working group with its National Marine Fisheries Service, the New England Fishery Management Council, and other stakeholders to address a drastic reduction in Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for the fishing year beginning on May 1st. NOAA has also issued a proposed rule that would make a number of regulatory changes in its rulemaking to increase fishing opportunities where possible and mitigate the economic impact from the reduced catch levels.
Senator Snowe said
"NOAA's intent to seek ways to mitigate the impact of drastic cuts in Georges Bank yellowtail flounder catch is welcome news and a step in the right direction. I commend the agency for engaging stakeholders in an effort to seek workable solutions to this difficult situation, as they did following the 2011 Gulf of Maine cod stock assessment. I thank the Council and the fishery's stakeholders for coming together to try to find ways to share the yellowtail catch in a way that maximizes fishing opportunities for the entire fleet. In addition, I'm hopeful the International Fisheries Agreement Clarification Act, which Congress passed in December 2010, will be a valuable tool in seeking some relief for the groundfish fleet impacted by this catch reduction. Finally, I am pleased to see the expanded definition of the Eliminator Trawl included in this rulemaking, as this award-winning gear will help fishermen to target the abundant haddock stock despite reductions in cod and flounder catch limits."
BACKGROUND: In New England, the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) is charged with developing management plans that meet the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (M-S Act). The Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) specifies the management measures for thirteen groundfish species (cod, haddock, yellowtail flounder, pollock, plaice, witch flounder, white hake, windowpane flounder, Atlantic halibut, winter flounder, redfish, Atlantic wolffish, and ocean pout) off the New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts. This framework action, a modification to the multispecies FMP, incorporates the results of new stock assessments into the setting of catch limits for Fishing Year 2012, which begins on May 1, 2012. These measures include an 80% reduction in the Georges Bank yellowtail annual catch limit. Other measures will allow for broader use of the "Eliminator" or "Ruhle" trawl, a more selective net which reduces cod and flounder catch when targeting haddock.