October 10, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council received the peer-reviewed results of the 2023 Atlantic Cod Research Track Assessment when it met in late-September in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The results provide a new understanding of cod stock structure, which will guide the Council’s work in the year ahead as it develops an Atlantic Cod Management Transition Plan.
The Council also: (1) approved the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee’s 2024 total allowable catch recommendations for three shared U.S./Canada groundfish resources on Georges Bank; and (2) was The Atlantic Cod Research Track Assessment Working Group and Peer Review Panel determined that cod is comprised of four biological stock units, which cover: the Eastern Gulf of Maine; the Western Gulf of Maine (winter/spring spawners); Georges Bank; and Southern New England. – Working Group graphic presented with updates on two framework adjustments to the groundfish plan that are under development.
Atlantic Cod Stock Structure
The Council currently makes management decisions for Atlantic cod based on two biological stock units – one for Georges Bank and one for the Gulf of Maine
However, a years-long investigation into cod stock structure that led to a series of workshops and recently culminated with the 2023 Atlantic Cod Research Track Stock Assessment concluded that cod is better defined by four biological stock units:
• Eastern Gulf of Maine;
• Western Gulf of Maine (winter/spring spawners);
• Georges Bank; and
• Southern New England.
Going forward, overfished and overfishing determinations will be made separately for each of the four biological stock units. The first official status determination for each stock will be driven by the outcome of the June 2024 Management Track Stock Assessments for Atlantic cod.
Now that the results of the research track assessment are known, the Council’s work will ramp up as it addresses how to manage cod under this new understanding of cod stock structure. The Council is working on an Atlantic Cod Management Transition Plan through which it will develop criteria for future management units and quota allocation issues, among other topics. Here is the tentative timeline:
January through April 2024 – The Council will work on a first draft of the transition plan, which will include a discussion of whether potential management changes should be addressed through a framework adjustment or an amendment to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan (FMP); and Ø
May through August 2024 – The Council will continue to work on the transition plan. At this point, it will discuss whether any management changes should be incorporated into the annual framework action that will be developed over the summer and fall with specifications and other measures for the 2025 groundfish fishing year, which will begin on May 1, 2025.