January 30, 2025 — The following was released New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council voted on Western Gulf of Maine cod and Gulf of Maine haddock recreational fishing measures when it met January 28-30, 2025 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The measures are recommendations to NOAA Fisheries for the 2025 groundfish fishing year, which begins on May 1.
The Council also: (1) received an update on the Fishing Effort Survey conducted by NOAA Fisheries under the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP); and (2) participated in a public listening session about NOAA’s collaborative initiative to re-envision recreational fishing data collection partnership approaches.
The Council’s fishing year 2025 recommendations for Atlantic cod are based on the new understanding of cod stock structure. Cod is now being assessed as four stock units, which are color-coded in the map below.
The Council addressed Southern New England cod in December 2024 under Framework Adjustment 69. The framework also establishes a regulatory process for the GARFO regional administrator to set Eastern Gulf of Maine cod and Georges Bank cod measures. The Council’s intent is for the measures to be equivalent to Western Gulf of Maine cod. This authority is a temporary regulatory provision for 2025 only.
The Council took up Western Gulf of Maine cod and Gulf of Maine haddock in January. Here is the full package of recreational recommendations resulting from both the December and January Council meetings.