January 26, 2023 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council voted on a package of measures during its January 2023 meeting that set the stage for how the monkfish fishery will operate during the 2023-2025 fishing years.
The measures were developed through Framework Adjustment 13 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan and include the following:
• Acceptable biological catches (ABCs) and other specifications for both the Northern and Southern Monkfish Fishery Management Areas (see map on page 2);
• Days-at-sea allocations and a days-at-sea usage cap for both the northern and southern areas; and
• A 12″ minimum mesh size requirement for monkfish gillnets with implementation delayed until 2026.
The monkfish fishery is managed jointly between the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils. The New England Council has the administrative lead, but joint management means both Councils must vote on new measures before an action can be submitted to NOAA Fisheries for review, approval, and implementation. The Mid-Atlantic Council will discuss and vote on Framework 13 on February 7, 2023.
The New England Council also revised its 2023-2024 priorities for the Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program during the January meeting in Portsmouth, NH.