February 24, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
Here are several timely meetings and management actions that directly relate to the work of the New England Fishery Management Council.
SCALLOPS: The Council’s Scallop Advisory Panel (AP) and Scallop Committee both have a couple of meetings coming up.
- Scallop AP: The AP will meet on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Boston. The agenda and meeting materials are available here.
- Scallop Committee: The Committee will meet on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at the same hotel in Boston. Here are the meeting materials.
- Scallop AP and Committee: The Scallop AP and Committee will meet again back-to-back on Thursday and Friday, March 26 and March 27, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Boston. More information will be posted on the Council’s scallop webpage in the near future.
- Scallop Framework Adjustment 32: The Council signed off on Framework 32 during its December 2019 meeting. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) has reviewed the document and is accepting public comments on the proposed rule through March 6, 2020. Here is the Framework 32 webpage.
- Of Note: NOAA Fisheries released its Fisheries of the United States 2018 Report. Scallops ranked fourth in the nation in the category called “highest value species groups,” coming in at $541 million. Roughly $532.3 million of that total came from sea scallop landings and the remainder was due to bay scallops. Scallop landings helped make New Bedford, MA the highest value fishing port in the U.S. for the 19th consecutive year.
ATLANTIC HERRING: The Council’s Herring AP and Herring Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Wakefield, MA. The AP will start off in the morning at 8:30 a.m. and the Committee will meet after lunch, roughly around 1 p.m. Here’s the agenda. Meeting materials for both the AP and Committee meeting are available here.
- Draft Addendum III: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will hold a hearing on Draft Addendum III to the interstate herring plan at 11:00 a.m. on March 3 at the same location as the New England Council’s Herring AP and Herring Committee meetings. According to ASMFC, Draft Addendum III “proposes options to better manage the Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) sub-annual catch limit under low quota scenarios.”
FISHERY DATA: The Fishery Data for Stock Assessment Working Group has delivered its final report to the Council. The Council established the working group to explore how fishery-dependent data can be used to inform stock abundance and explain how this information is used in stock assessments. The group developed a number of recommendations. Learn more about the working group’s charge and membership.
ABC CONTROL RULE CONTRACTOR: The Council is seeking an independent contractor to develop alternatives for acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules for groundfish stocks that have undergone analytic assessments as of 2019. Letters of interest and supporting documents must be received by March 18, 2020. Details are available at groundfish ABC control rules. Here’s a link to the announcement.
SKATES – SAVE THE DATE: The Skate AP and Skate Committee will meet jointly on Thursday, March 26, 2020 at the Fairfield Inn in New Bedford. More information will become available shortly. Here is the Council’s skate webpage.
- The Council developed Framework Adjustment 8 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan to set skate wing and skate bait specifications for the 2020-2021 fishing years. NOAA Fisheries is collecting public comment on the framework through March 6, 2020. Documents are available on the Framework 8 webpage.
RED HAKE: Here’s a reminder that the Red Hake Stock Structure Research Track Assessment Meeting will be taking place March 9-12, 2020 in Woods Hole, MA. The Council is working on an action to rebuild southern red hake. Visit the Council’s whiting webpage for future developments.
EBFM – SAVE THE DATE: The Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee and EBFM Plan Development Team will meet jointly on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at the Fairfield Inn in New Bedford. More information will become available shortly. Here is the Council’s EBFM webpage.
JOIN US! MAINE FISHERMEN’S FORUM: The Maine Fishermen’s Forum will take place March 5, 6, and 7, 2020 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, ME. Several Council members and staff are participating in many of this year’s seminars, including a special day-long offshore wind session. Council representatives also will be taking part in seminars about: Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23; changes in the federal Atlantic herring fishery; updates on the federal scallop fishery in the Gulf of Maine; an open forum with fisheries leadership; and reconsideration of Atlantic cod stock structure in U.S. waters.
- Detailed descriptions of the seminars are available at Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2020.
- Tables with daily at-a-glance schedules are available on the forum’s forms and schedules webpage.