September 23, 2014 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
Newburyport, Mass. — Collaborative research has long been recognized as a cornerstone of successful fisheries management. The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) announces its continued support of these efforts by investing $800,000 in research projects that will collect and analyze information about specific research questions that relate to the region’s groundfish stocks and the groundfish fishery.
Based on a competitive process, the Council has selected the Northeast Consortium (NEC) to manage these funds. The Consortium was created in 1999 to encourage and fund effective, equal partnerships among commercial fishermen, scientists, and other stakeholders to engage in collaborative research and monitoring projects in the northeast region. The NEC has representation from four research institutions: the University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with Dr. Chris Glass at the University of New Hampshire, in the lead as its Director.
The NEC’s excellent track record over the course of 14 years speaks for itself. It has funded more than 240 collaborative research projects, involving over 525 fishermen, 45 fishing industry organizations and businesses, and over 274 scientists from 65 institutions or agencies.
The Consortium will be responsible for soliciting proposals, overseeing and monitoring selected projects, tracking expenses, and ensuring that any project adjustments are consistent with its own policies as well as those of the Council. It will provide monthly reports to the Council about project progress and provide a written final report that details all funded projects with a complete assessment concerning a project’s success in reaching intended goals and an accounting on the use of funds.
The NEC will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) in the near future with priorities drawn from research questions developed by the Council’s Research Steering Committee. The RFP, which will receive wide distribution, will contain many more details, so please stay tuned.
Collaborative research teams fishing, science and technology professionals together to investigate scientific questions of mutual interest. The Council is a group of 18 fishery officials that include representatives from each New England coastal state, the federal government, and appointees from the region, all of whom are charged with managing the groundfish complex (cod, haddock, pollock and several species of flounder). Funding collaborative research is fully consistent with its interest in understanding and improving this resource.
View the release here