BREWSTER, Mass. – Dec. 24, 2010 – In the finalization of Framework Adjustment 22 to the Scallop Fishery Management Plan, the New England Fisheries Management Council agreed on a measure designed to minimize interactions between scallop fishing boats and endangered sea turtles.
The measure will restrict the number of fishing trips scallop boats can make into certain fishing areas in the Mid-Atlantic that are known to be frequented by sea turtles. Each vessel is limited to one trip in these mid-Atlantic areas between June 15 and Oct. 31, the time of year when turtles are most likely be present, according to council information.
By limiting fishing effort in this manner, the measure is expected to have beneficial effects on sea turtles, but not more than minor impacts on the scallop fishery, according to council information.
Bycatch includes not only sea turtles but finfish such as yellowtail flounder, skates and monkfish, and undersized scallops. Temporary and seasonal closures and gear modifications, along with the newly imposed restrictions on the number of fishing trips a boat may take in certain areas, have been employed as techniques to reduce bycatch.
“We pretty much eliminated all sources of injury and mortality,” Smollowitz said. “The population of turtles is pretty thick and pretty heavy throughout the whole mid-Altantic.”
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