WASHINGTON- February 1, 2012- At its most recent meeting, the Northeast Fisheries Management Council took several signifcant actions on scallop management, specifically regarding the Delmarva Access Area.
In a 14-0-1 vote, the Council recommend that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) declare an emergency and close the Delmarva Access Area. They also recommended that trips scheduled to go into the Delmarva Area instead go into Closed Area 1 off of Georges Bank for the 2012 season.
Recent data from the Delmarva Access Area, a scallop fishing ground that is open on a rotating basis, suggests that scallop biomass in the area is not high enough to make fishing there economically or environmentally viable. The Access Area was scheduled to be open to half the fleet, which would catch up to three million pounds of scallops. It is now up to NMFS to accept or reject the emergency request, and whether or not to open Closed Area 1.
The Council also approved Framework 24, which will set fishing specifications for the 2013 and 2014 fishing years.
The Council discussed, but did not take action on, the closure of the Southern New England Yellowtail Flounder (SNE YTF) area. The area is subject to closure because the scallop fishery is currently projected to exceed its yellowtail flounder sub-ACL (Annual Catch Limit).