WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) Nov. 14, 2012 – Yesterday, the Fisheries Survival Fund, an industry group that includes the majority of full-time, limited-access scallop permit holders, hosted a forum, “Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder and Incidental Catch Avoidance,” immediately following the New England Fisheries Management Council meeting in Newport, Rhode Island.
Georges Bank Yellowtail flounder has become a serious issue for New England Fishermen in both the groundfish industry and the scallop industry. Accordingly the Fishery Survival Fund organized this event to discuss efforts to avoid yellowtail bycatch and to review the current science behind the yellowtail flounder stock assessment, which is controversial.
For background on the issue see the links at the bottom of this article.
Speakers at the event included Dr. Steve Cadrin and Cate O’Keefe of the School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dr. David Rudders of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and Ron Smolowitz of the Coonamessett Farms Foundation.
Dr. David Rudders of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science
After an introduction from Dave Frulla of the Fisheries Survival Fund, Dr. Rudders presented a historical perspective on bycatch management in the scallop fishery, as well as a brief overview of the bycatch management process. He discussed VIMS past work in conducting resource surveys, particularly scallops. He also briefly discussed discard mortality and gear-based approaches to avoiding bycatch, such as turtle excluders.
View the presentation by Dr. Rudders here
Cate O’Keefe of the School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Cate O’Keefe gave an overview of the history of the University of Massachusetts School for Marind Science and Technology (SMAST) Yellowtail Bycatch Avoidance System, as well as challenges the program faces in the future. She described the origins of the program, which began when members of the industry approached SMAST to devise a way to avoid yellowtail bycatch, which had shut down the fishery early in previous years. The resulting program compiles data on the location and quantity of yellowtail bycatch in scallop areas, and advises the scallop fleet accordingly. O’Keefe said that as a result of the program, 100 percent of the allocated scallop harvest was caught in 2010 and 2011, with 243 boats now participating. However, O’Keefe concluded that yellowtail allocation for 2013, currently set at 34 metric tons, may be so low that the program might be ineffective. She said that there was a potential for the scallop and groundfish fisheries to exceed the total US allocation of yellowtail, leading to reduced allocations in the future.
View the presentation by Cate O’Keefe here
Ron Smolowitz of the Coonamessett Farms Foundation
Ron Smolowitz of the Coonamessett Farm Foundation discussed the research being done to reduce bycatch bycatch by the Foundation and its partners. One of the methods used is a seasonal bycatch survey of Closed Area 1 and Closed Area 2 that gathers information on distribution for most species encountered with scallop dredges such as yellowtail, windowpane flounder, skates, winter winter flounder, monkfish, and flukes. Another method of reducing bycatch Mr. Smolowitz discussed was electronic monitoring which allows fishermen to perform tow by tow data collection that can be sent to scientific consultants for analysis. The final topic discussed was the current flatfish bycatch reduction dredge designs, presented with data derived from comparison tows of the different net designs.
View the presentation by Ron Smolowitz here
Dr. Steve Cadrin of the School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Dr. Steve Cadrin of SMAST presented data from the yellowtail stock assessment and spoke about its implications for bycatch allocations and the future of scallop fishing. He stated that the allocation currently being considered for yellowtail would prohibit the successful rotational harvest strategy for the scallop industry and prevent it from catching its target catch. After fully explaining the different data sets collected by the surveys and their “mixed bag” results, Dr. Cadrin emphasized the need for higher allocations of yellowtail bycatch for all of the fisheries.
View the presentation by Dr. Steve Cadrin here
View the event invitation here
For background on the issue see the following:
New Bedford Mayor urges reopening of US-Canada discussion on yellowtail flounder
Crisis highlights running dispute over US fish law
AUDIO: NEFMC's Sept. 26 Meeting Reviews Assessments for Yellowtail, Scallops and Herring