NOAA/NMFS leadership must do the extraordinary – they must lead, and commit to removing the antiquated impediments to achieving the total allowable catch of New England groundfish.
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS (Guest Editorial) by Maggie Raymond March 24, 2011- The first year of catch share management of New England groundfish comes to a close on April 30, but for inshore Gulf of Maine fishermen, the fishing year will effectively end on April 1st. That's the day when the productive area known as Middle Bank closes for the entire month of April.
Ironically, inshore Gulf of Maine fishermen have experienced phenomenal catches of Gulf of Maine haddock this week – small trawlers catching as much as 20,000 lbs. Gulf of Maine haddock is a stock considered fully rebuilt. The closure means that inshore fishermen will likely leave 1.25 million lbs of Gulf of Maine haddock in the water. Moreover, there is still plenty of cod, yellowtail, winter flounder, and plaice quota available for Middle Bank fishermen (http://www.nero.noaa.gov/ro/fso/reports/Sectors/Sector_Summary.html).
The Middle Bank closure is an artifact of the days at sea management system that relied on a complex combination of limitations on allowable fishing time, trip limits and area closures.
Likewise the two 'special access programs' in the area on Georges Bank known as Closed Area II, designed specifically to maximize the catch of Georges Bank haddock, closed on December 30 and January 31 respectively. Before the offshore fishermen were forced to leave, they reported haddock and cod catch ratios of 25 to 1, and neither the haddock nor the cod quota will be reached. New England fishermen will leave a staggering 10 million lbs of Georges Bank haddock in the water!
NOAA and NMFS have a huge investment in catch share management of New England groundfish – both politically and financially. It is time to put the 'catch' into catch share management. NOAA/NMFS leadership must do the extraordinary – they must lead, and commit to removing the antiquated impediments to achieving the total allowable catch of New England groundfish.
Maggie Raymond is the Executive Director Associated Fisheries of Maine and a contributor to Seafoodnews.com
Seafoodnews.com is a subscription site, this article is republished on SavingSeafood with permission.