May 19, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The New England Fishery Management Council wants to hear from the public about proposed rules for new management areas to protect deep-sea corals in the Gulf of Maine and in the slope/canyon region south of Georges Bank.
At issue are several alternatives under consideration in the Draft Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment. The Council wants feedback from the public on which alternatives should be selected and why.
The public comment period will end on June 5, and the Council will take final action on the amendment during its June 20-22, 2017, meeting in Portland.
The Council is using its discretionary authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to identify and implement measures to reduce effects of fishing gear on deep sea corals in New England. One proposed amendment attempts to identify and protect concentrations of corals in select areas and restrict the expansion of fishing effort into areas where corals are likely to be present.
“Deep sea corals are fragile, slow-growing organisms that play an important role in the marine ecosystem and are vulnerable to various types of disturbance of the seafloor,” the Council wrote in a public hearing notice on May 18. “At the same time, the importance and value of commercial fisheries that operate in or near areas of deep sea coral habitat is recognized by the Council. As such, measures in this amendment will be considered in light of their benefit to corals as well as their costs to commercial fisheries.”
The Council’s preferred alternative for the inshore Gulf of Maine would prohibit mobile bottom-tending gear (trawls and dredges) within both the Schoodic Ridge and Mt. Desert Rock areas.
While an option to prohibit all bottom-tending gear, including lobster traps/pots, is still in the amendment, it is not the Council’s preferred alternative.
“The Council recognized the economic impact associated with preventing the lobster fishery from working within the inshore areas and acknowledged that shifts in effort to other locations could be problematic,” it wrote. “Preferred alternatives are an indication of which way the Council is leaning, but the Council is not obligated to select them for final action, so it is critically important that Maine fishermen who fish in these areas attend the public hearing or submit comments to let the Council know their views!”
Seven public hearings will be held from May 22 to 26:
Wednesday, May 24
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Sheraton Harborside
250 Market Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Thursday, May 25
5:00-7:00 p.m.
Ellsworth High School
299 State Street
Ellsworth, ME 04605
Friday, May 26, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Webinar: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/98257139389273345
Written comments can be submitted via mail, email, or fax:
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director
New England Fishery Management Council
50 Water Street, Mill 2
Newburyport, MA 01950
Email: comments@nefmc.org Fax: (978) 465–3116
Please note on your correspondence “Comments on Deep-Sea Coral Amendment”
Written comments must be submitted before 5:00 pm EST on Monday, June 5, 2017.
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.