April 22, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council initiated Framework Adjustment 65 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan when it met April 12-14, 2022 for a hybrid meeting in Mystic, CT. The framework will contain the following components:
- Revised status determination criteria specifying when overfishing is occurring or a stock is overfished;
- Revised rebuilding plans for Gulf of Maine cod and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder;
- Fishing year 2023 and 2024 total allowable catches for the U.S./Canada management units of Eastern Georges Bank cod and Eastern Georges Bank haddock, as well as Georges Bank yellowtail flounder;
- Fishing year 2023 and 2024 specifications for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder and Georges Bank cod, including a cod catch target for the recreational fishery;
- Fishing year 2023, 2024, and 2025 specifications for 14 groundfish stocks – Georges Bank haddock, Gulf of Maine haddock, Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine yellowtail flounder, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder, Georges Bank winter flounder, Gulf of Maine winter flounder, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder, American plaice, witch flounder, pollock, white hake, Atlantic halibut, ocean pout, and Atlantic wolffish;
- Additional measures to promote stock rebuilding for Gulf of Maine cod and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder, and
- Revised acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules in consultation with the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee.
Read the full release from the NEFMC