Northeast Multispecies Fishery Archives

NOAA takes ‘emergency action’ to open Atlantic cod fishery

April 30, 2025 — NOAA will allow fishermen to harvest cod and other high-value species off the Northeast Atlantic coast beginning May 1, averting what could have been a major disruption to one of the East Coast’s most economically important and environmentally threatened fisheries.

NOAA issued “a temporary rule for an emergency action” Tuesday allowing what’s known as the Northeast Multispecies fishery to open on schedule, even though new regulations governing the management of certain species are not yet in place.

“This action ensures the fishery can continue without interruption,” the agency said in a notice.

Read the full story at E&E News

NOAA Fisheries Announces Catch Limits for 4 Groundfish Stocks and Windowpane Flounder Accountability Measures in Framework 56

August 1, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries announces the implementation of Framework 56 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

Framework 56 sets catch limits for four groundfish stocks for the 2017 fishing year (through April 30, 2018). The changes in these catch limits relative to fishing year 2016 are as follows:

Georges Bank cod quota will decrease by 13%;
Georges Bank haddock quota will increase by 2%;
Georges Bank yellowtail flounder will decrease 23%; and
Witch flounder quota will increase 91%.

We set catch limits for the 2017 fishing year for the remaining 16 groundfish stocks last year in Framework 55. The 2017 catch limits for these 16 stocks remain the same as or similar to 2016 limits.

The action sets sector allocations and common pool trip limits based on the 2017 limits and finalized 2017 sector rosters.

Framework 56 also:

Creates an allocation of northern windowpane flounder for the scallop fishery;
Revises the trigger for implementing the scallop fishery’s accountability measures for both its GB yellowtail flounder and northern windowpane flounder allocation; and
Increases the GB haddock allocation for the midwater trawl fishery.

Read the Framework 56 permit holder letter posted on our website.

Finally, this action implements the accountability measures for the 2017 fishing year for the northern and southern windowpane flounder.

Read the permit holder letter for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass vessels regarding the southern windowpane flounder accountability measures posted on our website.

Sens. Collins, King Applaud Funding to Help Reimburse Maine Fisherman for At-Sea Monitoring Program

June 27, 2016 — WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today welcomed an announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that it will fund an estimated 85 percent of the sea days needed for the At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) Program for the current fishing year. Beginning July 1, groundfish fishermen covered by the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan will be reimbursed for their at-sea monitoring costs through an arrangement with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

“The At-Sea Monitoring Program is an important tool that helps us to responsibly manage Maine’s critical ocean resources,” Senators Collins and King said in a joint statement. “Maine’s hardworking fishermen shouldn’t bear an unfair financial burden in supporting the ASM program. We applaud NOAA for stepping up to help reimburse our fishermen, and will continue to fight for the Maine groundfish industry moving forward.”

Read the full press release at the newsroom of Sen. Collins

NOAA to reduce monitoring in new season

April 29, 2016 — In a victory for groundfishermen, NOAA will significantly reduce at-sea monitoring coverage for Northeast multispecies groundfish vessels in the season that begins Sunday.

NOAA, according to the final rule filed Friday in the Federal Register, will cut monitoring to 14 percent of all vessel trips in 2016, down from about 24 percent in 2015.

The reduction was welcomed by fishermen, particularly following recent federal policy changes leaving permit holders on the hook for the cost of at-sea monitoring. It was a disappointment for conservationists and environmental groups, who were seeking more coverage, not less.

The new rule, known as Framework 55, is expected to be formally published Monday, but will go into effect at the start of the 2016 fishing season on May 1.

“Fishermen appreciate the changes and the evolution of the at-sea monitoring program,” said Jackie Odell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, which strongly advocated for the adjustments to the monitoring program. “We think what they’ve done is prudent and responsible.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

New Hampshire Sen. Ayotte Questions NOAA on At-Sea Monitoring and National Standard Eight

February 24, 2016 — The following was released by the Office of Senator Kelly Ayotte:

This week during a Senate Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee hearing, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte questioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs Samuel Rauch on the administration’s recent announcement that it would require New England fishermen to pay for its at-sea monitoring (ASM) program beginning March 1, 2016.

“I look at your budget: $5.4 billion for 2015, and you can’t find $3.78 million to fund at-sea monitoring, which is consistent with what many of us have written in the 2015 appropriations bill for NOAA,” asked Ayotte. “I can’t believe that we have a system where we’re going to put iconic fishermen out of business. The large folks – they’re going to be fine. The small fishermen – they’re done.”

Ayotte has long been a strong and consistent voice for New Hampshire’s small boat fishermen in fighting against onerous federal regulations. In September, she introduced legislation to terminate NOAA’s independent third-party ASM program unless NOAA fully funds the program using dollars within the its existing budget. Ayotte and Senator Jeanne Shaheen also previously called for a full investigation into NOAA’s ASM program for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery, which includes New Hampshire’s coastal region.

Also in September, Ayotte hosted a roundtable discussion in Portsmouth with NOAA officials, fishermen, and business leaders to discuss concerns regarding fishing regulations, federal catch-share limits, NOAA’s process for determining fish stocks, the implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and the imposition of fees for at-sea monitors on commercial fishing vessels.

Read the release from the office of Senator Kelly Ayotte

Real-time fishery management significantly reduces bycatch

January 12, 2016 — DURHAM, N.C. – Using real-time management policies to regulate fisheries can reduce the accidental bycatch of juvenile fish and endangered species with substantially less economic impact on fishermen, a new Duke University-led study finds.

The study compared results from six different types of fishery closures commonly used to reduce bycatch.

It found that “dynamic closures” — which typically involve setting smaller portions of the ocean off-limits for shorter periods, based on fine-scale, real-time assessments of changing conditions — are up to three times more efficient at reducing bycatch with lower costs to fishermen than static measures that close large areas and remain in force longer.

“The ecological patterns that create bycatch don’t occur on monthly or 100-square-kilometer-size scales or larger. They occur at much smaller time-space scales,” said Daniel C. Dunn, lead author of the study and a research scientist in the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. “Our study provides empirical evidence that if we’re not managing the ocean at these smaller scales there is an inherent inefficiency in the system that costs both fishermen and species alike.”

The study appeared the week of January 6 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The success of dynamic fisheries management hinges on recent advances “that extend the real-time technology at our fingertips and take it into the ocean,” said Sara M. Maxwell, assistant professor of biological sciences at Old Dominion University, who co-authored the study.

Read the full story at EurekAlert

NEFMC proposal would limit access to hake fishery

December 8, 2015 — The New England Fishery Management Council is hosting a public meeting tonight in Gloucester as an initial step in possibly drafting an amendment that would modify the small-mesh multispecies fishery into a limited access fishery.

The meeting, to solicit public comment and gather information that ultimately would be used in the drafting of an environmental impact statement, is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the state Division of Marine Fisheries office at 30 Emerson Ave.

Currently, the small-mesh multispecies fishery, which includes whiting (silver hake), red hake and offshore hake, is an open fishery, accessible to any fisherman with the appropriate permit.

The proposal to limit access to the fishery is based in concerns “over unrestrained increases in fishing effort” in the small-mesh fishery, the council said.

“The need for the amendment is to reduce the potential for a rapid escalation of the small-mesh multispecies fishery, possibly causing overfishing and having a negative impact on red hake and whiting markets, both outcomes having negative effects on fishery participants,” council said.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Decision on 2016 Maine shrimp season due Dec. 7, outlook bleak

November 13, 2015 — Interstate fishing regulators say they will meet next month to decide if there will be a fishing season for Gulf of Maine shrimp next year, though they say prospects are bleak.

The fishery is currently shut down over concerns about its low population. Fishermen haven’t been able to catch the popular food species since 2013. A panel of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will make a decision about the coming season on Dec. 7 in Portsmouth, N.H.

The fishery was formerly a popular winter fishery for fishermen who spent the warmer months trapping lobsters.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

Agenda, NEFMC Meeting, December 1-3, Portland, ME

November 11, 2015 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting on Tuesday-Thursday, December 1-3 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring Street, Portland, ME.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

9:00 a.m. Introductions and Announcements (Terry Stockwell, Council Chairman)

9:05 Reports on Recent Activities Council Chairman and Executive Director, NOAA Regional Administrator (Greater Atlantic Region), NOAA General Counsel, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaisons, and representatives of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA Enforcement, and the Northeast Regional Ocean Council

11:15 Spiny Dogfish Report (Jason Didden, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council staff) Approve final action on the 2016-2018 fishery specifications and associated management measures

12:30 p.m. Lunch Break

1:30 Open Period for Public Comments (Terry Stockwell) Opportunity for the public to provide brief comments on issues that are relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda for formal discussion (speakers are asked to sign up beforehand and limit remarks to between 3-5 minutes)

1:45 Overview and Discussion of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s (NEFSC) Strategic Plan (Dr. Bill Karp, Science Director, NEFSC)

2:15 Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) Report (Dr. Jake Kritzer, SSC Chair)

Review and approve committee recommendations for an overfishing limit (OFL) and an acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the following: Atlantic sea scallops for fishing years 2016-2017; red hake for 2016-2017; most of the groundfish stocks in the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for fishing years 2016-2018;
Receive SSC comments on NOAA’s Ecosystem-based Fishery Management Policy

3:45 Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM) Committee Report (John Pappalardo)

Receive a progress report on the development of a prototype Fishery Ecosystem Plan
Review and finalize NEFMC comments on NOAA’s EBFM policy

**Public scoping hearing on Amendment 22 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan** at 5:30 or immediately following adjournment of the Council meeting

The intent of the amendment is to establish a limited access program for the five small mesh stocks that are regulated via the NEFMC’s Groundfish Plan — two stocks of whiting (silver hake), two stocks of red hake, and one stock of offshore hake.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

8:30 a.m. Skate Committee Report (Libby Etrie) Approve final action on Framework Adjustment 3 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP); in addition to setting specifications, other measures may include possession limits and modifications to the seasonal management of the wing fishery

9:15 Thorny Skate Update (Kim Damon-Randall, NOAA Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office staff) Update on NOAA Fisheries’ follow-up activities associated with the petition to list thorny skate as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act

9:45 Groundfish Committee Report (Frank Blount)

Overview of the Greater Atlantic Region’s (GAR) Recreational Fishery Implementation Plan (GAR staff) Following a presentation, opportunity for the Council to develop formal comments on the plan
Recreational Fishery Measures, beginning at approx. 10:30 Develop final recommendations for Gulf of Maine haddock and Gulf of Maine cod recreational measures for fishing year 2016;
Framework Adjustment 55, beginning at approx. 11:15 Take final action on the 2016-2018 fishery specifications for 20 groundfish stocks, plus the three U.S./CA stocks for 2016 only; this framework also could include final action on multiple at-sea monitoring and other management measures

12:30 p.m. Lunch Break

1:30 Groundfish Report/Framework Adjustment 55 – continue until meeting adjournment for the day

Thursday, December 3, 2015

8:30 a.m. Finalize NEFMC Management Priorities for 2016 (Executive Director Tom Nies)

10:00 Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) Briefing (ACCSP staff) Program overview and update

10:45 Research Steering Committee Report (Mark Alexander) Request Council consideration of specific research recommendations for sea scallops and monkfish

11:00 Scallop Committee Report (Mary Beth Tooley)

Amendment 19 to the Sea Scallop FMP Take final action on an amendment that would allow earlier implementation of the sea scallop fishery specifications (now proposed as April 1)
Framework Adjustment 27 Take final action on fishing year 2016 specifications and default measures for fishing year 2017

12:00 p.m. Lunch Break

1:00 Scallop Committee Report – continued

3:00 Other Business

Times listed next to the agenda items are estimates and are subject to change. The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities Council member financial disclosure forms are available for examination at the meeting.

View a PDF of the Agenda

NEW BEDFORD STANDARD-TIMES: Fishery science will make all the difference

October 29, 2015 — The message coming to New Bedford fishermen from federal regulators isn’t all bad.

On Tuesday, the top administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, visited New Bedford to meet with local members of the fishing community and spoke in a way that suggests the regulators understand the industry’s perspective.

“We are committed to working with the best science and trying to find the right way forward to sustain the health of the fisheries and the fishing community,” she said following a closed-door meeting, a harbor tour and a discussion at the School for Marine Science and Technology in the South End.

There are short-term crises for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery as well as long-term crises. A brief postponement of industry-funded observers takes some pressure off the fishermen and allows more work to find a compromise that satisfies the requirement of the law without driving boats out of business. In the meantime, while the right folks work out that short-term crisis, there is a necessity to keep working on the long-term issues.

The industry can hardly focus beyond the looming requirement that they pay for the implementation of at-sea monitors on groundfish boats and the immediate economic effect it will have on marginally profitable permit holders.

For too long, the message from the courts, some environmental groups and older NOAA enforcement actions had been concerned with only the resource, not the impacts of trying to sustainably harvest that resource. Administrator Sullivan’s statement of NOAA’s commitment to keeping both strong — and underpinning that work with science — opens great opportunities for collaboration and success.

Read the full editorial at the New Bedford Standard-Times