Saving Seafood

2020 Meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Consultative Committee

September 4, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is announcing the 2020 meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Consultative Committee. This meeting is held annually to ensure that the interests of U.S. stakeholders in the fisheries of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean are adequately represented at the Annual Meeting of the Organization.  NAFO Consultative Committee members and all other interested U.S. stakeholders are invited to attend.

Date:

The meeting will be held September 9, 2020, from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST.

How to Attend:

The meeting will be held virtually via Webex.  Please visit the events page for additional information.

For Additional Information Contact:

Shannah Jaburek, Regional Office,  978-282-8456

NOAA Fisheries Announces Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area

April 24, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is closing the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to all federally permitted limited access general category scallop vessels effective 0001 hr, on April 25, 2019.

As of April 25, 2019, no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area. The scallop regulations require that we close this area once we project that 100 percent of the 2019 default total allowable catch for this area will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year, March 31, 2020.

If you have declared a trip into the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code, and have crossed the VMS demarcation line before 0001 hr, April 25, 2019, you may complete the trip and retain and land scallops caught from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.

Exemption for Maine and Massachusetts Vessels Fishing Exclusively State Waters

If you have a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop permit, you may continue to fish in Maine or Massachusetts state waters within the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area under the State Waters Exemption program. If you are fishing under an Individual Fishing Quota scallop permit (Limited Access General Category A), any pounds landed under a state waters only trip will still be deducted from the vessel’s allocation.

Exemption for Limited Access Vessels Fishing Compensation Trips Under the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program

This closure does not affect the Limited Access fleet that was allocated a separate Total Allowable Catch of 67,500 lb for the 2019 fishing year under Framework 30 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The Limited Access Total Allowable Catch will be harvested by vessels that are participating in the 2019 scallop Research Set-Aside Program.

For more details, read the notice as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Shannah Jaburek, Sustainable Fisheries Division, at 978-282-8456
Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, at 978-281-9103