Saving Seafood

New England Council Honors Lou Goodreau for 45-Year Career on Staff

April 13, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Lou Goodreau, center, flanked by Council Executive Director Tom Nies, left, and Council Chair Eric Reid, right. (Credit: NEFMC)

The New England Fishery Management Council opened the first day of its April 12-14, 2022 hybrid meeting in Mystic, CT by paying tribute to Lou Goodreau, an economist and information technology specialist who is retiring in May following a dedicated 45-year career on the Council’s staff.

Lou joined the staff on March 28, 1977, the year the Council was formed by the 1976 passage of what’s now called the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). He is the third longest- serving staff member among the nation’s eight regional fishery management councils.

Lou worked under four executive directors and two acting executive directors. He saw the Council through an era of astonishing technology advancements, progressing from typewriters, punch cards, and Wang computers to the current state-of-the-art equipment and data storage systems that are now the norm in Council operations. He worked on almost every one of the Council’s fishery management plans and contributed to the economic analyses for the Council’s first groundfish, herring, and scallop plans. He was the first chair of the Scallop Plan Development Team during the successful implementation of limited access, effort controls, and vessel monitoring systems in the scallop fishery, which resulted in stock rebuilding and economic stability.

Read the full release from the New England Fishery Management Council

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Tuesday, May 11, 2021 – Groundfish Issues – ABC Control Rules

May 4, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee will meet by webinar to discuss issues related to groundfish.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

WHEN:  Tuesday, May 11, 2021

START TIME:  9:00 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422.  The access code is 444-006-386.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to review the “Evaluation of Alternative Management Procedures for New England Groundfish,” which was conducted by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and may develop recommendations for modifying acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules for groundfish for consideration by the New England Fishery Management Council.

COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Friday, May 7, 2021.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  Additional information is available in the meeting notice.

MATERIALS:  All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC May 11, 2021 webpage.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Friday, March 26, 2021 – Atlantic Herring, Ecosystem Issues

March 18, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar on Friday, March 26, 2021 to discuss issues related to Atlantic herring and the state of the ecosystem.  The public is invited to listen live.

START TIME:  8:30 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8321.  The access code is 658-624-262.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

  • Review initial information from the Atlantic Herring Plan Development Team (PDT) and provide PDT guidance on developing rebuilding plan alternatives for Atlantic herring;
  • Receive a presentation on the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s State of the Ecosystem 2021 Report for New England and provide the Science Center with any SSC recommendations about revisions; and
  • Discuss other business as needed.

COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 24, 2021.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  Additional information is available in the meeting notice.

MATERIALS:  All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC March 26, 2021 meeting webpage.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

Council Seeks Applicants for Two Vacancies on Scallop AP

December 18, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is soliciting applicants to fill two vacancies on its Scallop Advisory Panel (AP). These are midterm appointments that will run through December 2022. The application deadline is Friday, January 15, 2021.

Advisory panel members reflect a wide range of expertise covering different gear types, user groups, geographic locations, and social and economic perspectives.

“We’re looking for applicants who understand the scallop fishery and are ready to commit to an active role on the AP,” said Council Executive Director Tom Nies. “We recognize that being an AP member can be challenging and sometimes time-demanding, but the Council benefits from the expertise of its AP members and genuinely appreciates their involvement in the development of our actions.”

Read the full release here

Council meeting not a signal of normalcy

August 31, 2020 — The pandemic has kept us all closely tethered to home for the past five months, so it was nice for us here at FishOn to go over the bridge and up the line last Wednesday to cover an actual in-person event. No Zoom. No webinar. Just journalism in the great outdoors of Wakefield.

We covered the last public hearing conducted by the New England Fishery Management Council on the ever-contentious Amendment 23 — the measure to set future monitoring levels for sector-based groundfish vessels in the Northeast fishery.

The council, which is expected to take final action on the measure at its September meeting, did a good job of hosting the public hearing meeting under a tent in the parking lot of the Sheraton Four Points hotel.

Folks were masked and properly socially distanced. Capacity was 50 and about 20 fishing stakeholders attended the meeting, so there was plenty of room. Under the tent, it felt like junior high school detention (or so we understand) where they separate all the troublemakers as far apart as possible.

“It was a pretty big effort,” said Tom Nies, the council’s executive director said about a half hour before the scheduled start of the hearing. “The hotel was helpful. But we’re still working on some details.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEFMC Seeks Applicants for Whiting and Herring Advisory Panels

August 19, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is soliciting applicants to fill one vacancy on its Whiting Advisory Panel and another vacancy on its Herring Advisory Panel (AP). The appointments will run through December 2022. The application deadline is Friday, September 4, 2020.

Advisory panel members reflect a wide range of expertise covering different gear types, user groups, geographic locations, and social and economic perspectives.

“We’re looking for applicants who understand the whiting and herring fisheries and are ready to commit to an active role on an AP,” said Council Executive Director Tom Nies. “We recognize that being an AP member can be challenging and sometimes time-demanding, but the Council benefits from the expertise of its AP members and genuinely appreciates their involvement in the development of our actions.”

Read the full release here

Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23 Public Outreach – July and August Lineup

July 13, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will be taking final action on Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23 during its September meeting. The amendment is intended to improve catch monitoring and reporting in the commercial groundfish fishery.

The Council has scheduled a series of public hearings in July and August that will be held by webinar. In order to help fishermen and other stakeholders prepare for these hearings, the Council has lined up a number of outreach efforts to make it easier for everyone to participate in the webinar hearings and become more familiar with the Amendment 23 proposed alternatives in advance of the actual hearings.

“We encourage everyone to take advantage of these opportunities,” said Council Executive Director Tom Nies. “Join the practice webinar. Call our groundfish staff during the Amendment 23 office hours. Ask questions. Watch the narrated video of the presentation, which we’ll be posting online soon. We’re doing everything we can to make sure the public is aware of all the alternatives in the document and that everyone feels comfortable giving us their comments.”

Read the full release here

Return of Fishing in Atlantic Marine Monument Spurs Legal Challenge

June 18, 2020 — Two weeks after President Donald Trump opened the door to commercial fishing in scientifically important ocean waters off the coast of Cape Cod, environmentalists shot back Wednesday with a federal complaint.

“From our perspective, President Trump seemed to know, actually, very little about what the purpose of the monument was or what it was trying to accomplish when he signed his proclamation,” Conservation Law Foundation senior counsel Peter Shelley said in a phone call Wednesday.

“We’ve been in there for 40 years,” Jon Williams, owner of the Atlantic Red Crab Company, told Trump. “And so if the environmental groups can deem the place pristine and we’ve been operating in that area for 40 years and they can’t find any evidence where we’ve done any damage, I would say we’ve been pretty good stewards of that 5,000 miles.”

Coinciding with Wednesday’s lawsuit, the New England Fishing Management Council unveiled new steps it has taken to protect fragile corals, specifically by prohibiting the use of bottom-tending commercial fishing gear in areas where corals are common.

“We’ve said from the beginning that fishery management councils are best suited to address the complicated tradeoffs involved in managing fisheries, and we appreciate regaining our control to do so in the monument area,” John Quinn, chairman of the council, said in a statement.

“The monument area will not be ‘wide open to industrial fishing,’” Tom Nies, the council’s executive director, said in a statement.

“The council worked hard to walk that fine line between providing strong habitat and coral protections in the area while balancing the social and economic impacts to the industry,” Nies continued. “We don’t think the recent criticism from the environmental community since the announcement of the second monument proclamation is entirely warranted. Existing fishery management measures provide strong protections for Lydonia and Oceanographer Canyons, and with the coral amendment, we’re preventing commercial fishing from expanding beyond its historical footprint. The council took this step while carefully weighing the associated impacts. We look forward to the implementation our amendment.”

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Thursday, June 4, 2020 – Research Priorities

May 26, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar on Thursday, June 4, 2020.  The public is invited to listen live.  Here are the details.

START TIME:  10:00 a.m.
 
WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.
 
CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 655-0060.  The access code is 374-434-055.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.
 
AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:
  • Review the New England Council’s 2020-2024 research priorities, including updates identified by the Council’s committees and plan development teams, and provide recommendations on the suggested revisions;
  • Receive a presentation on the Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Peer Review report; and
  • Discuss other business as necessary.
COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 2020.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  Additional information is available in the meeting notice.
 
MATERIALS:  All documents for this meeting will be posted on the SSC meeting webpage.
 
QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

NEFMC January 28-30, 2020 – Portsmouth, NH – Listen Live, View Documents

January 21, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting from Tuesday, January 28 through Thursday, January 30, 2020.  The public is invited to listen live via webinar or telephone.  Here are the details.

MEETING LOCATION:  Portsmouth Harbor Events and Conference Center, 100 Deer Street at 22 Portwalk Place, Portsmouth, NH 03801; Portsmouth Harbor Events Center.
 
START TIME:  The webinar will be activated at 8:00 a.m. each day.  However, please note that the meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 28 and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, January 29 and 30.  The webinar will end at approximately 6:00 p.m. EST or shortly after the Council adjourns each day.
 
WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live.  There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.
 
CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (562) 247-8422.  The access code is 266-672-298.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.
 
AGENDA:  The agenda and meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at NEFMC January 28-30, 2020 Portsmouth, NH.  Additional documents will be posted as they become available.
 
COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 23, 2020.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  The address for mailing comments is:  New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill #2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
 
THREE MEETING OUTLOOK:  A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is availableHERE.
 
COUNCIL MEETING QUESTIONS:  Anyone with questions prior to or during the Council meeting should contact Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.