Tag Archives: new-england-fishery-management-council
NEFMC proposal would limit access to hake fishery – concerns “over unrestrained increases in fishing effort”
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. 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 in the small-mesh fishery, the council said. Read the article here 08:13
New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Portland Me. – December 1st thru 3rd – Listen Live!
The New England Fishery Management Council and its advisory bodies will meet December 1 thru 3, 2015 Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland, Me. View the Revised Council Meeting Agenda, Click here. Register to Listen Live, Click here Starts 8:30 a.m. with Introductions and Announcements (Council Chairman Terry Stockwell) 17:27
A fisherman’s doubt, and his love of the sea
He is up before the dawn, and, a creature of steady habits, he heads for the seashore. It’s dark when Frank Mirarchi jumps into his black pickup truck, and dark still when he reaches Scituate Harbor. He parks on the town pier and stares at the ocean. But his 55-foot stern dragger is no longer moored there. Actually, the boat is there. But it’s no longer his. It was renamed last June after he sold it — a poignant punctuation point to Mirarchi’s half-century career as a commercial fisherman. Read the rest here 15:01
FishNet USA/Update – So how’s that “catch shares” revolution working out for groundfish?
From Nils Stolpe – Alternating with original FishNet USA articles I will be going back to pieces I’ve written (for FishNet and other outlets) over the past 19 years – isn’t it amazing how fast time goes when you’re having fun? – to see how accurate I was in identifying industry trends and predicting what their impacts were going to be. Rather than redistributing the original articles I’ll link to them on the web and try to keep these updates to two pages or under. The original for this update from March, 2014 can be read here Read the rest here. 13:31
Northeast Fisheries Science Center say’s key fishing area for Atlantic cod in dire shape
New data from the
says research boats caught less of the fish this past spring than in all but one spring season dating back to 1968. A report from the centre, given to The Associated Press on Tuesday, states that the boats caught about 3.3 pounds of cod each time the net went in and out of the water last spring, compared to more than three times that amount two years earlier. “Is that coming as a surprise from anybody who knows what the water temperature is out there? No, it shouldn’t be,” said David Goethel, a New Hampshire-based fisherman. “These fish are declining because of climate change.” Read the rest here 22:13
Fight the threat to Maine workers – Governor Paul R. LePage
“A National Marine Monument putting Cashes Ledge and undersea canyons and seamounts in the Gulf of Maine off-limits to commercial fishing activity will affect Maine’s offshore lobstermen, tuna fishermen, herring fishermen and groundfish fishermen. Moreover, this comes on the heels of a roughly 10-year habitat amendment process at the New England Fishery Management Council. It looks like environmental interest groups that are unhappy with that process are now going to a higher authority to upend the result achieved by the council. Procedurally, this type of end-run is a terrible precedent. Read the rest here 11:26
Being ignored at the Council or being publicly called an “asshole” by the Council Chairman doesn’t often make the news
Catch Shares Take Toll Council Called To Task – At the April New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Mystic, Conn., a dozen university students from New England, members of fishing families, other fishing organizations, and community organizer Brett Tolley were in attendance. About a dozen people among this group wore orange “Who Fishes Matters” T-shirts. Continue reading An Open Letter to Tom Nies from a Fishing Family Member – Dear Mr. Nies, As Executive Director of the New England Fishery Management Council you should know how fishermen and the public experience the Council’s so-called “democratic process.” Read the letter here 18:10
Emergency action needed on at-sea monitoring – Jackie Odell, Northeast Seafood Coalition
NOAA Fisheries announced last week that funding for the at-sea monitoring program for groundfish fishermen operating under sectors will now extend through Oct. 31. This announcement was made less than a week after NOAA Fisheries denied the New England Fishery Management Council’s request to initiate an emergency action to suspend the program temporarily until a full evaluation, including a cost-benefit analysis, of the program is conducted. Read the rest here 15:51
New England: Catch accountability should take place at the dock
NOAA’s denial of the New England Fishery Management Council’s June request to suspend at-sea monitoring has satisfied environmental groups, but it serves as the latest example of their inappropriate and misguided influence in management of the Northeast fisheries. The Management Council had asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for emergency relief, as the cost of at-sea monitoring shifted from the government to the fishermen, a $700-$800 cost per trip. Fishermen and regulators alike anticipate that it will make a more trips unprofitable. Read the rest here 12:39
At Sea Monitoring – “Catch accountability for the groundfish industry is not optional,” NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard
NOAA has denied the request by the New England Fishery Management Council in June to use emergency measures to immediately suspend at-sea monitoring for vessels in the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery. In a letter dated July 30, NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard said the council’s request did not meet any of the criteria for emergency action. The council’s request to suspend at-sea monitoring was viewed as long shot from the moment it was passed,,, Read the rest here 09:27
NEFMC and NMFS Seek Comments on Amendment 18 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
The New England Fishery Management Council has been developing Amendment 18 to the 
for several years. The notice of availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Amendment 18 published today in the Federal Register. The DEIS is open for comments through August 31. More information, including dates and times of public meetings, is available on our website and on the Council’s website Read the rest here 15:41
Longtime Fisherman Weighs In On New England Fishery Management Councils Recent Votes
The New England Fishery Management Council made the right move recently, voting to ask the federal government to suspend an at-sea monitoring program required of the groundfish industry, according to long-time fishermen Fred Mattera, who said shifting the cost to fishermen could decimate the industry. Mattera said fishermen area also pleased with the council’s vote to re-open areas in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank to commercial fishing. (photo) Read the rest here 09:49
New England Fishery Management Council asks NOAA to suspend monitoring
The commercial fishing industry won two big battles at the bruising New England Fishery Management Council meetings this week, the first on habitat and the final on the council’s vote to seek emergency measures to suspend the bulk of at-sea monitoring of groundfish boats for the remainder of the 2015 fishing season.“The science center doesn’t have the money and the industry doesn’t have the money. But that doesn’t mean we can just get rid of monitoring. We need the monitoring for accountability and suspending it is just not good policy.” John Bullard Read the rest here 09:25
New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Newport, RI – June 16, thru June 18, 2015 – Listen Live!
The New England Fishery Management Council and its advisory bodies will meet June 16 – 18, 2015 at Hotel Viking, Newport, RI. View the Revised Council Meeting Agenda, Click here. Register to Listen Live, Click here Starts 8:30 a.m. with Introductions and Announcements (Council Chairman Terry Stockwell) 10:57
NEFMC Groundfish Committee Wants Emergency Action To Suspend Fishing Monitors
The New England Fishery Management Council’s 
wants the council to request emergency action from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The issue is on the agenda for a June 18 meeting of the council in Newport, Rhode Island. Many groundfishermen say they can’t afforded the added cost of the monitors. The monitors are hired from private companies and their primary job is to collect data about discarded fish. Read the rest here 13:00
UMass researchers win scallop fisheries grants
SMAST won $373,922 for Dr. Kevin Stokesbury’s continued development of video scallop surveys on Georges Bank. His methods have revolutionized the scallop biomass estimates in recent years, helping turn scallops into the species that keeps New Bedford at the top earning port in the United States for more than a decade. A grant of $160,738 went to Dr. Catherine O’Keefe for further development of a bycatch avoidance system that collects real-time information from fishermen about “hot spots” of yellowtail flounder, which can then be avoided by the scallopers. Read the rest here 08:34
Our view: New fishing limits another blow to the New England fishing industry
One might think that the lifting of the emergency cod regulations imposed by NOAA last November would bring sighs of relief across the Gloucester waterfront and elsewhere as the new commercial fishing year dawns Friday. But there is little relief and there are no cheers being heard among groundfishermen here and elsewhere across the North Shore and New England. For in lifting a number of the area closures that kept many fishing boats tied to the docks late last year, NOAA and the New England Fishery Management Council have replaced those rules,,, Read the rest here 08:43
Lean year for New England cod ahead as shutdown looms
Catch limits set to take effect this week will take a bite out of an industry that dates back to America’s colonial past: New England cod. But Gulf of Maine cod are what fishermen call a “choke species,” as they must also stop fishing for some other species when the cod fishery shuts down. Haddock, pollock and hake — groundfish that, like cod, dwell on the ocean bottom and share space in with it in markets, restaurants and seafood auctions — will also be harder to come by. Read the rest here 15:09
New England Fishery Management Council expected to vote on opening scallop grounds
The New England Fishery Management Council on Thursday will take up the subject of opening parts of Georges Bank to scallop fishing, in some cases after closures of 20 years that led to an untapped abundance of scallops, according to surveys. Wednesday’s meeting of the council, day two of three, offered a preview of how the council, and by extension NOAA Fisheries, intends to proceed. “Don’t be bullied” by the environmentalists, Maggie Raymond of the Associated Fisheries of Maine urged the 17-member council. Read the rest here 09:22
Scallop Fleet Responds to NMFS Criticism of NEFMC Habitat Recommendations
Last week, NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator John Bullard submitted a nine-page letter to the (NEFMC) critical of recommendations made to the full Council by the Council’s Habitat Committee on Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2) . OHA2 is a decade-in-the-making overhaul of the habitat closures off the coast of New England, reflecting the best scientific understanding of the Northwest Atlantic seafloor. Read the rest here Read Administrator Bullard’s letter in full here Read the FSF rebuttal to Administrator Bullard’s letter in full here. 11:57
Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 – Our View: Lift fishery restrictions to do good for all
The New England Fishery Management Council votes this week on recommendations by the council’s Habitat Committee to lift restrictions in three closed areas. NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator John Bullard and at least one environmental group are arguing against it because NOAA scientists are saying it would harm important spawning areas for species like cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder. (Which is bull shit!) Read the rest here 08:41
Some better news for haddock, and fishermen. Really?
THE GLOOMY clouds hanging over New England’s fisheries lifted a bit last week when the NOAA reported that several species were no longer overfished off US shores, including haddock in the Gulf of Maine. Regardless, a battle continues between the fishing industry, environmentalists, and regulators as to the extent that some types of fishing affect the ocean floor’s ecosystem. In a new effort to study those impacts, the New England Fishery Management Council is expected to vote Thursday on creating a 55-square-nautical-mile reference research area. Read the rest here 07:44
New England Fishery Management Council to meet in April 22 and 23 in Mystic, CT – Listen Live!
Environmental Defense Fund — Fishery vote should protect more habitat
This Thursday, the New England Fishery Management Council will finally vote on the 
, the culmination of a multi-year process of creating, eliminating and modifying fishery closed areas in New England’s waters. As is often the case in New England fisheries, this decision has become highly contentious. Many fishermen oppose what they see as added restrictions on their ability to fish. For its part, the council seems intent on retaining the smallest amount of closed area it can get away with,,, Read the rest here 08:27
Scallop Sparks flying in advance of New England Fishery Management Council meeting
The scallop industry is on high alert over next week’s meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council after a long warning letter was sent to the council by NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator John Bullard. The council’s Habitat Committee has issued recommendations that fishing restrictions be lifted on several areas of Georges Bank, the Gulf of Maine and the South Channel. But Bullard, backed by his agency’s scientific staff, said he believes that the relaxing of the restrictions would set back the effort to nurse fish stocks back to health. Read the rest here 22:03
NEFMC giving $450K to fish research projects
The New England Fishery Management Council is funding the work. One project will seek to develop ways for cod and haddock fishermen to avoid accidentally catching flatfish in Georges Bank. Another will assess the performance of fishing gear designed to avoid accidental catch of windowpane flounder. A third project seeks to improve capture and handling methods for haddock discarded in recreational Gulf of Maine fisheries. A final project will assess recreational haddock discard mortality on Jeffreys Ledge. Read the rest here 06:54
New England Fishery Management Council newsletter
Click here to read the actions and announcements following the last council meeting. 17:17:
New England Fishery Management Council reject expanded protections for herring
In a decision lauded by state regulators and decried by environmentalists, federal regulators ruled this week that a plan to extend greater conservation efforts to river herring is not necessary at this time. There is a need for more data to assess river herring and shad stocks, but the factors affecting the species include water quality and fish passage, which are difficult to address through federal management plans, said Jeff Nichols, a spokesman for the state Department of Marine Resources. Read the rest here 14:25
Habitat Hearings over, New England Fishery Management Council tackles options
Federal regulators are deciding the scope of a management plan for thousands of square miles of fishing grounds off New England that has deeply divided fishermen and conservationists. The 
is working on the long-awaited plan for federal waters from Maine to Rhode Island. It includes a host of options including opening areas closed to fishing and adding new restrictions to open areas. Read the rest here 09:11
Conflict looms over effort to reopen protected Gulf of Maine fishing ground
Under the “preferred option” being considered by the council, the more than 500-square-mile closure zone would shrink by roughly 70 percent. All mobile “bottom-tending” fishing gear – such as draggers and trawlers that can disturb the sea floor – would remain banned around Ammen Rock and most of the ledge proper. But fishermen could resume targeting haddock, cod, pollock and other groundfish in surrounding mudflats that the council deemed “less vulnerable to accumulating adverse effects.” Read the rest here 08:10
