May 2010 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 13.
dance of their prey species, which can change the structure of ecosystems. The recommended annual blacknose quota is higher than NOAA’s original pro- posal of 14.9 metric tons dressed weight. NOAA Fisheries Service would also imple- ment a quota of 221.6 metric tons dressed weight for other small coastal sharks. This quota is equal to the average landings of finetooth, bonnethead, and Atlantic sharpnose sharks from 2004
to 2008, the primary targets for fishermen. The quota also reflects an increase from NOAA’s original proposal of 56.9 metric tons dressed weight.
In addition, NOAA will continue to allow gillnet gear in the shark fishery in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Recreational fishermen may also retain blacknose sharks. These measures represent a change from the original proposal to prohib- ited gillnet gear and prohibit recreational fish- ermen from landing blacknose sharks. The Final Environmental Impact State- ment places smooth dogfish under NOAA’s Fisheries Service management beginning in 2012. This would require commercial and rec- reational fishermen to get an open access federal fishing permit to land smooth dogfish before the 2012 season. The measures would also require fishermen to land smooth dog- fish with fins naturally attached, as is re- quired in the Atlantic shark fishery. These measures are slated to go into effect in 2012 to allow time for NOAA Fisheries to do out- reach and education on the new require- ments. The annual commercial quota would be 715.5 metric tons dressed weight. NOAA’s Fisheries Service will also pro- mote the live release of shortfin mako sharks in the commercial and recreational fisheries to help stop overfishing of this species in the Atlantic Ocean. United States fishermen catch less than 10 percent of the overall catch of shortfin mako in the North Atlantic. NOAA’s Fisheries Service will continue to take action at the international level to end overfishing of this species.
MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS
Commercial Fishing News
NOAA Provides $10 Million to Support New England Groundfish Fishery
NOAA announced an additional $10 million to preserve fishing opportunities for the New England fishing industry and con- tinue the development of a new catch share program in the groundfish fishery. Over the last two years, a total of $47.2 million has been committed to the groundfish fishery and the transition to sectors.
Of the $10 million that was provided by Congress, $5 million will go directly to the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the states Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine to set up permit banks. A permit bank is a collection of fishing permits purchased and held by an organization to provide ac- cess rights such as days-at-sea and annual catch shares for qualifying fishing vessels. “By working together with the states, we hope to provide the small fishing vessels and small, local communities with increased ac- cess to capital, so they can more effectively fish healthy stocks,” said Eric Schwaab, NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service.
Permit banks are expected to provide owners of fishing vessels with limited or no groundfish fishing history an opportunity to lease additional fishing days or allocation at a reasonable cost. This will make it much more economically viable for small fishing vessels and local communities to remain a vital part of New England fisheries.
The $10 million from Congress also in- cludes $546,000 in direct aid for fishing sector managers and vessel operators, adding to the $954,000 already allocated to offset sector startup and operational costs in 2009 and 2010.
In addition, the $10 million includes nearly $4 million for dockside and at-sea monitoring, which will create jobs for moni- tors and observers in local communities. Fi- nally, $485,000 will go to NOAA’s Fisheries Service for infrastructure and programmatic support.
Groundfish Management Measures
NOAA announced new measures in- tended to end overfishing and continue the rebuilding of Northeast groundfish such as cod and flounder. The approved measures, which will be effective May 1, establish new catch limits and also include a major change in how the fishery will be managed. These strong and innovative manage- ment measures were developed by the New England Fishery Management Council, with NOAA support.
For the first time, there will be a cap on the amount of all groundfish of any species that
DownEast Lobstermen's Association
are permitted to be caught. In addition, there will be measures to mitigate if the catch limits are exceeded. These measures provide some of the strongest safeguards to date for recov- ering groundfish stocks, the majority of which are overfished, and are required to meet the mandates of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage- ment Act. With these measures in place, overfishing will end and the groundfish stocks should begin to rebuild.
In addition to the new caps, these mea-
Continued on Page 20.
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NOAA Fisheries Reopens Public Com- ment Period on Illegal Foreign Fishing and Bycatch
In fulfillment of requirements under the international provisions of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage- ment Act, NOAA Fisheries is preparing the second biennial report to Congress, which will identify nations whose fishing vessels are engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregu- lated fishing or fishing practices that result in
bycatch of protected living marine resources. On March 5, 2010, NOAA Fisheries re- quested information from the public that could assist in the identification of nations, with submissions requested by April 5, 2010. In order to allow more time for submissions, NOAA Fisheries is reopening the request for information until April 23, 2010. For more information, contact Michael.Simpkins@
noaa.gov or visit this website for links to the notice in the Federal Register.
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