September 2011 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11. Commercial Fishing News NEW ENGLAND STATES SCHEDULE HEARINGS ON NORTHERN SHRIMP AMENDMENT


ARLINGTON, VA – Atlantic coastal states from Maine through Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Draft Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Northern Shrimp. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow:


Maine Department of Marine Resources September 13, 2011; 6 pm


Casco Bay Ferry Terminal Conference Room 56 Commercial Street Portland, Maine


Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553


September 15, 2011; 6 pm Rockland High School 400 Broadway Rockland, Maine


Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553


September 19, 2011; 6 pm Ellsworth City Hall Auditorium 1 City Hall Plaza Ellsworth, Maine


Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553


New Hampshire Fish and Game September 14, 2011; 7 pm Urban Forestry Center 45 Elwyn Road


Portsmouth, New Hampshire Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095


Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery


NOAA has approved a suite of manage- ment measures for the Atlantic sea scallop fishery, developed by the New England Fish- ery Management Council with input from the fishing industry, which will increase fishing opportunities for fishermen. Among the mea- sures being put into place, as a result of effective science-based management, are in- creased catch limits for the remainder of this fishing year and in 2012.


“These increases are possible because the Atlantic sea scallop resource is healthy and the fishery is operating sustainably,” said Patricia Kurkul, regional administrator, Northeast Region, NOAA Fisheries Service. “In 2010, the fishery had a catch target of 47 million pounds. We were able to raise 2011 catch limits to 51 million pounds and increase them again in 2012 to 54 million pounds.” Other measures increase operating effi- ciencies and flexibility for some scallop ves- sels with an individual fishing quota by in- creasing trip limits, improving the current quota transfer program, and providing the ability to carryover some unused quota into the next fishing year. However, to reduce the risk of exceeding overall annual catch limits, NOAA disapproved one measure that would have allocated additional pounds of scallops to these vessels if the larger scallop fleet exceeded its annual allocation, but did not ultimately trigger its accountability measure. Another change makes the current area closures to protect fish habitat consistent between groundfish and scallop regulations, which allows an increase in fishing access for


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scallop vessels in two of the previously closed areas while protecting vulnerable sea- bed habitats from the effects of fishing. Also approved were measures to en- hance opportunities for scallop fishermen and scientists to work cooperatively and partner in research. NOAA is allowing a larger portion of the annual scallop catch to be sold to cover the cost of this research to gather more information on scallop biology and habitat. Scallop vessels involved in re- search will also be exempt from some fishing regulations. The grant process associated with this cooperative research effort is being streamlined to allow for multi-year awards for federally funded research projects. In addition to ensuring scallop fisher- men are able to harvest their entire allocation of scallops, this action will provide needed protections for rebuilding yellowtail floun- der, a bottom dwelling species caught by fishermen along with scallops in some areas. Because scallop vessels catch yellowtail flounder when fishing for scallops, they re- ceive an annual allocation of yellowtail floun- der. If the yellowtail catch is exceeded, NOAA will close areas where high catches of yellowtail have historically occurred for a portion of the next fishing year.


To provide protections to threatened and endangered sea turtles, NOAA is limiting scallop fishing effort in portions of the Mid- Atlantic during June through October, when sea turtles and scallop fishing activities typi- cally tend to overlap.


Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries September 13, 2011; 6 pm Annisquam River Station 30 Emerson Avenue Gloucester, Massachusetts


Contact: Nichola Meserve at 617.626.1531


The Draft Amendment proposes a suite of management options that the Section may use to provide greater flexibility in managing the fishery and maximizing its overall ben- efits. These include clarification of fishing mortality reference points, timely and com- prehensive reporting system, trip limits, trap limits, days out, area management, seasonal quotas, and harvest set asides.


Since the adoption of Amendment 1 in 2004, knowledge of the northern shrimp biol- ogy, population dynamics, and fishery has improved. While the management of north- ern shrimp has resulted in a rebuilt stock and increased fishing opportunity, Amendment 1 only provides two options for managing the fishery – season length and gear limitations. Early season closures occurred in the 2010 and 2011 fishing seasons because landing rates were far greater than anticipated. Fur- thermore, untimely reporting resulted in short notice of the season closures and an over-harvest of the target total allowable catch by 14% in 2010 and 48 % in 2011. The measures proposed in Draft Amendment 2 are intended to address these issues. Upon completion of Amendment 2, the


Section will initiate consideration of a limited entry program through the adaptive manage- ment addendum process. The Public Infor- mation Document (PID) for this Amendment initially notified the public of the Section’s intent to consider development of a limited entry program. Based on public comment received on the PID and the Section’s con- cern regarding continuing effort increases in this fishery, the Section established a control date of June 7, 2011. The intention of the control date is to notify potential new en- trants to the fishery that there is a strong possibility they will be treated differently from participants in the fishery prior to the control date. The Section may use historic landings and/or participation criteria for cur- rent and past participants as the limited entry system is established.


Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Amendment by either attending public hear- ings or providing written comments. Copies of the Draft Amendment can be obtained via the Commission’s website (www.asmfc.org) under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at 703.842.0740. The public com- ment deadline has been extended to 5:00 PM (EST) on October 3, and should be forwarded to Michael Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mwaine@asmfc.org (Subject line: Northern Shrimp Amendment 2).


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