Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS December 2012


Swordfi sh – a Sustainable Seafood Choice In the 1990s, the North Atlantic sword-


Commercial Fishing News MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS


fi sh population was in trouble – at only 58% of its target level, it was considered over- fi shed. But things have changed remarkably, thanks to a 1999 international plan that rebuilt this stock several years ahead of


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schedule. Today, North Atlantic swordfi sh is one of the most sustainable seafood choices. How is this possible? The answer points to one of the greatest success stories of U.S. and international fi sheries management. Under an international rebuilding plan adopted by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (IC- CAT), the United States reduced landings of North Atlantic swordfi sh and closed certain fi shing grounds to protect undersized swordfi sh and allow the population to grow and rebuild. U.S. fi shermen, managers, and scientists also worked together to develop new management measures that reduce the fi shery’s impact on sea turtles and marine mammals.


So has North Atlantic swordfi sh really


rebounded? The answer is absolutely yes. This stock is fully rebuilt, and consumers can rest assured that when they buy North Atlantic swordfi sh harvested by U.S. ves- sels, they are supporting one of the most en- vironmentally responsible pelagic longline fi sheries in the world. With the stock at a healthy level, NOAA Fisheries is working to further expand op- portunities for harvesting North Atlantic swordfi sh. Rick Pearson, NOAA Fisheries Management Specialist for Highly Migra- tory Species, explains how this is being done.


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ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Ap- proves Addendum I to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan Addendum Refi nes Annual Specifi cation Process


The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries


Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section has approved Addendum I to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp. The Addendum provides fl exibility and transparency in the annual specifi cation process with the goal of maxi- mizing benefi ts to the fi shery while ensuring stock rebuilding. Specifi cally, the Addendum includes provisions to (1) set an annual hard total allowable catch (TAC) that may range between the fi shing mortality target and threshold values, inclusive; (2) allocate 87% of the TAC to the trawl fi shery and 13% to the trap fi shery; and (3) close each fi shery when a certain percentage of the TAC is projected to be reached. The exact percent, ranging between 80 and 95%, would be established by the Section during the annual specifi ca- tion process. The Addendum also provides fl exibly to (1) transfer unused TAC between gear types; (2) set aside a portion of the TAC for research purposes; and (3) allow for the optional use of a size sorting grate system (compound grate or double Nordmore) to minimize the retention of small shrimp.


The Addendum responds to recent


trends in the fi shery and the resource that jeopardize the stability of the northern shrimp resource. For the past three fi shing seasons, late and incomplete catch reporting and continued fl uctuations in participation have led to overharvest of the TAC. These overages coupled with a recent poor recruit- ment resulted in an overfi shed and overfi sh- ing stock status. The Addendum refi nes the annual specifi cation process to better control annual harvest and minimize risks to the resource as it rebuilds.


The Section is also committed to con- tinuing to explore longer term management options, such as limited entry programs, through a future addendum or amendment. The Section and Advisory Panel will next meet on December 3, 2012 in Portland, Maine (at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring Street) to review the 2012 stock assessment update and set the specifi cations for the 2012/2013 fi shing season. Adden- dum I will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org, under Breaking News. For more information, please con- tact Mike Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mwaine@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


What Happened at the Council Meeting This Week? Highlights from the New England Fishery Management Council’s Discussions November 13-15, Newport, RI


Key decisions that will affect fi shermen who harvest stocks of groundfi sh and sea scallops in the Northeast were made earlier this week by the New England Fishery Man- agement Council.


The decision of most consequence was the overall catch, or acceptable biological catch, of Georges Bank yellowtail fl oun- der that would be available to participants in both fi sheries for next year. With nine members voting yes and eight no votes, the Council passed the following motion for three transboundary stocks, including yellowtail, that are managed jointly with Canada through an agreement called a “Re- source Sharing Understanding • Eastern Georges Bank cod – 600 met- ric tons (mt) (U.S. share 96 mt, Canadian share 504 mt);


• Eastern Georges Bank haddock – 10,400 mt (U.S. share 3,952 mt, Canadian share 6,448 mt); and • Georges Bank yellowtail fl ounder – 1,150 mt (U.S. share 495 mt, Canadian share 656 mt).


The catch approved for Georges Bank yellowtail was critical to nearly everyone who awaited the Council’s decision because it is taken as a bycatch in the very lucrative sea scallop fi shery and also is fi shed by the


region’s struggling groundfi sh fl eet. Scal- lopers cannot avoid all of their encounters with the fi sh despite that they have devel- oped and adopted fi shing strategies and gear innovations to reduce their bycatch. Groundfi sh fi shermen inevitably catch


yellowtail fl ounder because it aggregates with other valuable species in the groundfi sh complex and is taken despite gear modifi ca- tions to avoid the stock to the extent practica- ble. The issue quickly became divisive over the last several months because the stock is at extremely low levels, potentially limiting the activities of both fi sheries given that the already low acceptable catch is shared with Canada and also must be split up between the U.S. groundfi sh and scallop fl eets. A second important decision affecting


both fi sheries was the allocation of yellow- tail fl ounder which the Council set at 40 per- cent to the scallop fl eet for 2013 and a fi xed percentage of 16 percent for 2014-2015. Other scallop measures were approved as part of Framework Adjustment 24 to the Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. Rules were substantially revised because the overall catch is expected to be lower in fi shing year 2013 than in recent years due to lower biomass in the scallop rotational access areas. While vessels will be allocated similar open area effort levels, 33 days-at- sea for full time vessels, only two access area trips will be allowed at a reduced limit of 13,000 pounds compared to four trips at 18,000 pounds in 2011 and 2012. Vessels also will receive two trips from


four different access areas on Georges Bank and in the Mid-Atlantic region. In addition, the action will close two additional Mid-At- lantic areas to protect small scallops until they reach a size at which they are more valuable when harvested.


Tough Groundfi sh Decisions on the Docket in Newport


The New England Council made sev- eral important decisions at this meeting that will affect the region’s groundfi sh and sea scallop fi sheries. Of critical importance to both was the amount of quota that would be approved for Georges Bank yellowtail fl ounder. Its deliberations were made more diffi cult by lack of consensus about the un- derlying science and an agreement known as the U.S/Canada Sharing Understanding. The Council negotiates quotas with its Canadian counterparts for three shared transboundary groundfi sh resources that are harvested by both countries. These are Eastern Georges Bank cod, Eastern Georges Bank haddock, and Georges Bank yellowtail fl ounder.


Sea scallopers cannot completely avoid encounters with Georges Bank yellowtail fl ounder despite having adopted fi shing strategies and gear modifi cations that have reduced the total amount of yellowtail caught by the fi shery. New Bedford is the acknowledged leader for the highest-valued catch in the U.S. largely because of the suc- cess of its sea scallop fl eet. The groundfi sh fi shery in the Northeast


takes Georges Bank yellowtail because it co-occurs with other species in the ground- fi sh complex (haddock, pollock, and other fl atfi sh) and, historically, Georges Bank yellowtail has been an important component of the groundfi sh catch. Without a suffi cient amount of Georges Bank yellowtail fl ounder available to the groundfi sh fi shery, the harvest of more abundant stocks such as haddock could be jeopardized.


The Council’s task at this meeting was to accept the recommendations of the U.S./ Canada negotiating committee for the three shared stocks, including Georges Bank yel-


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