October 2014 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 13. MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS
If sampling indicates signifi cant numbers of spawning herring in a particular area, the closure will resume for an additional two weeks. Spawning regulations can be found in Addendum V of Amendment 2 to the Interstate Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan.
Any vessel is prohibited to fi sh for, take, land, or possess herring from or within the re- stricted spawning areas and Area 3 (Georges Bank). Herring taken legally outside of the Western Maine and Massachusetts-New Hampshire areas and Area 3 (Georges Bank) may be transported through the areas only if all of its fi shing gear has been stowed. An incidental bycatch allowance of up to 2,000 pounds of herring per trip for non-directed fi sheries is permitted during the closures in the two spawning areas and Area 3 (Georges
Whale Rules
Final Rule Published June 27, 2014 NOAA’s Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a Final Rule amending the Atlan- tic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan). This rule revises the management measures for reducing the incidental mortal- ity and serious injury to the North Atlantic right whale, humpback whale and fi n whale in commercial trap fi sheries to further the goals of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The measures identifi ed in the Plan are also intended to benefi t minke whales, which are not classifi ed as strategic stocks under the MMPA, but are known to be taken incidentally in commercial fi sheries. Requirements were developed with
input from the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, which is a multi-stake- holder team that includes fi shermen, state managers, gear specialists, non-government organizations and scientists.
NMFS used input gathered from the public during the 16 public hearings and 60-day public comment period during the proposed rule phase.
For Maine, measures include status quo for the exempted waters, status quo for the pocket waters, new trawling up requirements, a new 6-mile line, additional gear marking, some island buffers and an implementation date of June 1, 2015. Trawling Up Requirements - There will be a minimum number of traps per trawl
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Extended Submission Deadline for Re- quest for Proposals - Northeast Multispe- cies Catch Advice Research Project We are extending the date for submis- sion of responses to this RFP by two weeks, to October 8, 2014.
When reviewing this proposal it may be helpful to remember that this is intended as providing extensive material that the Groundfi sh Plan Development Team –with participation of the NEFSC and other NMFS organizations, as well as the Council – can use as a jumping off point for an alternative way to set catch advice. Additionally, the
Maine's DMR News
based on the different lobster zones and distance from shore to reduce the number of buoy lines in the water column. Exempted waters do not have a minimum and can fi sh any confi guration, including singles. These new requirements achieve over a 37% re- duction in co-occurrence of whales and gear. Zones A, B and C
• Beach to the Exemption Line – status quo • Exemption Line to 3-mile line – pairs min, no singles
• 3 to 6 miles – triples min • 6 to 12 miles – 5’s min • 12+ miles – 15’s min Zones D, E, F and G
• Beach to the Exemption Line – status quo • Exemption Line to 3-mile line – pairs min, no singles
• 3 to 6 miles – triples min • 6 to 12 miles – 10’s min • 12+ miles* – 15’s min *Zones F and G
• Nov 1 to Feb 29 (seasonal) 12+ miles – 20’s min New 6-mile Line - Aligns with Maine’s new trawling up requirements. See chart and coordinates on reverse side.
Gear Marking - Buoy lines must now be marked three times (top, middle, bottom) with three 12” red marks (rather than the one 4” red mark) in regulated waters outside of the exemption line.
No gear marking in the exempted wa- Continued on Page 20.
following information may help understand the project. The RFP assumes that there will be a single contractor that completes all phases of the project. We view this project as requiring several steps so that there is a clear record that describes moving from the current method used to set catch advice to any new method that might be adopted. We would prefer to deal with one contractor for this process. Using one contractor allows us to make sure that each step is successfully completed, giving us more control over the release of funds and monitoring of the proj- ect.
We will consider all proposals that are submitted, including those that may not ad- dress all phases of the project. We would not be averse to a partnering between different organizations on this project, as long as we deal with one entity for billing and payment and there is a contractor/sub-contractor rela- tionship established. While the RFP suggests the phases be completed in order, and that would be our preference, we are willing to consider other approaches as long as there is a clear expla- nation of how all phases will be completed and the fi ndings relevant to other phases be made available for consideration in those project phases. We are not interested in proposals that just say “here is the way you
Commercial Fishing News
should do it.” We must have a clear record that indicates the reasons for any change from the current approach. This is in part why we have Phase I. The starting point for discussion is whether the current approach does or does not work (not an obvious an- swer, given the disparate rebuilding results for stocks like GOM cod and GB haddock or redfi sh), are there identifi able reasons why the current approach does or does not work, and can it be fi xed.
One of our underlying management problems may be related to the fact that this is a true multispecies fi shery. This is why the RFP indicates the approach will be examined for a group of stocks, and not just one or two. This is part of the reason we are not asking for a full MSE approach. The design of such an approach would require development of agreed-upon objectives for the management of each stock, and I expect that alone could be quite time-consuming (though perhaps all that would be needed are illustrations of the concept). As for timing, the aggressive com- pletion date is because of limitations with our funding. We must spend the money associated with this project by the end of 2015. The advertised ending date gives us time to verify the project has been properly completed and allows a small buffer for any unexpected delays.
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