Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS November 2014


Council Members Elected for 2014-2015 As its fi rst order of business at the Sep- tember 30 - October 2 Council meeting in Hyannis, MA, the Council elected offi cers for the upcoming year. Last year’s Chair, Terry Stockwell and Vice Chair, Dr. John Quinn, were each named by acclamation last month to again serve in their respective positions. Mr. Stockwell, who been the Council’s


Vice Chair for a number of years, is the Director of External Affairs at the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Dr. Quinn is a former Massachusetts legislator and the Director of Public Interest Law Programs at UMASS Dartmouth’s School of Law. Three members were elected to serve on


the NEFMC’s Executive Committee. Again, these are the same individuals who held leadership positions last year. The Council put their confi dence in NH fi sherman Peter Kendall, who is serving his second term on the NEFMC, and offi cials from two state fi sheries agencies. They are NH Fish and Game Department Chief Doug Grout, and MA Division of Marine Fisheries Deputy Director Dr. David Pierce. The fall meeting was the fi rst for new- ly-appointed Council member Libby Etrie from Gloucester, MA.


Sea Scallops


Alternatives Added to Scallop FW 26 Since its June meeting, the Council added several new alternatives for consid- eration in Framework Adjustment 26 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Plan. The highlights are provided below for quick reference:


 Measures to reduce incidental mortality on small scallops in three specifi c areas; in an extension of the scallop access area in Closed Area II, a small extension of the scallop access area in Nantucket Lightship,


Commercial Fishing News MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS


and a closure within the northwest corner of the Elephant Truck Access Area


 Limits on crew sizes as a potential mea- sure to reduce impacts on small scallops in the Mid-Atlantic Access Areas only


 A slight revision to the regulations for the fl aring bar on turtle defl ector dredges


 An alternative that would increase the access for Limited Access General Category (LAGC) vessels in the Mid-Atlantic Access Areas, in addition to access planned for the limited access fl eet


In addition, the Council recognized the lengthy list of items now in Framework 26 and prioritized the issues for the Scallop PDT, given the limited time available to complete any necessary analyses by the November meeting, when the Council takes fi nal action. The issues are in the order agreed to by the Council. 1. Develop specifi cations, including


modifi cations to the scallop access areas (and a scenario with increased access in the Mid-Atlantic Access Areas for the LAGC fi shery, up to 2 million pounds) 2. Revise turtle defl ector dredge regu- lations associated with the fl aring bar 3. Address the ME state waters issue associated with fi shing in the Northern Gulf of Maine


4. Provide consistency among turtle regulations (turtle defl ector dredge and chain mat regulations)


5. Develop proactive accountability measures to address potential overages of northern windowpane fl ounder, and the Georges Bank and Southern New England/ Mid-Atlantic stocks of yellowtail fl ounder 6. Allow limited access vessels to oper-


ate off the clock when steaming back to port 7. Develop reactive accountability mea- sures for northern windowpane fl ounder, and similarly revise the scallop fi shery’s


yellowtail fl ounder accountability measures for yellowtail stocks on Georges Bank and in Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic area Groundfi sh


Emergency Action for Gulf of Maine


Cod As has been widely reported by the media, the Council approved a motion on October 2 “to request an emergency action to reduce fi shing mortality on Gulf of Maine cod for fi shing year 2014.” Notably, the Regional Administrator of


NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) agreed with the majority of Coun- cil members by voting yes on the action, although he could not provide details on what the agency might do in response to the request. Emergency actions are developed and implemented solely by NMFS outside of the Council process. U.S/Canada TACs Approved The Council approved the 2015 quotas, or Total Allowable Catches as recommended by the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee, a group made up of Council members, NOAA/NMFS representatives, and Canadian offi cials, for the three stocks governed by the U.S./Canada Resource Sharing Understanding. They will be incor- porated into Framework 53 at the November Council meeting.


 Eastern Georges Bank cod – 650 metric tons (mt) U.S. share, 124 mt


 Eastern Georges Bank haddock – 37,000 mt; U.S. share, 17,760 mt


 Georges Bank yellowtail fl ounder – 354 mt; U.S. share, 248 mt Framework Adjustment 53 Alterna-


tives The Council focused on a number of Framework 53 alternatives in September, approving them for further analysis and discussion, and approval, if appropriate, at its November meeting in Newport, RI. They addressed several major topics. Actions Affecting Cod Fishery Oper-


ations The Council tasked the Groundfi sh Plan Development Team (PDT) with analyz- ing the impacts of a zero possession limit in the commercial and recreational fi sheries for Gulf of Maine cod. The groups would con- tinue to receive an allocation of the species to account for catches of cod, and be subject to existing accountability measures. An additional alternative that is de- signed in a way similar to measures adopted in Northeast Groundfi sh Sector operations plans would prohibit commercial ground- fi sh vessels from operating west of 70° 15’ W longitude and from conducting fi shing activity east of 70° 15’ W longitude, on the


IMOCA General Meeting - Foils or Continued from Page 10.


120


cost (of around 200,000 to 300,000 euros), but that is reasonable in this series and far removed from the sums around four or fi ve times that that we have heard being banded about.”


One fi nal point: the rules haven’t been


modifi ed, but rewritten to simplify matters, if we understand you correctly? “Exactly. The basic ideas have not been


modifi ed at all. We had to express the rules clearly to ensure they could be understood and adapted to the ISAF (International Fed- eration) framework. A lot of work has been done over the past year concerning this mat- ter, and it’s really pleasing to see that that the new text corresponds to the specifi cations. It’s easier to understand and clearer. The previous rules dated back to 1991 so they needed to be tidied up, but there were n o real modifi cations made to them.”


same trip, unless carrying an observer. This option aims to improve catch accounting of Gulf of Maine cod by restricting where com- mercial vessels can fi sh without an observer onboard.


Cod Spawning Closures To protect


spawning fi sh from the impacts of fi shing operations, the Council tasked the PDT to further analyze two sets of spawning closure alternatives for consideration in the frame- work. They would apply to both commercial and recreational fi sheries. Rollover of Current Specifi cations To address the issue of beginning a fi shing year without specifi cations (OLFs, ABCs ACLs), so-called “rollover provisions” or “default measures” have been adopted in other NEFMC and MAFMC FMPs. Through Framework 53, the Council has explored options that would enable the rollover of prior-year’s specifi cations to address all in- stances in which a fi shing year could begin without OFLs, ABCs, and ACLs in place for a stock due to a potential delay in rule making.


The Council directed the Groundfi sh


PDT to examine a range of percentages for their consideration at the November meeting — specifi cally, to rollover a small percent- age (10-35%) of the stock specifi c ABC and ACLs — until new specifi cations are imple- mented, (unless the rolled over ACLs exceed forthcoming ABC recommendations). Cap Sector ACE Carryover This al- ternative would cap the available unused sector annual catch entitlement, or ACE, carried over from, in this case, fi shing year 2014. The amount could not exceed the ABC level, minus the annual catch limits for the fi shing year in which the carryover would be landed --- in this case again, fi shing year 2015. Sectors also would be required to pay back any used carry-over catch only when both the sector sub-ACL and total stock ACL is exceeded. Windowpane Flounder Council mem- bers voted to include in Framework 53 an alternative that would split the existing commercial sub-ACLs for the northern and southern windowpane stocks between groundfi sh sectors and the common pool. The PDT is also exploring a broader range of sub-allocation options for a scal- lop sub-ACL for the northern windowpane stock based on recent catch by scallop ves- sels. The PDT will apply methods similar to those used to establish the yellowtail fl ounder. sub-ACLs in the scallop fi shery. Small Mesh Multispecies Preliminary Discussion on Specifi -


cations The Council moved specifi cation and management measures forward for small mesh multispecies at the September Council meeting. They will be fi nalized at the November 17-19 in Newport, RI. If ap- proved by the NOAA/NMFS the measures will become effective in May 2015 for the 2015-2017 fi shing years.


In the Gulf of Maine and northern


Georges Bank, the proposed silver hake catch limit would increase by 85%, while the red hake limit would increase by 2.6%. For southern Georges Bank, Southern New England, and the Mid-Atlantic, silver hake catch limits would decline by 8.2%. Red hake catch limits would decrease by 2.4%. Except for northern red hake, where over- fi shing was occurring in 2013, no overfi sh- ing is occurring on any stock and all stocks are above minimum biomass thresholds. Other measures may include changes in the northern red hake possession limits to reduce the risk of future overfi shing. Lower possession limits are expected to discourage targeting red hake in the Gulf of Maine and encourage vessels to avoid areas of high red hake catches when targeting silver hake.


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