January 2015 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 13. MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS
please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy at kro-
otes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
Fishery Council Approves Actions To Protect Declining Cod
NEWPORT, RI Responding to scientifi c information indicating that Gulf of Maine cod, an inshore stock of fi sh that has been harvested by local fi shermen for genera- tions, has declined to historic low levels, the New England Fishery Management Council (Council, NEFMC) this week voted on new fi shing rules to remedy the problem. While emergency measures put in place last week by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service will likely remain in effect at least until April 30, 2015, the Council’s intent is to replace the agency’s restrictions with those listed below beginning on May 1, 2015, the start of the next fi shing year. Each of the following proposals, pending NOAA Fisheries’ review and fi nal approval, will have direct economic impacts on fi shermen, particularly the small, inshore day-boat fl eet fi shing primarily for tradition- al fi nfi sh species off the coasts of MA, NH and southern ME:
An annual catch limit of just over 850,000 pounds for the 2015 groundfi sh (cod, haddock, pollock and fl ounders) fi sh- ing year, a level that represents a 75 percent drop in the amount of Gulf of Maine cod that will be allocated to both commercial and recreational fi shermen; last year’s limit of about 3.5 million pounds was considered extremely low by the fi shing industry. Seasonal Gulf of Maine Cod Protection Areas that would apply to all commercial fi shing boats that fi sh for of groundfi sh; when the stock size increases to a defi ned level (50% of the biomass needed to produce maximum sustainable yield), information reviewed by the Council would be used to determine if the closures should remain in effect. The blocks in the description below are areas used to regulate many fi shing activities off the New England coast. Maps follow on the next page.
May: Blocks 132,133,138,139,140 and 125 North of 42° 20’
June: Blocks 132,139,140,146,147 and 125 North of 42° 20’ November – January: Block 125 and a portion of block 124; (The Whaleback Area currently in
place to protect spawning cod would re- main closed).
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The Council-approved confi guration of clo- sures would allow healthy groundfi sh stocks to be harvested, and do not close areas where cod spawning has been infrequent. The recreational fi shery, including par- ty and charter boats, would not be subject to the new closed areas, but also would not be able to catch and retain any Gulf of Maine cod when fi shing there. This last measure is intended to allow that segment of that fi shery continue to operate on stocks that are not overfi shed, such as haddock and other species.
Finally, based on a lack of scientifi c information, the need to coordinate with its fi shery management partners --- the coastal New England states and the Atlantic States Maine Fisheries Commission as well as NOAA Fisheries --- the Council voted by a wide margin that lobster pots would not be eliminated from fi shing in the cod protection areas.
NOAA Issues Atlantic Tuna Management Measures Amendment 7 aims to reduce bycatch discards
NOAA Fisheries today announced fi nal regulations that will help protect Atlantic bluefi n tuna by reducing dead discards and providing measures to help ensure com- pliance with international quotas. These regulations were developed through a com- prehensive process that included input from the public, states, industry, and others. The measures include areas in the Gulf of Mexico where gear is restricted in April and May—a time of year when the species spawns in that area—as well as off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, a prime bluefi n feeding ground from December through April. The new restrictions also include a cap on Atlantic surface longline incidental catch of bluefi n, both at the vessel level as well as at the fl eet level. Atlantic bluefi n tuna is regarded as one of the most important and prized species in the ocean. Weighing upwards of 1,000 pounds and reaching more than six feet long, bluefi n tuna are near the top of the ocean food chain, giving them an important role in the marine ecosystem. They are also ex- tremely valuable on the commercial market, which makes them particularly vulnerable to unreported and unregulated fi shing interna- tionally.
“The United States is committed to
protecting Atlantic bluefi n tuna using sus- tainable, science-based management, and we will continue to be an international leader in its management,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “These measures allow fi shermen to continue fi shing for their target species using alternate gear. We are balancing the needs of the fi shermen with the recovery of bluefi n tuna.”
Amendment 7 includes measures to reduce the dead discard of bluefi n tuna and improve discard accounting through individual transferable quotas in the pelagic longline fi shery, as well as enhanced mon- itoring and reporting requirements in all fi shing categories.
Under the new regulations, fi shermen will have a strong incentive to avoid catch- ing bluefi n tuna incidentally when pursuing swordfi sh and other Atlantic tunas, since bluefi n tuna catch (landings and dead dis- cards) will be counted against individual longline vessel quotas. Longline fi shing for bluefi n will cease when the combined landings and discard catch hit the quota. NOAA Fisheries has identifi ed bluefi n tuna as a species of concern, but it is not listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. NOAA scientists remain concerned about the status of the
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Atlantic bluefi n tuna, and will continue to monitor this species closely. NOAA Fisheries held more than 15 public meetings for this action along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts during the public comment period for the proposed regulations, which closed on January 10. The environmental impact statement includes the ecological and soci oeconomic analyses of the amendment:
During the recent International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (IC- CAT) meeting in Italy, the U.S. delegation for ICCAT worked to reach agreement on science-based management measures for shared stocks. ICCAT members approved an increase to the Total Allowable Catch for the western Atlantic as well as the east- ern Atlantic and Mediterranean stocks of bluefi n tuna. The changes are in line with scientifi c advice and the western Atlantic Total Allowable Catch will allow that stock to continue to increase.
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