Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS June 2016
Commercial Fishing News Continued from Page 1.
Recreational fi shers are also permitted
to a maximum catch of 15 fi sh per boat per day. There are no requirements to report recreational landings. The northern cod spawning stock bio-
mass increased from 21 per cent of the limit reference point (LRP) in 2010-2012 to 18 per cent in 2012-13. The stock has remained below the LRP since the early 1990s. What happens next in the northern cod Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) Based on the pre-assessment fi ndings,
a scoping document will identify strategies to address areas of concern. This will ensure that a FIP Action Plan of improvement can be developed with relevant stakeholders. The FIP runs until 2020. If conditions
are favorable and improvement measures implemented, the fi shery could enter a full assessment for certifi cation by the MSC. About the Marine
Stewardship Council (MSC) The MSC runs the only wild-capture
fi sheries certifi cation and eco-labeling pro- gram that meets best practice requirements set by both the Food and Agriculture Orga- nization of the United Nations and ISEAL, the global membership association for sus- tainability standards. MSC certifi ed fi sheries are reviewed
annually and recertifi ed every fi ve years. MSC Standards and scheme requirements are also reviewed regularly. To achieve the MSC Fisheries Standard,
fi sheries that voluntarily enter into indepen- dent, third-party assessment must meet 28 performance indicators for sustainability across three principles: 1) Sustainable fi sh stocks; 2) Minimizing environmental im-
M C F N
pacts; and 3) Eff ective management. When developing a Fishery Improve-
ment Project (FIP), it is necessary to have a good understanding of the issues that a fi shery faces and where it falls short of meet- ing the MSC Fisheries Standard. A MSC pre-assessment uses 28 performance indi- cators to provide a baseline determination of how the fi shery performs relative to each of the indicators within the MSC Fisheries Standard.
About the Fish, Food and Allied Work- ers Union
The Fish, Food and Allied Workers
Union (FFAW-Unifor) represents more than 12,000 working women and men throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, most of whom are employed in the fi shing industry. We also have members working in the hotel, hospi- tality, brewing, metal fabrication, window manufacturing and oil industries. For more information, visit ff
aw.nf.ca.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission’s (Commission) Atlantic Her- ring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts set the “days out” eff ort control measures for the 2016 Area 1A Trimester 2 (June 1 - September 30) as follows: June 1 - 30: Vessels may land herring
three (3) consecutive days a week. All oth- er days are designated as “days out” of the fi shery (e.g., vessels may not land herring). July 1 - 14: Vessels may land herring
four (4) consecutive days a week. All other days are designated as “days out” of the fi shery.
July 15 - September 30: Vessels may
land herring fi ve (5) consecutive days a week until further notice. All other days
ASMFC American Lobster Board Ap- proves Jonah Crab Addendum I & Initiates Addendum to Establish a Coastwide Standard for Claw Landings The American Lobster Management
Board approved Addendum I to the Inter- state Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Jonah Crab. The Addendum establishes a bycatch limit of 1,000 pounds of crab/trip for non-trap gear (e.g., otter trawls, gill- nets) and non-lobster trap gear (e.g., fi sh, crab, and whelk pots) eff ective January 1, 2017. In doing so, the Addendum caps incidental landings of Jonah crab across all non-directed gear types with a uniform bycatch allowance. While the gear types in Addendum I make minimal contributions to total landings in the fi shery, the 1,000 crab limit provides a cap to potential increases in eff ort and trap proliferation. The Addendum responds to concerns
regarding the appropriateness of the 200 crab per calendar day/500 crab per trip incidental bycatch limit for non-trap gear established by the 2015 Jonah Crab FMP, as well as concerns regarding the lack of eff ort controls on non-lobster traps and the poten- tial for trap proliferation. Data submitted
are designated as “days out” of the fi shery. Landing days in New Hampshire and
Massachusetts begin on Monday of each week at 12:01 a.m. Landings days in Maine begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m.
The initial Area 1A sub-annual catch
limit (ACL) is 30,397 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for a carryover from 2014. The Area 1A sub-ACL will be adjusted after the fi nal rule for the 2016-2018 herring specifi cations is released. The fi nal 2016 Area 1A sub-ACL will include the following reductions: 8% bycatch, 3% research set- aside and 295 mt fi xed gear set-aside. The Section allocated 72.8% of the sub-ACL to Trimester 2. By starting with three landings days per
week and then adjusting to four and then fi ve days during Trimester 2, the allocation is projected to extend through the end of the trimester. Landings will be monitored close- ly and the directed fi shery will be adjusted to zero landing days when the trimester’s allocation is projected to be reached. The Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are scheduled to reconvene via conference call to review fi shing eff ort and adjust land- ing days as necessary on the following day: Monday, July 11 at 10:00 AM To join
the call, please dial 888.394.8197 and enter passcode 499811 as prompted.
Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A until June 1, 2016. Please contact Ashton Harp at 703.842.0740 for more information.
by the New England Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries illustrated less than 1% of non-trap gear incidentally harvested Jonah crab in excess of the FMP bycatch limits. Data from the VTR database also indicated that between May 1, 2013 and August 31, 2015, 194 trips landed Jonah crab with non-lobster gear such as whelk, crab, and fi sh pots. The Board also initiated the develop-
ment of an addendum to consider establish- ing a coastwide standard for claw landings in the Jonah crab fi shery. The FMP currently specifi es the fi shery be strictly whole crab except for those individuals who can prove a history of claw landings in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia; however, claw fi shermen from New York and Maine have since been identifi ed and these individ- uals are currently only allowed to land whole crabs. At the request of the Board, NOAA Fisheries provided regulatory guidance on implementation of the current exemption in federal waters, highlighting the exemp- tion may not be consistent with National Standard 4 (measures shall not discriminate between residents of diff erent states). As a result, the Board initiated a draft addendum to create a coastwide claw standard with options for a strictly whole crab fi shery, a whole crab fi shery with the allowance for a specifi c volume of detached claws per trip, and the unlimited landing of claws that meet a 2.5” minimum length. The draft addendum will be presented to the Board in August. The Board also discussed potential
management actions to address American lobster stock declines in Southern New England (SNE). It agreed to initiate the development of an addendum to address the poor condition of the SNE stock by lowering fi shing mortality and increasing egg produc- tion through a combination of management tools including gauge size changes, season closures, area closures, and trap reductions. Underlying the Board’s discussion was the shared belief that the condition of the SNE American lobster stock is serious and in need of action. Further, its depleted condition is due to a combination of environmental fac- tors and fi shing pressure. Lastly, the Board agreed not to pursue a moratorium in the SNE fi shery. As a fi rst step in the addendum process, the Board tasked the Technical Committee to review management measures which could achieve a 20%-60% increase in egg production. This analysis will be pre- sented to the Board in August. In addition to taking action on SNE, the Board tasked the Technical Committee to explore a several issues regarding the long-term sustainably of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank stock given the past few years of poor recruitment. For more information, please con-
tact Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, at 703.842.0741 or
mware@asmfc.org.
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7530 Olympic View Dr. Unit 105, Edmonds, WA 98026 · (425) 774-7595
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