November 2017 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 13. Commercial Fishing News
TMGC requested that the U.S./Canada Steering Committee consider a benchmark assessment for this stock as a priority. The TMGC made the following com-
M C F N
tail fl ounder (this assessment was conducted by the TRAC), and Southern New England yellowtail fl ounder Not Overfi shed and Overfi shing Occur-
ments about each of the shared stocks. Eastern Georges Bank Cod – “The status of the stock remains poor. However, there have been recent improvements in survey indices. Accordingly, the TMGC sought to balance the utilization of other species while con- tinuing to promote biomass growth.” Eastern Georges Bank Haddock – “Although model projections show a decrease in biomass in upcoming years, biomass is expected to re- main high. The total 2018 quota represents a 10,000 mt reduction compared to the 2017 TAC and addresses concerns around the growth of the 2013 year class and the request from industry for stability in the inter-annual TACs.” Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder
– “The change insurvey catchability in this year’s empirical approach resulted in an increased estimate of survey biomass, although the declining trend of the stock re- mains. Available information suggests that catch is not a major driver of current stock conditions because total mortality remains high in spite of record low catches. In light of this information, the TMGC sought to balance yellowtail fl ounder stock conditions and the utilization of other species.” Groundfi sh Operational Assessments The Council received an overview from
the Northeast Fisheries Science Center of the recent operational assessments conduct- ed for the 20 groundfi sh stocks managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The assessment for Atlantic halibut is delayed, but here are the peer review panel’s stock status recommen- dations for the other 19: Not Overfi shed and No Overfi shing
Occurring: Georges Bank haddock, Gulf of Maine haddock, Georges Bank winter fl ounder (an improvement in status for this stock), American plaice, Acadian redfi sh, white hake, pollock, and southern window- pane fl ounder Overfi shed but No Overfi shing Oc-
curring: Southern New England winter fl ounder, wolffi sh, northern windowpane fl ounder, and ocean pout Overfi shed and Overfi shing Occurring:
Gulf of Maine cod, Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine yellowtail fl ounder, Georges Bank yellow-
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ring: Zero The Council received a progress report
on Framework Adjustment 57, which, in ad- dition to setting 2018 specifi cations for U.S./ Canada stocks, will: Incorporate any needed status changes for groundfi sh stocks based on the recent operational assessments; and Set fi shing year 2018-2020 specifi cations for all groundfi sh stocks. Related to specifi cations, the Council
voted to include the Scientifi c and Statis- tical Committee’s (SSC) recommendations for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder overfi shing limits (OFLs) and acceptable biological catches (ABCs) for fi shing years 2018 and 2019 in the framework. The SSC recommended that the ABC for the Georges Bank yellowtail fl ounder stock should not exceed 300 mt for fi shing years 2018 and 2019, with the expectation that the 2019 catch specifi cations will be revisited and possibly adjusted following the 2018 TRAC assessment. The OFL for the stock remains unknown. The above items are regulatory re-
quirements and must be accomplished in Framework 57. Of the remaining man- agement issues currently identifi ed for the framework, the Council prioritized them in the following order, starting with the high- est. It then authorized the Groundfi sh Plan Development Team (PDT) and Groundfi sh Committee to discontinue work on the low- est priority items – or reduce the number of options within each – if time constraints de- velop. The Council recognized that the top priority is to ensure timely implementation of fi shery specifi cations on May 1, 2018, the start of the new fi shing year. The additional Framework 57 items, in descending order, are:
1) Modify Atlantic halibut manage-
ment; 2. Modify the southern windowpane fl ounder accountability measures for all large-mesh non-groundfi sh fi sheries, in- cluding the scup and summer fl ounder fi sheries, among others, with the “extension of Framework Adjustment 52 provisions to large-mesh non-groundfi sh trawl fi sheries” being the fi rst priority in this section; 3. Revise common pool trimester TACs; and 4. Revise the recreational management measures process.
The Council’s Groundfi sh PDT, SSC,
Groundfi sh Advisory Panel, Recreational Advisory Panel, and Groundfi sh Committee will meet on various dates throughout Octo- ber and November. The Council is expected to take fi nal action on Framework 57 at its December 5-7 meeting in Newport, RI. Finally, the Council received a progress
report on Groundfi sh Monitoring Amend- ment 23, which included a its three-day meeting here in Gloucester, MA, the Council took the next step and voted to ask its Ex- ecutive Committee to “discuss convening a working group to identify and/or improve methods for using monitoring data in stock assessments to estimate stock biomass.”
New England Council Unanimously
Reelects Dr. John Quinn as Chair and Terry Stockwell as Vice Chair for An- other Term
The New England Fishery Manage-
ment Council in late September expressed full confi dence in its leadership team when it unanimously affi rmed the reelection of Dr. John Quinn of Massachusetts and Terry Stockwell of Maine to serve as Council chair and vice chair, respectively, for another term. This marks Dr. Quinn’s second con-
secutive year as chairman. Prior to that, he served three years as Council vice chair un-
der Stockwell. The two switched leadership positions during 2016 but continued to work together as a team to direct the Council’s management and policy initiatives. “I am honored to be reelected by my
colleagues as chairman,” said Dr. Quinn. “We have a lot of very complex and import- ant issues facing us in the year ahead, and
Continued on Page 20.
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