Page 20. MAINE COASTAL NEWS November 2017 M C F N Continued from Page 13.
I am looking forward to collaborating with my fellow Council members and various stakeholders to attempt to solve some of the problems confronting the industry.” Dr. Quinn is Director of Public Interest
Law Programs at the University of Massa- chusetts (UMass) School of Law. He also is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and represented many fi shing interests while practicing law in private practice for over two decades in New Bedford before joining UMass. Stockwell is beginning his fi rst term on
the Council as a secretarial appointee. He previously served as the state of Maine’s designated fi sheries offi cial to the Coun- cil but retired from state service in June following a 21-year career at the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher now sits at the Council table in that capacity. Stockwell was appointed in August to fi ll the seat previously held by Mary Beth Tooley of Maine, who had served three consecutive terms on the Council, the maximum allowed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con- servation and Management Act. In another show of confidence in
leadership, the Council reelected the same slate of members to serve on its Executive Committee for the 2017-2018 Council year: • Doug Grout, chief of the New Hamp-
shire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Division, was elected to serve his fi fth con- secutive term on the Executive Committee; • Peter Kendall of New Hampshire also
was elected to serve a fi fth consecutive term; and
• Terry Alexander of Maine was elected
to serve his second consecutive term. Dr. Quinn and Stockwell also serve on
the Executive Committee in their roles as Council chair and vice chair.
Skates: Council Approves 2018-2019 Fishery Specifi cations and Proportional Barndoor Skate Possession Limit for Wing Fishery
With one exception, the New England
Fishery Management Council has approved Framework Adjustment 5 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan
(FMP). The framework contains specifi ca- tions for the 2018 and 2019 fi shing years, including total allowable landings (TALs) for both the skate wing and skate bait fi sher- ies, as well as measures to allow the landing of barndoor skates. Once approved and implemented by
the National Marine Fisheries Service, the framework will allow the landing of barn- door skates in the wing fi shery. Barndoor skate landings will be capped at 25% of the total wing possession limit allowed per season. The Council adopted a 31,327 metric
ton (mt) acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the skate complex based on advice from its Scientifi c and Statistical Committee (SSC). Under the skate plan, which covers seven species of skates, the annual catch limit (ACL) is equal to the ABC. Deduc- tions from the ACL are made to account for: (1) management uncertainty; (2) projected dead discards; and (3) projected state land- ings, all to achieve the TAL for the overall federal fi shery.
NAFO EXEMPTION On September 27 during its meeting in
Gloucester, MA, the Council voted to add measures into the framework to consider exempting vessels that fi sh exclusively within the NAFO Regulatory Area on a given trip from Skate FMP regulations that pertain to permit, mesh size, eff ort control, and possession limit restrictions, similar to exemptions that already exist within this area for Northeast multispecies and monkfish. NAFO is the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization. The Skate Plan Development Team
(PDT) now will develop a range of alterna- tives for this NAFO area exemption. The Council discussed an expedited process for selecting its preferred alternative with the goal of having Framework 5 implemented as close to May 1, 2018 as possible. This date marks the start of the new fi shing year for skates. SPECIFICATIONS BREAKDOWN Using the Council’s approved specif-
cations fl owchart (at right), the fi shing year 2018 and 2019 landing limits for the skate wing and skate bait fi sheries break down as follows:
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• WING FISHERY – allocated 66.5%
of the overall TAL, equivalent to 8,749 mt, up 377 mt from the current TAL; and • BAIT FISHERY – allocated 33.5%
of the overall TAL, equivalent to 4,408 mt, up 190 mt from the current TAL. The specifications were developed
using updated scientifi c information that was analyzed by the Skate PDT and peer reviewed by the SSC. The information included 2015-2017
spring survey data for little skate, which are the largest component of the bait fi shery, and 2014-2016 fall survey data for the other six species. The discard rate was presumed to remain the same as 2014-2016. Additionally, the Council was presented
with the Skate Annual Monitoring Report covering fi shing year 2016 activity. The re- port and Framework 5 both contain updated landings information for the skate wing and skate bait fi sheries. Barndoor Skates
In what has been widely hailed as a
management success story, the barndoor skate resource was declared “rebuilt” a year ago. The Council offi cially received the news on September 30, 2016. Currently, landings of barndoor skates
are prohibited. But in light of the rebuilt status – and at the urging of industry – the Council’s Skate Committee has been work- ing with its Skate Advisory Panel (AP) and Skate PDT to develop proposals to allow at least a limited amount of barndoor skate landings. At a September 12 AP meeting, advisors urged the Council to adopt a cau- tious approach and not allow unlimited landings. At a September 25 meeting, the Skate Committee agreed with the rec- ommendation, and on September 27, the full Council approved the limits as part of Framework 5. TWO-PRONGED APPROACH The new Framework Adjustment 5
barndoor skate wing fi shery measures in- clude: • A discard restriction so that any
skate species already winged could not be discarded in order to land barndoor skate (i.e., no high- grading); and • A 25% proportional possession
limit as follows: Season 1 – 2,600 pounds total with no more than 650 pounds being barndoor skate wings; and Season 2 – 4,100 pounds total with no more than 1,025 pounds being barndoor skate wings.
Canadian Commercial Fishing News Continued from Page 11.
sure to bottom fi shing was further refi ned. This agreed-upon approach will help con- serve biodiversity in the area by protecting deep-water corals and sponges, including octocorals and black corals that are unique to seamount features. Protecting our marine and coastal areas
remains a priority for the Government of Canada. In addressing NAFO delegates, the Minister highlighted Canada’s commitment to working internationally to protect marine ecosystems, and discussed the domestic approach that utilizes both marine protected areas and Other Eff ective Area-Based Con- servation Measures to reach our target of protecting 5% of marine areas by this year, and 10% by 2020.
New Marine Refuges in Canada’s Atlantic Ocean
Ottawa, Ontario – Resilient and healthy ecosystems help to support sustainable industries, local economies and coastal com- munities across Canada. Canada remains committed to increasing the proportion of our marine and coastal areas that are protect- ed to 5% this year and 10% by 2020. These marine conservation targets will be achieved by establishing marine protected areas and marine refuges to safeguard the health of our oceans for future generations. The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc,
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Ca- nadian Coast Guard, today announced the two marine refuges through fi sheries man- agement measures. These will protect fi sh and their aquatic ecosystems and contribute an additional 11,787km2
of protected ocean
area to Canada’s coasts. These marine refuges will make a
lasting contribution to marine conservation in Canada: New Brunswick – The existing Miramichi Bay gillnet fi sheries closure protects adult Atlantic salmon and one of its important migration corridors. This closure has been in place for many years and pro- hibits the use of gillnets for all commercial groundfi sh fi sheries. Nova Scotia – The Western/Emerald Banks Conservation Area supports the productivity of groundfi sh, par- ticularly as a long-standing nursery ground for haddock. All commercial and recreation- al fi sheries using bottom-contact gear and
gear known to interact with groundfi sh are prohibited in the majority of the closure. There are fi ve science-based criteria
that conservation measures such as the ones being announced today must meet in order to contribute to Canada’s marine conserva- tion targets: the geographic location must be clearly defi ned; the stock management or conservation objective needs to directly relate to an important species or habitat; the area must contain an important spe- cies and important habitat; the measure must be long-term; and the measure needs to protect the important species and its habitat from both existing and foreseeable pressures. The marine refuges announced today
meet the stringent criteria required to count toward Canada’s marine conservation tar- gets. Other fi sheries management measures will continue to be evaluated and may con- tribute to Canada’s conservation targets as well.
Canada will continue to work at the
international level on identifying guidelines and a process for considering other eff ec- tive area-based conservation measures like fi sheries area closures. In February 2018, Canada will host an international technical expert workshop as part of this process.
1-Year Anniversary of the Govern-
ment’s Response to the Cohen Commis- sion Recommendations
Vancouver, British Columbia -- Healthy fi sh and fi sh habitat are a key part of Cana- da’s livelihood. From the food we eat to the coastal waters we enjoy, ensuring the right protections are in place will help safeguard the health of our fi sh and the habitat they live in for generations to come. The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc,
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Ca- nadian Coast Guard, announced today that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and partners have now acted on 64 of the 75 recommendations made in Justice Cohen’s 2012 fi nal report from the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River. DFO released the Cohen Response 2017 Status Update and detailed annex which describes how the recommendations
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