Category: September ’12

Groundfish: Foreboding cuts on 2013 horizon

PORTSMOUTH, NH – The region’s battered groundfish industry, still struggling to cope with this year’s sharp reductions in Gulf of Maine cod and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder allocations, recently learned that annual catch limits (ACLs) for six key groundfish stocks could be reduced by as much as 73% for the 2013 fishing year. This jarring …

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Herring spawning issues continue to command industry attention

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Fishermen will receive plenty of advance notice if the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) ever decides to modify spawning area boundary lines in the Gulf of Maine for Atlantic herring. The commission’s Atlantic Herring Section had considered giving itself the ability to make fairly quick changes to existing boundary lines as …

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Cornell Cooperative Extension launches monkfish RSA study

RIVERHEAD, NY – Cornell University Cooperative Extension (CCE) researchers are looking for a few good monkfish samples – up to 1,200 fin clips, to be precise. In June, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) formally awarded 371 monkfish days-at-sea to CCE under the Research Set Aside (RSA) Program. The money generated by sales of the …

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Eat lobsters; abundant supply, prices low

The lobster market has been through a tumultuous period since the report in the August CFN. At that time, there was a substantial catch of shedders and boat prices had dropped to 30-year lows. Canadian processors, typically the largest market for softshells, had not yet started buying US lobsters and supply was overwhelming demand. By …

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Lobster trap reductions for Areas 2 and 3

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Lobstermen in Areas 2 and 3 who want to consolidate businesses and reduce the overall number of traps in each area moved one step closer to that goal during an Aug. 7 meeting here of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) American Lobster Management Board. The consolidation program, which hinges on …

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ASMFC keeps dogfish quota rollover at 5% max

ALEXANDRIA, VA – An attempt to increase the 5% cap on the amount of unused dogfish quota that can be “rolled over” into the next fishing year failed in the face of strong opposition from scientists and the federal government. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board had …

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NOAA Fisheries Navigator – September 2012

Insert to the September 2012 Commercial Fisheries News Contents: Area 1 Lobster Trap Program Application Process Underway NOAA’s FishWatch Helps Consumers Make Well-Informed Seafood Choices Cut Fuel Consumption to Increase Profitability NOAA Fisheries Forms Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder Working Group Federal Funding Helps Improve Northeast Cooperative Fisheries Data Collection 2012 Sector Overview and New Exemptions …

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