Category: Regulations

Fisheries Survival Fund sues BOEM over NY wind energy area lease

WASHINGTON, DC – On Dec. 8, the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) – an 18-year-old scallop fishing industry coalition – brought suit against the Dept. of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for violations of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and Administrative Procedures Act, to stop the New York …

Continue reading

Final rule issued for NS1 revisions to Magnuson-Stevens

 SILVER SPRING, MD – As part of an effort to streamline and clarify management guidelines, NOAA Fisheries National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) finalized changes to the guidelines for National Standards 1, 3, and 7 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The new guidelines became effective in October. The MSA, of course, governs …

Continue reading

New England council makes progress on Deep Sea Corals Omnibus Amendment

Danvers, MA – As of the Sept. 20-22 New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) meeting, two of the major delays to progress on the Deep Sea Corals Omnibus Amendment have been resolved, allowing the Plan Development Team (PDT) to move forward on the draft environmental assessment.  Deep sea corals are slow-growing, fragile deep water animals …

Continue reading

New study: Chain sweep catches more flounder

WOODS HOLE, MA – This past summer, NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center undertook a second experimental trawl study to test the efficiency of the research vessel Henry Bigelow’s flatfish catch, this time focused on witch flounder. The two-week study compared a trawl net rigged with a modified chain sweep gear with that of a …

Continue reading

Mayors on both coasts speak out against marine monument designation process

NEW BEDFORD, MA – In letters sent in late August to President Obama and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell and Monterey, CA Mayor Clyde Roberson each expressed “serious concerns” about the potential economic harm to their ports  from the use of executive action by the Obama Administration …

Continue reading

Efforts to manage herring quota create bait crisis;

Maine DMR takes emergency action, explains why If you walked down any dock or into any diner where fishermen gather, you already know that the talk in early July was all about bait.  More specifically the potential lack of it and the impact on bait prices. On July 8, Meredith Mendelson, Maine Dept. of Marine …

Continue reading

Mid-Atlantic council set to take final action on forage fish omnibus amendment

DOVER, DE – In August, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is on schedule to adopt preferred alternatives for an Unmanaged Forage Fish Omnibus Amendment, the first on the East Coast, and only the second in the nation. The effort stems from the Mid-Atlantic council’s 2014-2018 strategic plan’s ecosystem planning component. The goal of the Unmanaged …

Continue reading

Tuna Focus 2016

Atlantic bluefin tuna research seeks to unlock the mysteries of the migrators by Walt Golet PORTLAND, ME –  So June 1 has come and gone, which means bluefin tuna season is here. While many of us are familiar with the migratory patterns of bluefin tuna that bring them to the Gulf of Maine each summer to …

Continue reading

Guest Column – Now that draft regional ocean plan is out…

Now that draft regional ocean plan is out, fishermen again encouraged to comment and help shape final document by Amy Trice and Anne Hawkins In Commercial Fisheries News May issue, the background, impending release, and need for fishermen to comment on the draft Northeast Regional Ocean Plan were discussed. The Northeast Regional Planning Body (RPB) is now accepting …

Continue reading

Jonah crabs: Managing an emerging fishery

ALEXANDRIA, VA – As fish begin to move and modify their behavior in response to changes in the ocean, fishermen are moving and adapting, too. Last year, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ACMFC) initiated the Jonah crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP) which takes effect June 1. “It’s an exciting time for this species,” said …

Continue reading

Load more