Category: NEFMC

New England council program review ready for panel

BOSTON, MA – On Mar. 13-16, a six-member panel will convene here to review the New England Fishery Management Council’s management processes and operations. Three fisheries managers and three fisheries scientists will evaluate how the council is performing and offer recommendations.  What the council hopes to get from the review are ways to build on …

Continue reading

BOEM updates New England council on several offshore wind farms, studies, energy projects 

  GLOUCESTER, MA – At its Dec. 5-7 meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council received an update on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) projects in the Northeast region. BOEM marine biologist Brian Hooker walked the council through the status of: 14 offshore wind farms that are in various stages of progress, numerous …

Continue reading

New England council approves Groundfish FW 57

NEWPORT, RI – At its Dec. 5-7 meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council approved Framework Adjustment 57 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan. In addition to setting 2019-2020 specifications for catch limits, the council fine-tuned trimester allocations of total allowable catch (TAC) in response to overages for six stocks in the common …

Continue reading

ASMFC’s Lobster Board votes down Addendum XXV

ALEXANDRIA, VA – At its Aug. 2-4 summer meeting, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) American Lobster Management Board voted down Addendum XXV to the American Lobster Fishery Management Plan. In a surprise upset, the board chose not to go forward on the increase in egg production and other management strategies it had considered …

Continue reading

New England council selects range of alternatives for scallops FW29; rejects proposed control date

  PORTLAND, ME – At its Jun. 20-22 meeting here, the New England Fishery Management Council tackled a slew of Atlantic sea scallop issues that included a comprehensive review of the limited access general category individual fishing quota (LAGC IFQ) program, approving research set-aside projects for 2018-2019, and recommending industry-requested scallop dredge exemption area expansions. …

Continue reading

New England council initiates Groundfish FW57;  selects A23 monitoring range of alternatives

PORTLAND, ME – At its Jun. 18-21 meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council refined the purpose and need statement for Amendment 23 (A23) adjustment to the groundfish monitoring program, and initiated Framework Adjustment 57 (FW57) to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan. With one exception, the two actions complete the 2017 priorities list …

Continue reading

Council moves forward Amendment 8 to Atlantic Herring FMP 

MYSTIC, CT –The New England Fishery Management Council chose alternatives to move forward for analysis on draft Amendment 8 (A8) to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan at their its April 18-20 meeting. The amendment was initiated in 2015 to consider alternative methods of calculating the acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule, and to address …

Continue reading

NEFMC scopes groundfish monitoring amendment

NEWBURYPORT, MA – In March, the New England Fishery Management Council completed a series of scoping meetings for Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan. The council initiated the draft amendment last fall to address concerns with reliability and accountability of the groundfish monitoring program. The action follows Framework 55, which clarified …

Continue reading

NMFS to hold two November hearings…

… on draft EA for Atlantic highly migratory species management plan amendment ST. PETERSBURGS, FL – NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has released a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for public comment on the proposed Amendment 10 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (HMS FMP) that would update the Essential …

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

Load more