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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 35 Number 4
December 2007
New England council sets 2008 priorities
NEWPORT, RI – During its Nov. 6-7 meeting here, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to adopt the list of workload priorities for 2008 developed by its executive committee.
Council Executive Director Paul Howard said the list was in no particular order, meaning that although skates was at the top of the page, it wasn’t necessarily the number-one priority.
Howard also said that, out of necessity, the executive committee sketched out potential workload tasks for 2009 and 2010, especially in cases where an action was initiated in 2008 but needed to be completed in a subsequent year.
The committee took this approach to give the council an indication of what it must do in the years ahead, but the full council will have to review and adopt 2009 priorities next fall before they are finalized. The same is true for 2010 priorities.
The workload schedule was very much influenced by a new mandate in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act that requires councils to develop annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) “to end and prevent overfishing in all US commercial and recreational fisheries in 2010 for stocks subject to overfishing and 2011 for all others.”
Here is the full workload list as approved by the council.
2008 priorities
• Skates – The council will continue to work on Amendment 3 to the skate plan, which is already underway. The amendment will include measures for 2009 and a process for establishing ACLs and AMs. The actual ACL and AM specifications for 2010, 2011, and 2012 won’t be developed until 2009.
• Northeast multispecies – The council will continue work on Amendment 16, which will include management measures for 2009, a process for establishing ACLs and AMs, and, as a result of council action at the November meeting, the ability for fishermen to form sectors.
The council intends to work on Framework 44 in 2009 to set the actual ACL and AM specifications for 2010 and 2011. It then will begin work on Amendment 17, which will consider alternative ways to manage groundfish. Work on Amendment 17 will continue into 2010.
• Scallops – The council will begin work on Amendment 15, which is expected to take two years of the council’s time. The amendment will establish ACLs and AMs and consider alternatives for capacity reduction, days-at-sea leasing and transfers, the ability to form sectors, individual fishing quotas (IFQs) for the original limited-access fleet, a revisiting of the overfishing definition, and specifications for 2011 and 2012.
In 2009, the council intends to put Amendment 15 temporarily on hold while it develops Framework 21, which will contain days-at-sea specifications and the rotational access-area schedule for 2010. Once that’s finished, the council will resume work on Amendment 15 and continue this work into 2010.
• Monkfish – The council will develop Framework Adjustment 6 to the monkfish plan to consider alternatives to the “backstop” provision in Framework 4 that will shut down the directed fishery if landings exceed the target total allowable catch.
In 2009, the council intends to begin work on Amendment 4, which will include ACLs, AMs, and specifications for 2011, 2012, and 2013. The specifications may alter days-at-sea allocations and trip limits. This amendment is expected to slop over into 2010.
• Red crab – The council did not make red crab a priority for 2008. However, its current thinking is to begin work on Amendment 2 in 2009 to develop ACLs, AMs, IFQs, and sectors. This work is expected to continue in 2010.
• Whiting – The council did not make whiting a priority for 2008. Instead, it intends to pick up work on Amendment 15, which is already underway to develop a limited-access program for the fishery, in 2009. This amendment will include ACLs and AMs for 2011, 2012, and 2013. Work on Amendment 15 is expected to continue into 2010.
• Herring – The council will initiate Amendment 2 to the herring plan to develop a more detailed monitoring program for the fishery. This amendment will contain ACLs, AMs, limited-access privilege programs, and sectors.
In 2009, the council intends to put Amendment 2 temporarily on hold while it develops fishery specifications for each of the herring management areas for 2010. Once the specifications are completed, the council will resume work on Amendment 2, which will carry over into 2010.
• Habitat – The council intends to finalize its omnibus habitat amendment, which will amend each of the council’s fishery management plans. In 2010, it may begin work on a new ecosystem plan. And
• Hagfish – The council did not make hagfish a priority in 2008 but indicated it may develop a new hagfish plan in 2010.
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