N O T I C E S

Department of Marine Resources
NOTICE OF AGENCY EMERGENCY RULE-MAKING

AGENCY: Department of Marine Resources

CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: 11.22
Targeted Closures (1)(12)(13)(14) Muscle Ridge, Gouldsboro and Dyer Bays, Wohoa Bay and Jonesport Reach and Inner Machias Rotational Area.

Emergency Regulations

CONCISE SUMMARY:
The Commissioner adopts this emergency rulemaking for the implementation of conservation closures located in Gouldsboro & Dyer Bays, Wohoa Bay & Jonesport Reach and Inner Machias Rotational Area in order to protect Maine’s scallop resource due to the risk of unusual damage and imminent depletion. Scallop populations throughout the state are at extremely low levels. The Department is concerned that unrestricted harvesting during the remainder of the 2015-16 fishing season in these areas may deplete a severely diminished resource beyond its ability to recover. Continued harvesting may damage sublegal scallops that could be caught during subsequent fishing seasons, as well as reducing the broodstock essential to a recovery. These immediate conservation closures are necessary to reduce the risk of unusual damage and imminent depletion. For these reasons, the Commissioner hereby adopts an emergency closure of Maine’s scallop fishery in Gouldsboro & Dyer Bays, Wohoa Bay & Jonesport Reach and Inner Machias Rotational Area as authorized by 12 M.R.S. §6171(3). In addition, a clarification to the access in the Muscle Ridge Limited Targeted Closure is needed to ensure that access to this area does not overlap with that for the West Penobscot Bay Limited Access Area for both draggers and divers.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Dec. 13, 2015

AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Trish Cheney (207-624-6554)

DMR Emergency Rulemaking – Chapter 45.05
Shrimp Season Closure

On December 7, 2015, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Northern Shrimp Section approved a moratorium for the 2015-2016 shrimp fishery. This action was taken in response to the findings of the 2015 Stock Status Report, indicating current fishable biomass is the lowest on record. The Northern Shrimp Technical Committee (NSTC) evaluated a suite of indicators including fishery performance, survey indices of abundance and biomass, and environmental conditions. Despite the marginal increase in the recruitment index in 2014, the population continues to meet the criteria defining a collapsed stock. For these reasons, this emergency rule-making establishes that there will be no season for the taking of northern shrimp in 2015-2016.

The full text of the emergency rule is available at: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/CH45shrimpseasonclosureemergencyruleDec102015.pdf