Council to Hold Listening Sessions to Gauge Interest in Party/Charter
Limited Access

A successful recreational fishing trip aboard the Lady Tracey Ann, which sails from Eastman’s Docks in Seabrook, NH. The large cod were caught in May 2007 on Jeffrey’s Ledge in the Gulf of Maine. Mark Godfroy photo

The New England Fishery Management Council has scheduled eight listening sessions to solicit public comment on whether it should develop a limited access program for the recreational party/charter boat fishery under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, better known as the groundfish plan.

Seven in-person sessions will be held April 4 through May 9 from Maine to New Jersey, and a final webinar will be held on May 10 for anyone who could not attend an in-person session or who has additional comments to offer.

Council Executive Director Tom Nies said, “We’re going out on the road to listen to what people have to say. The Council has not made a decision yet about whether or not it will pursue limited access. We know the recreational fishery has many differing opinions about this issue, so before we begin to sketch out the details of a limited access program in an amendment to the groundfish plan, we first want to hear from impacted fishermen about whether or not they want us to embark down this road.”

What Does the Council Want to Know?

Fishermen are encouraged to offer opinions and perspective on the following issues, as well asany others of interest.

• Is a limited access program for the party/charter fishery warranted and/or desirable?

• What should the goals and objectives of the program be?

• Should there be an open access component for the for-hire fleet?

• What would happen to vessel permits under a limited access program? Should there be restrictions?

• What management measures should be considered? Should catch shares be part of the program?

• How should history in the fishery be considered? Should the Council use the March 30, 2018 control date (see next page for control date details)?

• How should “for-hire” be defined? Should there be an opportunity for new entrants into the program?

What Will Happen Next?

After information is gathered from the listening sessions, the Groundfish Committee will review and discuss the cumulative feedback and consider whether to recommend further action to the full Council. The recommendation may or may not lead to the development of an amendment to the groundfish plan that would pursue limited access.

The Committee’s recommendation will be made with input from the Recreational Advisory Panel and Groundfish Plan Development Team through a series of public meetings during 2019.

The Council is collecting public comment until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 17, 2019. Stakeholders have several ways to provide input to the Council.

• Attend one of the in-person listening sessions and/or join the May 10 webinar.

• Email comments to comments@nefmc.org and label them as “Listening Sessions for the Recreational Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Party and Charter Fishery.”

• Fax comments to (978) 465-3116 and label them as described above.

Party/Charter Fishery Control Date

Q: Is there a control date for the recreational groundfish party/charter fishery?

A: Yes. The control date is March 19, 2018.

Q: Wasn’t there an older control date?

A: Yes. The old date was March 30, 2006. In January 2018, the Council agreed that conditions and issues in the recreational fishery had changed considerably since 2006 and that a new, more current control date would be a more useful indicator of recent activity in the fishery.

Q: What is the control date supposed to do?

A: As described in the March 19, 2018 Federal Register notice, “The control date is intended to discourage speculative entry, investment, or fishing activity in the party/charter fishery while the Council considers if and how participation in the fishery may be affected. The Council may use this control date for entry or participation qualification, along with additional criteria. Performance or fishing effort after the date of publication may not be treated the same as performance or effort before the control date. The Council may choose to use different qualification criteria that do not incorporate the new control date. The Council may also choose to take no further action to control entry or access to the party/charter groundfish fishery.”

Mail properly-labeled written comments to:

Tom Nies, Executive Director
New England Fishery Management Council
50 Water Street, Mill 2
Newburyport, MA 01950