Community-based Sectors for the New England Groundfish Fishery

Tri-State Sector
Erik Brazer
Requests
• Implementation in 2008
• Allocation of all GF species, monkfish, skates and dogfish (29 stocks)
• Full retention of legal size groundfish, monkfish, skates, and dogfish
• Will use monthly quotas
• 2,000 pounds minimum allocation for every stock (allow for incidental catch);
• Trading quota between sectors if both sectors have an allocation and if it would
not result in violating the 20% cap;
• Qualifying / Baseline years of 1996-2006??
• If NMFS or the NEFMC regulatory bureaucracy prevents timely implementation,
existing sectors will be allowed to fish under the previous year's operations plan
and allocations.
• “Future catch histories associated with the sector are proposed to remain constant
regardless of whether the vessels land the fish; and
• sectors will be credited with their actual TAC percentage, instead of actual
percentage of TAC achieved
• “Sectors will be credited with the maximum TAC amount (up to 20%), rather than
the actual amount of fish caught.
• Increasing observer coverage,
• Moving into electronic catch reporting
• Will comply w/ the requirement for 20 day spawning block out of the fishery
between March and May and any spawning closures
• Not limited to fishing in any areas
Requested Exemptions
• paper reporting;
• DAS;
• seasonal, rolling, habitat (anything less than level 3) and mortality closures;
• minimum fish sizes
• trip limits;
• non-spawning blocks
• hook number and size, gillnet number and mesh size, trawl mesh size and shape
Necessary Policy Changes
• qualifying baseline years;
• trading quota between sectors;
• future catch history remain constant regardless of actual catch;
• Increasing observer coverage,
• Moving into electronic catch reporting
Members:
List of 51 vessels (15 trawl, 4 hook, 1 scottish seine, 31 gillnet)
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