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DANVERS, MA - A long-sought change in the easternmost boundary line of the Northern Shrimp Exemption Area and a potential exemption for tuna purse seine gear from the groundfish closed areas are two proposed components of Framework Adjustment 36 to the groundfish plan.
The primary purpose of the framework is to establish Gulf of Maine cod protection measures that could be put into place prior to the targeted fall 2002 implementation date for Amendment 13 (see related story previous page).
The New England Fishery Management Council reaffirmed that priority at its Jan. 23-25 meeting here. However, the council continued to express support for further developing the shrimp and tuna purse seine provisions, as long as they didn't bog down action on cod.
"If we have the answers on Gulf of Maine cod first, I don't want the framework held up while we wait for more information on the items that have been tacked onto this framework," said New Hampshire council member Erik Anderson.
The issue with shrimp is that the largest, cleanest, and most marketable shrimp are often offshore during the spring months of April and May -- east of the boundary line that now limits the extent of small-mesh shrimp fishing.
That fact has been supported by the annual Gloria Michelle shrimp survey cruise conducted cooperatively by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which regulates the shrimp fishery, and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
Line obsolete
The line that fishermen need to cross -- the 25600 loran line -- was put in place by the New England council, not ASMFC, to reduce groundfish bycatch levels. But, for years now, the Nordmore grate has been required gear in the shrimp fishery, greatly reducing groundfish bycatch, and many fishermen believe the offshore shrimp boundary line to be a relic of earlier days.
"Our original intent was to eliminate the small-mesh line since we believe it's obsolete," said Maggie Raymond, spokesman for The Groundfish Group of Associated Fisheries of Maine. "But since the shrimp are only there in the spring, we'll be looking for a seasonal adjustment in April and May."
The Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Gulf of Maine Aquarium will be coordinating an experimental fishery with industry this April and May to collect groundfish bycatch data east of the line. This data will be presented to the council to support the line elimination request.
Tuna seines
On the tuna end, tuna purse seiners are seeking a gear exemption from the traditional groundfish closed areas, especially Closed Area I, which represents "historical offshore tuna fishing grounds" for the seiners, according to the East Coast Tuna Association (ECTA).
The gear type is already exempted from the Western Gulf of Maine Closure Area, the groundfish rolling closures, and the Cashes Ledge Closure Area. ECTA believes that the failure to list tuna purse seine gear as exempted for the other areas was merely an "omission" that needs to be corrected.
Seiners took part in an experimental fishery last summer to generate data supporting their claim that groundfish bycatch is minimal to nonexistent in deep water.
"The recent observed purse seine sets under the experimental fishery in Closed Area I should dispel concerns about the reality of groundfish bycatch Š and regarding any concerns over damage to the bottom should the nets contact the bottom in shallow water for a brief period of time during the setting process," said ECTA Executive Director Rich Ruais.
"Surely, anyone familiar with the mechanics of how purse seine gear is set and retrieved to catch pelagic fish visible on the surface understands that any disturbances of the bottom would be far less noteworthy than some other gears already exempted from fishing in the closed areas," he said.
Janice M. Plantes.
