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Feature Articles
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Mid-Atlantic set-aside proposals due May 13
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This article is reprinted with permission of Commercial Fisheries News, the Northeast's fishing newspaper for over 30 years, ©2003 Compass Publications Inc. Commercial Fisheries News is published monthly; annual subscriptions are $21.95. To subscribe or request a sample issue: call (877) 263-4496; fax (207) 367-2490; e-mail (cfoster@fish-news.com); or click on the hot link.
GLOUCESTER, MA - Fishermen and others who have ideas on how to improve harvesting methods for Mid-Atlantic species with conservation in mind can now submit cooperative research proposals to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
Millions of pounds of fish species representing 0%-3% of 2003 total allowable catch levels will be made available to "fund" such projects.
This research set-aside provision was part of Framework Adjustment 1 to several Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council plans approved by NMFS last year.
All commercial organizations, nonprofit organizations, state, local, or tribal governments, institutions of higher education, and individuals are eligible to apply, except for employees of any federal agency or fishery management council. Council members who are not federal employees may apply.
NMFS has already "canceled" the multispecies permits associated with the 245 accepted bids. Award recipients do not have to give up other fishing permits or scrap their vessels.
Purpose, species
The idea is that proceeds from the sale of the catches landed under a research set-aside will be used to pay the costs of the research, including vessel and researcher costs.
According to NMFS, projects funded under the program "should enhance understanding of the fishery resource or contribute to the body of information on which management decisions are made."
The species amounts and estimated value that will be made available under the research set-aside program are as follows:
| Species |
Pounds |
Estimated Value |
| Scup |
186,600 |
$236,982 |
| Black sea bass |
185,100 |
$318,372 |
| Loligo squid |
1,124,339 |
$865,741 |
| Fluke |
537,300 |
$902,664 |
| Illex squid |
1,587,302 |
$365,079 |
| Mackerel |
5,621,693 |
$730,820 |
| Butterfish |
390,013 |
$222,307 |
| Bluefish |
1,135,200 |
$431,376 |
| Tilefish |
59,850 |
$148,428 |
Priorities
Research priority areas, which were identified by the council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), include the following.
- Bycatch and discard reduction - Projects in this category should focus on: mesh selectivity and/or overall gear design in the summer flounder fishery; gear modifications in the Loligo squid fishery to reduce scup and other bycatch; discard studies in the Loligo and scup fisheries; and better estimates of recreational discards in the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries.
- Mesh and gear selectivity - Projects in this category should focus on: examination of summer flounder (fluke) catch composition in small-mesh fisheries in the summer flounder exemption area; summer flounder, scup, or black sea bass mesh selectivity; evaluation of pot vent sizes for black sea bass; estimates of black sea bass mortality in pots left in the water during the closed season; evaluation of fishery management actions, such as whether "closures have a net positive effect on fishing mortality by postponing such mortality or ... simply allow for concentrations of resources"; and mesh retention studies of 2-1/2", 2-3/4", and 3" mesh for butterfish.
- Fishing impacts on habitat - Projects in this category should focus on: examining mobile gear impacts on tilefish burrows; studying scup spawning areas and scup larvae settlement areas in coastal and estuarine waters; examining benthic habitat of juvenile and adult black sea bass and scup offshore wintering areas; and mapping Loligo spawning areas and egg mop areas.
- Cooperative stock assessment surveys - Projects in this category should focus on: alternative industry assessment methods to determine abundance of Atlantic mackerel; surveys of summer flounder areas not traditionally sampled by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center; side-by-side comparisons of summer flounder and scup commercial and center survey gear; and more.
- Improved recreational fishery data - Projects in this category should focus on: research to enhance overall knowledge of the recreational fishery; studies of bluefish hooking mortality; and more. And
- "Other" - Projects in this category should focus on: evaluation of redirection of fishing effort associated with area closures for black sea bass; evaluation of whether artificial reefs increase black sea bass productivity or simply concentrate the resource; and evaluation of the mixing of Illex and Loligo in September and October.
More info
The complete specifics of the program may be found in a March 25 noticed published by NMFS in the Federal Register.
The application deadline is May 13.
For more information, call the Mid-Atlantic council at (302) 674-2331 or NMFS's Paul Jones at (978) 281-9273.
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