Draft RA report for NE Council

New England Fishery Management Council Meeting

June 18-20, 2013, Portland, ME

Regional Administrator’s Report

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(1) Multispecies

Sector Final Rule

On May 2, 2013, we approved sector operations plans for 2013, allocated quota for 15 groundfish stocks to each sector, and granted the sector vessels a number of exemptions.  Seventeen sectors will operate, 16 of which will have active fishing vessels, and one sector that is a private permit bank.  Additionally, the New Hampshire and Maine state-operated permit banks have been allocated quotas. In addition to the universal sector exemptions, we granted sectors 18 exemptions previously granted in 2012, as well as 5 new exemptions for 2013, as described below (the last 2 of which are now obsolete due to approved regulatory changes made in Framework 48 and Framework 50).

• Seasonal restrictions for the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP;

• Seasonal restrictions for the Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP;

• Sampling exemption;

• Dockside monitoring requirements for vessels using hand-operated jig gear; and

• Prohibition on fishing in the SNE/MA winter flounder stock area with winter flounder onboard.

Framework Adjustment 48 Interim Final Rule

On May 3, 2013, we partially approved Framework 48 and implemented the approved measures in the regulations. We accepted comments on the final status determination criteria for white hake and U.S./Canada quota monitoring methods until June 3, 2013. We will publish a final on these measures as soon as possible.

Framework Adjustment 50 Interim Final Rule

On May 3, 2013, we partially approved Framework 50 and implemented the approved measures in the regulations. We are accepting comments until June 17, 2013, on sector carryover measures for the 2014 fishing year and beyond, and the re-estimation of the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder catch by scallop vessels. We will publish a final rule on these measures as soon as possible following the public comment period.

Spiny Dogfish Exempted Fishery

We approved an exempted fishery, effective June 1, 2013, for vessels fishing with a NE Federal spiny dogfish permit in two separate areas:

East of Cape Cod, MA

-Gillnet and longline gear from June through December

-Handgear from June through August

West of Cape Cod, MA

-Longline gear and handgear from June through August.

Vessels participating in this exempted spiny dogfish fishery that hold a Federal spiny dogfish permit may land up to 4,000 lb of spiny dogfish per trip outside the confines of the NE multispecies regulations.

Proposed Rule Considering the Opening of Several Groundfish Closed Areas

We are developing a proposed rule that will propose opening up several year-round groundfish closed areas, under certain conditions. This is in response to several sector exemption requests following the partial approval of Framework 48. The rule is expected to publish in late June.

Temporary Final Rule Adjusting Groundfish Sub-ACLs for Final Sector Rosters

We published a temporary final rule on June 11, 2013 that adjusted the 2013 annual catch limits for commercial groundfish vessels, as well as sector annual catch entitlements for groundfish stocks, based on the final sector rosters submitted as of May 1, 2013. Adjustments were minor.

Renewal of Paper Work Reduction Act Collection: Days-At Sea Leasing

From time to time, we need to extend our information collections related to our fishery management plans. In this case, we would like to extend the collections that are part of the Northeast Multispecies Days-At-Sea Leasing Program. We published a Notice in the Federal Register on June 10, 2013 and I am taking this opportunity to invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on continuing that information collection. Comments submitted in response to the Notice will be summarized and provided to the Office of Management and Budget for approval of the information collection.

DAS and ACE Summary Report

May 1, 2013 – June 11, 2013

DAS Leasing Program

Total Leases Processed:

Total Leases Approved:

Number of Distinct Permits:

Total DAS Leased:

Average Cost per DAS Leased^*:

Highest Cost per DAS Leased:

Lowest Cost per DAS Leased:

^* For leases greater than $ 0.00

Sector ACE Transfers

STOCK	Number of Transfers	Total Pounds Transferred
CC/GOM Yellowtail Flounder	20	79,201
GB Cod East	17	23,385
GB Cod West	16	701,684
GB Haddock East	4	42,724
GB Haddock West	4	255,414
GB Winter Flounder	6	263,029
GB Yellowtail Flounder	6	7,150
GOM Cod	14	44,295
GOM Haddock	10	6,072
GOM Winter Flounder	4	6,745
Plaice	11	263,935
Pollock	6	568,839
Redfish	5	179,138
SNE/MA Yellowtail Flounder	11	20,679
SNE/MA Winter Flounder	17	199,326
White Hake	9	101,207
Witch Flounder	10	23,375
Total	170	2,786,198

Common Pool

7

4

8

38

$115.38

$115.38

$0.00

Sectors

13

10

23

458

$50.40

$149.89

$0.00