ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOAA
Fisheries Service Announces that Period 2 of the 2009 Spiny Dogfish
Fishery Will Close Effective 0001 Hours, January 26, 2010
NMFS
has determined that the 2009 Period 2 quota for spiny dogfish
fishery has been harvested. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, January
26, 2010, the fishery for spiny dogfish is closed and vessels
issued Federal permits for spiny dogfish may not fish for, possess,
transfer, or land any spiny dogfish until 0001 hours, May 1,2010,
at which time the Period 1 quota for the 2010 fishing year becomes
available. Section 648.4(b) provides that Federal spiny dogfish
permit holders agree, as a condition ofthe permit, not to land
spiny dogfish in any state after NMFS has published notification
in the Federal Register that the commercial quota has been harvested
and that no commercial quota for the spiny dogfish fishery is
available. This means vessels issued Federal permits may not fish
for, possess, transfer, or land spiny dogfish, whether caught
in state or Federal waters. You may also receive permit holder
letters, including closure notices, by mail by clicking on
Permit Holder Letters or viafax by providing a fax number
through a written request to the above address, or by faxing your
request to 978-281-9135.
NMFS
Solicits Proposals for MAFMC 2011 Research Set-Aside Program
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced that it
is accepting proposals under the Mid-Atlantic Council's Research
Set-Aside (RSA) Program for research activities to be conducted
in 2011. Applications must be received by NMFS on or before 5
p.m. EST on March 22, 2010.
The Council, in coordination with NMFS and the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission, may set aside up to 3 percent of
the total allowable landings (TAL) in certain Mid-Atlantic fisheries
to be used for research endeavors. The RSA program provides a
mechanism to fund research and compensate vessel owners through
the sale of fish harvested under the research quota. Vessels participating
in an approved research project may be authorized by the NMFS
Northeast Regional Administrator to harvest and land species in
excess of any imposed trip limit or during fishery closures. Landings
from such trips are sold to generate funds that help defray the
costs associated with the approved research projects. No Federal
funds are provided for research under this notification.
NMFS is soliciting proposals for research activities concerning
the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Loligo squid, Illex
squid, Atlantic mackerel, butterfish, bluefish, and tilefish fisheries.
NMFS and the Council will give priority to funding proposals addressing
the research needs as follows:
2011 Research Priority List
Spanning Multiple Species
- Fishery independent surveys for all Mid-Atlantic species, especially
in the near shore zone (as provided by the Northeast Area Monitoring
and Assessment Program-NEAMAP).
Interactions Between Loligo Squid, Butterfish, Atlantic Mackerel
& River Herring
- Evaluate potential improvements to observer sampling procedures
on catches of butterfish and River Herring in the Loligo fishery,
and River Herring in the mackerel fishery.
- Mesh selectivity studies involving Loligo squid retention and
butterfish escapement (both summer and winter).
- Test gear modifications (in addition to mesh size) in the Loligo
squid fishery to reduce bycatch of butterfish and other species.
One example would be the use of 'Fishing Circle Mesh.'
- Study mortality rates of Loligo squid that pass through trawl
mesh.
- Use of videography in documenting Loligo catches without any
or minimal butterfish bycatch.
Summer Flounder
- Evaluate the size distribution of landed and discarded fish
in the summer flounder recreational fishery by sex. This could
be considered for all catch components, which would include the
commercial fishery.
Bluefish
- Evaluate amount and length frequency of discards from the commercial
and recreational fisheries.
- Collect size and age composition of the fisheries by gear type
and statistical area.
- Initiate fishery-dependent and independent sampling of offshore
populations of bluefish during the winter months (consider migration,
seasonal fisheries and unique selectivity patterns resulting in
a bimodal partial recruitment pattern; consider if the migratory
pattern results in several recruitment events).
- Develop bluefish index surveys (proof of concept), including
abundance/biomass trend estimates for the offshore populations
in winter.
Black Sea Bass
- Validate methods used to age black sea bass (scales vs. otoliths).
- Studies focused on life history and reproductive behaviors such
as changes in sex ratio as a function of age and size or the evaluation
of the sizes of territories in relation to mating or reproduction.
- Increase age sampling across all components of the commercial
and recreational fisheries.
- Increase sea sampling to verify information from commercial
logbooks toward providing better estimates of discards.
- Develop a fixed gear survey of black sea bass similar to the
one developed for scup.
Scup
- Develop indices for scup ages 2+.
- Estimate the fishery components used to calculate scup mortality
(commercial and recreational landings, and discards).
- Expand age sampling of scup from commercial and recreational
catches, with special emphasis on the aging of large specimens.
Illex squid
- Determine size and age-at-maturity and growth parameters for
Illex squid.
Complete Details and to Apply
For complete details and information on how to apply, please visit
the Grants.gov website. Click
on the 'Grant Search' Quick Link on the upper right-hand corner
of the page and then search for Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-NEFSC-2011-2002247
After clicking on the '2011 Mid-Atlantic Research Set-Aside Program'
link, click on the 'Full Announcement' link next to the 'Federal
Funding Opportunity' description to display the full text of the
Announcement (19 pp). The Federal Register Notice listed contains
only a short summary of the announcement on pages numbered 3099
and 3100.
2010
Black Sea Bass Recreational Measures
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