Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 45 



declines in groundfisli populations, a lawsuit was 

 filed in mid-1991 by the Conservation Law 

 Foundation and the Massachusetts Audubon 

 Society, charging NfMK with failure to prevent 

 overfishing on New England groundfish stocks, 

 including haddock, cod, and flounder. Pursuant to 

 an out-of-court settlement reached in August 1991, 

 the New England Fishery Management Council is 

 afforded the opportunity to draft by March 1, 1992 

 a new multi-species FMP designed to rebuild the 

 groimdfish stocks. The Council may also present a 

 final groundfish stock rebuilding program to the 

 Secretary of Commerce by September 1, 1992. 

 Failure to meet these court-established deadlines, 

 however, will require the Secretary of Commerce, 

 through NMFS, to put into place its own groundfish 

 stock rebuilding program by not later than 

 November 1, 1992, 



The presently over-fished condition of groundfish 

 species throughout the Gulf of Maine is indicated in 

 part by the following statistics from the NEFMC: 

 (NEFMC, October 1991) 



Groimdfish 

 Stock 



Gulf of 



Maine Cod 



Georges 



Bank Cod 



So. New 



England 



Yellowtail 



Georges 



Bank 



Yellowtail 



% of Stock 

 Removed/Year 

 by Fishing Activity 



56% 



43% 



% Required 

 for Stock 

 Recovery 



30% 



27% 



75% 



52% 



35% 



40% 



The NEFMC also has developed the FMPs for 

 scallops and lobster, which establish: 



• overall landing amounts allotted for the species; 



FMP for Atlantic herring in coordination with the 

 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 

 (ASMFC); and has requested the lead role in 

 developing a fishery management plan for the Arctic 

 surf (or Stimpson) clam, for which commercial 

 exploitation has recently been initiated in the 

 Stellwagen Bank area. (P. Fiorelli, NEFMC, pers. 

 comm.. May 1990). 



The Northern shrimp FMP was developed by the 

 Atlantic States Fishery Management Commission 

 (ASFMC). The ASMFC is additionally responsible 

 for striped bass and bluefish fisheries (the plan for 

 the latter species is developed in cooperation with 

 the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Coimcil). 



The Mid-Atlantic FMC is charged with sole 

 responsibility for management plans on summer 

 flounder, butterfish, short and long-finned squid, 

 surf clam, ocean quahog and mackerel. 



Commercial bluefin tuna fishing, representing 

 approximately 50% of the economic value of all 

 fisheries in the Stellwagen Bank area, is currently 

 regulated under the International Commission for 

 the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), as 

 implemented via the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act 

 of 1975. Quotas for bluefin tuna are determined by 

 ICCAT; since 1983, the U.S. quota has remained 

 constant at 1,529 short tons (st). NMFS allocates 

 this quota by categories assigned to the four gear 

 types employed in this fishery: hand-line, rod and 

 reel, harpoon, and purse seine net. (The species 

 also is caught incidentally by longline vessels.) 



The majority of the total U.S. Atlantic bluefin 

 tima catch is landed in Massachusetts. Currently, 

 there are approximately 10,000 individuals Ucensed 

 in Massachusetts to participate in this fishery. In 

 addition to Stellwagen Bank, bluefin tuna also are 

 fished at Jeffreys Ledge, Cape Cod Bay, east of 

 Chatham, and southwest of Martha's Vineyard 

 Island (Table 4). 



• fishing practices to be used for these fisheries; 

 and 



• effort limits allotted to the fishery. 

 Currently, the NEFMC is developing an updated 



Spavming stocks for this species are considered 

 depleted (B. Chase, 1991). Recently, management 

 of the U.S. Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery was 

 included in reauthorization of the Magnuson Fishery 

 Conservation and Management Act, to enhance 

 NMFS' ability to provide improved species 



