Amendment 18Overview

Rachel Feeney

NEFMC Staff

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Maine Fishermen’s Forum

March 6, 2015

• Purpose and Need

• Goals

• Timeline

• Range of Alternatives– Accumulation Limits

– Handgear A Permit Measures

– Data Confidentiality

– Inshore/Offshore Gulf of Maine

– Redfish Exemption Area

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Presentation outline

A18 Purpose and NeedTo address concerns related to the potential for decreased fleet diversity and increased consolidation in the fishery resulting from:

– Catch shares and currently low catch limits.– Increases in catch limits as stocks rebuild in the

future.

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1. Promote a diverse groundfish fishery, including different gear types, vessel sizes, ownership patterns, geographic locations, and levels of participation through sectors and permit banks;

2. Enhance sector management to effectively engage industry to achieve management goals and improve data quality;

3. Promote resilience and stability of fishing businesses by encouraging diversification, quota utilization and capital investment; and

4. To prevent any individual(s), corporation(s), or other entity(ies) from acquiring or controlling excessive shares of the fishery access privileges.

A18 Goals

A18 Timeline

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2010 Develop initial goals shortly after A16 implementation.

2011 Fleet diversity workshop. Publish control date. 2012 Public scoping.2013 Goals revised. Measures developed. Compass

Lexecon study of excessive shares. 2014 Measures developed. Council approves Range of

Alternatives.2015Jan.-Apr. PDT analyzing impacts of alternatives.Apr. 28-

30Council approves DEIS, may select preferred alternatives.

July-Aug. Public comment period.Sept. 22-

24NEFMC votes on final action.

2016Jan.-Feb. Public comment period.May 1 Possible implementation of measures.

PSC capsAlternative 1 - No action. No accumulation limit.Alternatives 2, 3, 4a, 5 - Cap the PSC every stock.Alternative 4b - Caps the PSC for just 3 stocks.Alternative 6 - Caps PSC for all stocks collectively.

Permit capsAlternative 1 - No action. No accumulation limit.Alternative 2 - Caps permits at 5%.

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Accumulation Limits

Shading = cap is lower than the maximum currently held by an individual or permit bank.*Council may select one or more stocks to which this alternative would apply.

PSC Cap Alternatives

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PSC Alternative: 1 2* 3* 4A* 4B 5 6

GB cod - 10 15.5 30 30 20

15.5 collectively

GOM cod - 8 15.5 15 15 20

GB haddock - 15 15.5 30 - 20

GOM haddock - 7 15.5 15 - 20

GB yellowtail flounder - 14 15.5 30 - 20

SNE/MA yellowtail flounder - 5 15.5 15 - 20CC/GOM yellowtail flounder - 8 15.5 15 - 20

Plaice - 9 15.5 20 - 20

Witch flounder - 9 15.5 20 - 20

GB winter flounder - 23 15.5 30 - 30

GOM winter flounder - 7 15.5 15 - 20

Redfish - 10 15.5 20 - 20

White hake - 8 15.5 20 - 20

Pollock - 6 15.5 20 20 20

SNE/MA winter flounder - - 15.5 15 - 20

Current holdings as of the control date (April 7, 2011) would be grandfathered if they are above the cap.

Council will be deciding:Should current holdings above what is

grandfathered be divested?

Can permits be acquired in the future that would exceed the cap? What should be done with the PSC that is above the cap?

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PSC Cap Alternatives

HA Permit Measures

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Establish a HA permit fisheryAlternative 1 - No action. Alternative 2 – Create a HA permit sub-ACL (no trimesters, 10% carryover, discard accounting, accountability measures)

Other AlternativesPotentially remove March 1-20 HA closure, remove standard fish tote requirement, exempt HA vessels in sectors from VMS.

Data Confidentiality

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Alternative 1 - No action. Price data on leasing/ moving ACE is confidential.

Alternative 2 - Price data on leasing/ moving ACE would be non-confidential.

Potential inshore/offshore GOM boundary lines:

Inshore/Offshore GOM

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GOM cod sub-ACLsAlternative 1 - No action. No new sub-ACLs.Alternative 2 - Establish commercial GOM cod sub-ACLs. Commercial allocation and leasing unchanged.

Determining the inshore/offshore splitOption A - No predetermined rule. Set during each specifications process.

Option B - Proportional to catch (last 10 or 20 yrs) in sub-areas.

Option C - Proportional to fish distribution (last 10 or 20 yrs) in sub-areas.

Inshore/Offshore GOM

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Inshore/Offshore GOM

Catch monitoring

Trip Declaration

Observed Vessels may declare into both inshore and offshore GOM areas on a given trip.

Unobserved

If a vessel declares into more than one BSA, the vessel cannot fish in the inshore GOM area, similar to FY14 sector ops plans.

Gulf of Maine Gear Restricted Area

Inshore/Offshore GOM

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Alternative 1A - Current no action. Area in aqua. 12” max for trawl roller gear for all trawls fishing under groundfish FMP.Alternative 1B - Potential no action (pending OHA 2).

• Apply the area to all trawls (preferred).

• Change the area to that in pink (non-preferred).

Alternative 2 - Make boundary consistent with inshore/offshore GOM line in red.

Declaration Time PeriodsAlternative 1 - No action. Do not specify time periods.

Alternative 2 - Annual declaration. Each year, vessels declare which area they will fish in.

Alternative 3 - Seasonal declaration. Each trimester, vessels declare which area they will fish in.

Alternative 4 - Trip declaration. Each trip, vessels declare which area they will fish in.

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Inshore/Offshore GOM

Alternative 1 - No action. Sectors can annually request exemptions.

Alternative 2 – Allow vessels to use a 5.5” codend within the Redfish Exemption Area (see next slide). Council to choose whether the standard observer rate or 100% coverage would apply.

Stipulations:1. Prior to leaving the dock, vessel operators would be required to

declare their intent to fish in the Redfish Exemption Area through the VMS by checking the box next to "Redfish Trip";

2. In the first part of the trip, vessel operators would fish with conventional groundfish codends (6.5”) in the GOM and GB regulated mesh areas, except when towing a separator trawl on GB where the codend may be 6”;

3. Vessel operators would be allowed to switch to 5.5” codends at the end of the trip after submitting VMS notification;

4. Vessel operators would report catch from the entire trip through the VMS prior to returning to port; and

5. Vessel operators would submit a separate VTR to report catch or each codend.

Redfish Exemption Area

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Redfish Exemption Area

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PSC Holdings for all Human Persons and Permit Banks

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April 7, 2011Max

May 1,

2013Max

May 4,

2014 Max

GB cod 9.9 12.0 11.7 

GOM cod 7.5 9.5 9.5 

GB haddock 14.6 14.8 14.8 

GOM haddock 7.2 8.1 8.1 

GB yellowtail flounder 14.0 16.9 16.7 SNE/MA yellowtail flounder 5.0 6.2 6.2 

CC/GOM yellowtail flounder 8.0 8.8 8.8 

Plaice 9.0 8.9 8.8 Witch flounder 8.5 8.7 8.7 GB winter flounder 22.7 26.0 26.0 GOM winter flounder 6.6 9.1 9.1 Redfish 9.7 9.7 9.8 White hake 7.7 7.2 7.1 Pollock 5.9 5.9 5.9 SNE/MA winter flounder n.a. 15.9 15.9 

Review of NEFSC Ownership Data(From NEFSC SSB November 2013 presentation to the OSC, slide 10)

Num

ber o

f PSC

sha

res

held

by

indi

vidu

als

Year

Grandfathering and divestiture in other catch share fisheries:

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# of fisheri

es

Cap set relative to highest current

holdings

Grandfathering & divestiture

4 Higher Grandfathering not necessary.

1 Higher Temporary grandfathering allowed, but not necessary.

2 Lower Grandfathering allowed with expiration upon sale.

1 Lower Grandfathering allowed with expiration date.

1 Lower Grandfathering allowed with expiration upon inheritance.

1 Lower Grandfathering allowed with no expiration.

1 Lower Grandfathering not allowed. Divestiture necessary.

CIE peer review of Compass Lexecon report

CIE review panel comments– Generally agreed with CL that there is no evidence of

market power in the fishery, but wished for more rigorous analysis.

– The 15.5% cap recommendation is somewhat arbitrary. May reduce efficiency. Maintaining the HHI at <1,500 may be better.

– Concern about the potential for sector-level coordination.

Committee discussion– No evidence of market power in the most concentrated

or limited stocks.– More data on permit holdings may be helpful.– Some critiques of CL may be fair and some may not be

warranted. – Some analyses the panel recommended would be huge

undertakings.– No Committee motions to revise accumulation limit

alternatives.

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Concentration of GOM cod distribution into the Western GOM

22Michael Palmer, NEFSC