NOAA 94-R199
Contact: Scott Smullen FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(301) 713-2370 12/7/94
The Commerce Department today took emergency action to close portions of U.S. waters of the Georges Bank and southern New England to commercial fishing to save such species as cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder from economic extinction.
The action, recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council, closed areas of the Georges Bank and southern New England waters off Massachusetts to all fishing through March 12, 1995.
The emergency action also prohibits New England fishermen in other areas from using fishing nets with mesh sizes smaller than six inches, unless it has been determined that little harm to the regulated groundfish resource will occur.
Similar fishing restrictions on area and time closures were scheduled to take effect as part of an earlier fisheries conservation and management package implemented in January 1994. However, the conservation measures of the so called Amendment 5 package did not include enough protection to halt the rapid decline of the groundfish stocks in the region. Therefore, the Council developed today's emergency restrictions based on the latest stock management data that were not available when Amendment 5 was implemented.
"We must act decisively now to have a chance of saving this valuable national resource," said Rollie Schmitten, director of the Commerce Department's National Marine Fisheries Service. "At the same time, we also need to assist the New England fishermen, families and fishing communities through this crisis."
In March 1994, the Commerce Department announced a $30 million emergency assistance package to fishermen and fishing communities suffering from the effects of the stock collapse and the earlier fishing restrictions imposed by the agency earlier this year. In addition to these funds, other federal programs under the Department of Labor, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Small Business Administration have contributed to increase the assistance to the Northeast to more than $60 million.
The assistance includes grants to individual fishermen, loan restructuring initiatives, technical assistance and planning grants to communities, and counseling and retraining assistance.
"Because adequate measures have not been previously implemented, these tough measures are necessary. This Administration is committed to addressing the crisis as a comprehensive, sustainable development problem," said Schmitten. "It is critical that the New England Council develop a comprehensive strategy that addresses the long-term needs of the region's fisheries and we are prepared to assist the Council in this endeavor."
The New England area closures and net restrictions are aimed at helping maintain stocks of cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder and prevent a further state of collapse caused by years of severe overfishing. A special scientific advisory report issued to the New England Council in August concluded that the haddock and yellowtail flounder stocks had virtually collapsed and that cod numbers were lowest on record and the stock faced almost certain destruction.
Historically, Georges Bank is home to the most abundant of New England fishing grounds where fish gather at all stages of their life cycles.
The emergency restrictions may be continued an extra 90 days beginning in March to allow time for the New England Fishery Management Council to develop a long-term plan to rebuild the area's groundfish stocks. The council is now working on an amendment to the current groundfish plan that may include a further moratorium on fishing in the area.
The New England Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional groups established by the Magnuson Fishery and Management Act of 1976 to prepare fishery management plans for marine fish stocks in their respective geographical areas. The management plans are submitted for review by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, and approved by the Secretary of Commerce.