Emergency Measures for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery For Fishing Year 2025

NOAA Fisheries filed a temporary rule for an emergency action that establishes measures necessary for the Northeast Multispecies fishery to operate at the beginning of fishing year 2025, on May 1, 2025. By establishing 2025 annual catch limits (ACL) and specifications for Northeast multispecies stocks, approving sector operations plans and ACEs, and setting common pool TACs and possession limits, this action allows Northeast multispecies vessels to participate in the fishery as normal on the May 1, 2025, start of the fishing year.

The New England Fishery Management Council adopted Amendment 25, which recommends changing the basis for management of Atlantic cod from two biological stock units to four newly defined biological stock units, consistent with the results of the 2023 Research Track Assessment of Atlantic Cod. NOAA Fisheries is currently reviewing Amendment 25. The Council also adopted Framework Adjustment 69 to recommend the annual specifications necessary to authorize the fishery to operate in the 2025 fishing year. The proposed cod stock structure in Amendment 25 is the basis for setting management measures such as the ACLs and ACEs proposed in Framework 69. Therefore, Framework 69 is dependent on Amendment 25 and may not be approved, disapproved, or partially approved until after NOAA Fisheries makes a decision on Amendment 25.   

These emergency specifications are interim measures that authorize the fishery to operate between May 1 and the potential implementation of Framework Adjustment 69, and do not preclude approval and implementation of Amendment 25 and Framework 69. However, NOAA Fisheries noted in the emergency rule that it does not intend to implement the management transition to the proposed four stocks of cod, if approved, until May 1, 2026, because transitioning management in the middle of the fishing year from two stock units of cod to the four stock units would be challenging for fishery participants and NOAA Fisheries. Other measures included in Framework 69, if approved, would be implemented during fishing year 2025.

To ensure that the fishery can operate beginning May 1, 2025, without causing overfishing, this temporary rule: 

• Sets fishing year 2025 ACLs for Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod, Georges Bank (GB) cod, and GB haddock; 
• Sets fishing year 2025 TACs for Eastern GB cod and Eastern GB haddock that are shared stocks between the United States and Canada; 
• Confirms projected fishing year 2025 specifications for other Northeast multispecies stocks that were previously published in Framework Adjustments 65 and 66 (88 FR 56527, August 18, 2023; 89 FR 35755, May 2, 2024, respectively); 
• Approves Northeast multispecies sector operations plans and allocates annual catch entitlements (ACE) to the sectors; 
• Prohibits recreational fishing vessels from possessing GB cod; 
• Prohibits commercial fishing vessels fishing under the common pool management program from possessing GB cod; and
• Sets trimester TACs and possession limits for commercial vessels fishing under the common pool management program.

Table 1:  2025 Atlantic Cod Quotas Calculated Using Council’s Recommendations in Framework 69

Table 2:  Comparison of Fishing Years 2024 and 2025 Acceptable Biological Catches (ABC), in Metric Tons, for Northeast Multispecies Stocks

Bold: ABC set in this Emergency Action.

* Indicates stock with a changing ABC in fishing year 2025, as set by Frameworks 65 or 66.