The new control date for the Northeast multispecies charter/party fishery is March 19, 2018. The New England Fishery Management Council set this new control date because it may consider a future management action to limit the number of or otherwise affect participants in the charter/party fishery. The control date is intended to discourage speculative entry or fishing activity while the Council considers if, and how, participation in the fishery may be affected.
The control date, by itself, does not affect you at this time. The Council could use the control date as qualification criteria for any limited access program or other management measure, but may also use additional or different criteria. The control date does not commit the Council to develop any particular management program or criteria for participation in the fishery. The Council may also choose to take no further action.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What do I need to do? |
Find and keep all documents associated with your federal groundfish charter/party permit including landing or other fishing or ownership records. The Council may use any range of fishing years in a future action, so you should preserve all groundfish charter/party related documents that you have. |
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Will this affect my permit? |
This control date, by itself, does not affect your permit or fishing privileges. Any action to develop a limited access program for the charter/party fishery would require a change to the Fishery Management Plan. Future effects of this control date will depend on the measures that the Council develops by the Council and your permit’s landings history. We encourage you to participate in the development of such actions by the Council to better understand how such measures may affect you in the future. |
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How will this control date be used? |
The Council may use this control date for entry or participation qualification, along with additional criteria, or may use qualification criteria different from the new control date. The Council may also choose to take no further action. |
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When will this control date be used? |
The Council has not yet initiated an action to control access to or participation in the Northeast multispecies charter/party fishery, but it may choose to do so in the future. |
