Northeast Multispecies Common Pool Fishery

The regulations described here can be found at 50 CFR 648.82, 648.83, 648.85, 648.86, and 648.88.

Effective at 0001 hours on January 1, 2024, the Gulf of Maine Cod Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area is closed to common pool vessels fishing with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, and longline/hook gear, through April 30, 2024. See the temporary rule for more details.

Possession and Trip Limits

The following trip limits are for Fishing Year 2023, effective at 0845 hours on December, 2023 through April 30, 2024. Bolded trip limits indicate those that have changed in recent rulemaking.

A Days-at-Sea, Handgear A, Small Vessel Category (Type C), and Handgear B

Note: Vessels with a Small Vessel Category Permit can possess up to 300 lb of cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder, combined, per trip.

Regular B Days-at-Sea Program

Effective at 0001 hours on May 1, 2023, the Regular B Days-at-Sea program closed for the remainder of fishing year 2023, through April 30, 2024. During this closure, Northeast Multispecies vessels may not declare or use regular B days-at-sea. 

¹ Broad Stock Areas: Gulf of Maine (GOM), Inshore Georges Bank (IN GB), Offshore Georges Bank (OFF GB), and Southern New England (SNE)

Common Pool Sub-Annual Catch Limits and Accountability Measures 

The common pool collectively may harvest an amount of a particular stock equal to the common pool sub-Annual Catch Limit, which is a portion of the commercial groundfish quota for that stock. The common pool fishing year is split into 4-month trimesters, which run from May through August (Trimester 1), September through December (Trimester 2), and January through April (Trimester 3). The common pool sub-Annual Catch Limits for each allocated groundfish stock is apportioned to each trimester according to seasonal fishing effort. These trimester-specific quotas are referred to as Trimester Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits are shown in the table below for Fishing Year 2023. Please note that these are based on specifications in place on May 1, 2023. We are working to publish a proposed rule for Framework 65 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP, which, if accepted, would change these TACs.  

Fishing Year 2023 Groundfish Common Pool Trimester Total Allowable Catch Limits (mt)

Once we project that 90 percent of a trimester TAC for a stock is caught, we will close that TAC Area to common pool vessels fishing with gears capable of catching that stock. The area will remain closed until the end of that trimester, and will re-open at the start of the next trimester if sufficient quota is available to do so. The areas that will close for each stock, and the gears that the closure will apply to, are listed in the table below:

Common Pool Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area Closures

For instance, if we project that the common pool is going to catch 90 percent of the GOM cod trimester TAC, we are required to close statistical areas 513 and 514 to common pool vessels fishing on a groundfish trip with trawl, gillnet, and longline/hook gears (includes vessels with a handgear permit). If the stock in question is witch flounder, we are required to close statistical areas 512, 513, 514, 515, 521, 522, 525 to common pool vessels fishing on a groundfish trip with trawl gear, but common pool vessels could continue to fish in those statistical areas with gillnet and longline/hook gear.

The statistical areas and gear types are selected to reduce the majority of effort on the stock that is nearing an overage. However, vessels are still allowed to catch that stock outside the closed area or with other gear types, as long as they do not exceed the possession limit for the stock. Conversely, vessels are not allowed to fish in the closed area with the prohibited gear, even if they do not catch the stock in question (i.e., in the second scenario described above, a vessel cannot use trawl gear in statistical area 515, even if they are targeting Gulf of Maine haddock, not witch flounder).

We announce Trimester TAC Area closures through bulletins on our website. You can also sign up to receive emails and/or text alerts to learn of these changes.

If any trimester TAC is not caught during Trimester 1 or 2, the uncaught portion of the trimester TAC is carried forward into the next trimester. Uncaught portions of any trimester TAC following trimester 3 are not carried forward into the following fishing year. 

If any trimester TAC is exceeded during Trimesters 1 or 2, the overage is deducted for the Trimester 3 Total Allowable Catch for that stock. If the entire common pool sub-Annual Catch Limit for a particular stock is exceeded, an amount equal to that overage is deducted from the common pool sub-Annual Catch Limit for that stock in the following fishing year.

Current Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area Status

Effective at 0001 hours on January 1, 2024, the Gulf of Maine Cod Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area is closed to common pool vessels fishing with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, and longline/hook gear, through April 30, 2024. 

For Seasonal and Year-Round Groundfish Closure Areas, please consult the Northeast Multispecies Closed Area Regulations page.

Day-at-Sea Types and Allocation 

The Northeast multispecies Days-at-Sea allocation for each groundfish vessel/permit participating in the common pool during a particular fishing year are currently distributed as detailed below. 

Category A Days-at-Sea

Category A Days-at-Sea may be used to fish for any regulated Northeast multispecies and are defined as 27.5 percent of the used Days-at-Sea baseline allocation.

Category B Days-at-Sea

Category B Regular Days-at-Sea may only be used in approved special management programs (i.e., U.S./Canada Management Area, any of the approved Special Access Programs (SAPs), or Regular B Days-at-Sea Program) and are defined as 36.25 percent of the used Days-at-Sea baseline allocation.

The Regular B Days-at-Sea Program allows any eligible common pool vessel to harvest certain healthy groundfish stocks under a Northeast multispecies Regular B Days-at-Sea while minimizing bycatch of less healthy groundfish stocks. 

Category B Reserve Days-at-Sea

Category B Reserve Days-at-Sea may only be used in approved special management programs (i.e., U.S./Canada Management Area or any of the approved Special Access Programs (SAPs)) and are defined as 36.25 percent of the used Days-at-Sea baseline allocation.

Category C Days-at-Sea

Category C Days-at-Sea are reserved and may not be fished at this time. They are defined as the difference between a vessel’s used DAS baseline and the number of DAS allocated to the vessel as of May 1, 2001.

Example: A vessel with an used Days-at-Sea baseline allocation of 88 Days-at-Sea will be allocated 24.2 Category A Days-at-Sea, 31.9 Category B Regular Days-at-Sea, and 31.9 Category B Reserve Days-at-Sea. 

Days-at-Sea Counting Rate

All Northeast multispecies Days-at-Sea used by a vessel fishing in the common pool are charged in 24-hour increments, based upon the time called into the Days-at-Sea program via vessel monitoring system (VMS) or the interactive voice response (IVR) system.

Example: A vessel that fishes seaward of the VMS demarcation line or called into the IVR system for 10 hours would be charged 24 hours of groundfish Days-at-Sea usage; a vessel that fishes 25 hours would be charged 48 hours of groundfish Days-at-Sea usage.

Days-at-Sea Leasing

The Days-at-Sea Leasing Program allows the temporary transfer of Days-at-Sea between two limited access Northeast multispecies Days-at-Sea vessels. Leased Days-at-Sea may only be used in the fishing year in which the lease occurs; no carry-over of leased Days-at-Sea is allowed. Only Northeast multispecies Category A Days-at-Sea may be leased. For more information, see the Northeast Multispecies Days-At-Sea Leasing Program page.

Days-at-Sea Transfers

The Days-at-Sea Transfer Program allows the permanent transfer and consolidation of Days-at-Sea between two limited access Northeast multispecies Days-at-Sea vessels. Unlike leasing, transferred Days-at-Sea are permanent and do not expire at the end of the fishing year. Only Northeast multispecies Days-at-Sea may be transferred and combined. For more information, see the Northeast Multispecies Days-At-Sea Transfer Program page.