Stakeholder Engagement on a Strawman Proposal for Party/Charter Limited Entry
The New England Fishery Management Council has contracted with Tidal Bay Consulting (TBC) to develop a strawman proposal for a limited entry program in the recreational Northeast multispecies (groundfish) party/charter fishery. TBC has solicited feedback from the Council’s Recreational Advisory Panel (RAP) and the recreational fishing community.
The purpose of this webpage is to: 1) announce the development of a strawman for a limited entry program for party/charter vessels participating in the recreational groundfish fishery, 2) solicit feedback from stakeholders on a draft template, and 3) share results.
The limited entry template is based on public comments received at recreational listening sessions held by the Council in April and May of 2019, and input from the RAP and Groundfish Committee. This background document on the recreational groundfish fishery includes information on actions leading up to this initiative, data on recent trends in the party/charter fishery, the limited entry template (Appendix 2), and details on participating in this process.
Public comments and feedback on the template were accepted from October 5- 28, 2020. The three options to provide feedback are described below. TBC utilized stakeholder input from two of these methods to develop a strawman proposal for a limited entry program in the groundfish party/charter fishery. The strawman proposal and summaries of stakeholder feedback are included in this report.
TBC presented a summary of this process and the strawman proposal to the RAP and Groundfish Committee on January 20 and 26, respectively. Ultimately the Council will decide whether or not to initiate a regulatory action to develop a limited entry program during the April 2021 meeting. For more information, visit the Council’s website: https://www.nefmc.org/library/party-charter-limited-entry-program-strawman
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Attend a Public Meeting
The New England Fishery Management Council hosted a public meeting on October 5, 2020 from 4-6:00 PM. To view the meeting notice, visit the Council’s website. Click here to download the presentation. The meeting summary is included in Appendix II of the report.
Photo courtesy of @campaign_creators
Provide Feedback Online
The online feedback tool is now closed. Thank you to the stakeholders who participated. We received 74 responses, which are summarized in Appendix I of the report.
Photo courtesy of @cwmonty
Host a Meeting for your Community
Industry associations or community organizers had the opportunity to request webinars specifically for their members and community.