MAFMC Squid Mackerel Butterfish Notice to Interested Parties from Jason Didden 8/23/11

Greetings All,

-Loligo - The directed fishery was closed as of Aug 23 until Sept 1 - Loligo catches were apparently pretty good this summer.  While NMFS had to close the fishery even though there was only a week left, the Monitoring Committee will probably investigate if some flexibility can be built-in to avoid such short closures in the future (looking at 2013 at this point probably).

-Illex - Some folks have been wondering about the Illex fishery's offshore exemption from the Loligo minimum mesh in terms of keeping Loligo caught incidentally (when Loligo is open) - the regs and relevant coordinates may be found here: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=e2a0b289185da64dca7df80f13c8e335&rgn=div6&view=text&node=50:8.0.1.1.6.2&idno=50  a little more than ½ way down the page.  You may need to copy and paste the full link instead of just clicking on it.

-Mackerel/Am 11 (Mackerel Limited Access, Mackerel Rec/Com Allocation, EFH Updates) - Comment period closes Sept 15:http://www.mafmc.org/fmp/msb_files/msbAm11.htm

-Mackerel/Am 14 - FMAT analysis is ongoing. http://www.mafmc.org/fmp/msb_files/msbAm14current.htm (any relevant Am 14 news will be posted at this page)

-2012 MSB Specifications have been submitted for NMFS' review: http://www.mafmc.org/fmp/msb_files/msbSpecs2012.htm.  A proposed rule should get published in early-mid fall.

-Today's earthquake was interesting.wouldn't want a 6.9 that would be ten times stronger than today's 5.9!  We briefly left the Council offices (2nd story in a 4 story building - more "shifting" than "shaking" but still quite noticeable.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/se082311a.php

-Good luck & be safe to all RE: Hurricane Irene.current track still looks troubling. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml  (Click on "Irene")

Take care,
Jason

CCE Research Team Gears up for First Fishing Trip for Drop Chain Project

The CCE Fisheries Team is getting ready to conduct their first research trips for the 12" drop chain project.  Four days of fishing will be conducted out of Rhode Island aboard the F/V Sea BReeze II and F/V Elizabeth Helen from June 25-27th. We hope fishing is good and we collect some valuable data to determine if the 12" drop chain sweep with 24" headrope adjustment is an effective method for reducing winter flounder retention while having  minimal effect on the squid catch. 

Reaching out to create a network

We live in a time when technology is so advanced and there are so many great applications for us to take advantage of and apply to our everyday life. I would like to say that I have tried to embrace the latest technology out there and apply it to what we do here at CCE Marine Program. As I learn more about the technology, I get more excited at the possibilities for it's uses. CCE Marine is presenting this website as one such use.  Our hopes are to make it simple for you to use, to share your thoughts and expertise on this fishery and the research that is taking place in the Northeast. We would also like to know what you would like to see here, on this network, so sign up! let us know who you are and where you are. Comment on our blogs and videos, share us to other people interested in seeing this fishery grow and improve. Start a discussion on our discussion page, get a thread going on a certain topic. On behalf of the dedicated staff of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County Marine Program I would like to thank you in advance for your commitment to this new and exciting project.

Rory

PS Watch this video report on our research:

Loligo Squid project - Video Report from Cornell Extension Marine Program on Vimeo.

Moving forward on the Squid Trawl Network

Hey guys, it's been a few days and the website is coming along. lots of work compiling the information we have on our projects. The team is feverishly working on grant proposals to meet deadlines. After this month of developing the site and coming up with different ideas for it, we will start uploading more content for you to view and contribute or comment on. We will start to announce what grants we have for the year and what we will be working on, probably on a weekly basis. Once we are in full swing our posts will start to get more active. My part is keeping the network active, coordinating the team on getting the information out to you and making sure they have cameras on board and someone is documenting the trips and projects. I will also be creating video content and posting those videos here on the site and in our blogs. If you blog or write about what you do we would like to link to your blog or URL. Remember this is designed to be a network and a place we all can come to to share our findings and data. I hope as time passes you start to get excited about the network and can use it to yours and our benefit.

Rory

Welcome to CCE Marine Program's Squid Trawl Network

This site is designed to allow comprehensive data sharing and collaborative discussions on the development of the advancement of the squid fisheries. To bring value of project to fishery conservation and management. We encourage our colleagues to post comments, studies, data and as much information to help share information to other user groups to use to benefit the industry.