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Unofficial, as of the moment, but IMHO its good to go. Remember that this is the recommendation to the council and until they decide (most likely next Tuesday) nothing is "official."
Recreational Advisory Panel (RAP) Meeting
Danvers, MA
January 22, 2015
DRAFT MOTIONS AND CONSENSUS STATEMENTS
Motion 1: Bellavance/Tower
The RAP recommends that the outreach component to recreational anglers regarding changes to the Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod and haddock management measures, currently underway by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, continue and its impact on reducing non-compliance be considered when predicting recreational catches for FY 2015.
The motion passed by consensus without objection.
Motion 2: Paquette/Plaia
For the purposes of reducing discard mortality on GOM cod and haddock, the RAP recommends prohibiting the use of more than two hooks per line while fishing for groundfish in the GOM. Only inline circle hooks may be baited. When using a jig or artificial lure, only single point j-hooks may be used (e.g., no treble hooks). Teasers, feathers, flies etc. may be used but count toward the use of no more than two hooks per line.
The motion passed by a show of hands (12/0/0).
RAP Consensus Statements:
1) The RAP feels that directed GOM angler trips will decline substantially in FY 2015 under no possession for GOM cod and the anticipated low bag limit for GOM haddock for the recreational fishery. The RAP feels that the change in effort between FY 2014 and FY 2015 would be at least a 50% decline. Data provided in Table 12 (Document # 4b, NEFSC/SSB, Recreational Catch and Effort Tables, dated January 14, 2015) supports this concern as declines in effort between FY 2013 to FY 2014 from the GOM cod and GOM haddock wave 5 (September 1 to October 31) closure were estimated to be a 85% decline overall.
2) The RAP feels that under no possession of GOM cod that party, charter, and private vessels will be much less likely to fish in areas known to have aggregations of cod and less likely to use equipment to target cod. The ability of anglers to avoid cod is not taken into account in FY 2015 recreational catch projections. Therefore, the RAP feels that cod bycatch would be greatly reduced from what is projected for FY 2015.
3) Recreational discards were not considered in the allocation of GOM cod and haddock. Discard mortality estimates are being used in recreational catch projections to determine potential accountability measures (AMs). The RAP recommends that this concern be considered when implementing AMs.
Motion 3: Sterritt/DePersia
In light of no possession on cod and expected declines in effort (including consideration of Motions 1 and 2 and the above consensus statements), the RAP recommends that proactive AMs for GOM haddock in FY 2015 be a bag limit of at least 4 fish, a 17 inch minimum fish size, and closed seasons during wave 2 (March 1 to April 30) and wave 5 (September 1 to October 31).
The motion passed by a show of hands (11/1/0).
Motion 4: DePersia/Colby
The RAP recommends exploration of conservation equivalent proactive AMs to separate party/charter from the private modes in FY 2015 (e.g., Letter of Authorization (LOA) for charter boats to have a reduced season in exchange for an increased bag limit).
The motion passed by a show of hands (6/5/1).
Motion 5: DePersia\Twombly
The RAP requests that limited access in the party/charter fleet be addressed in the next available Groundfish action.
The motion passed by a show of hands (9/3/0).
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