Greetings all, several items:

The Council has decided to move forward with a Squid (both longfin/Loligo and Illex) Latent Capacity Amendment. Recall NMFS published new control dates at Council request for both in 2013 - May 16, 2013 for longfin and August 2, 2013 for Illex. The first step in a likely multi-year process will be scoping meetings and a comment period (in a few months) to help establish the range of issues that will be considered in the amendment. More to come later on this...

The Council continues to move forward with developing policy options for management of forage species, which would likely include the four MSB species. The Council also voted to begin an action to prohibit new/expanded fisheries on currently un-managed forage stocks. Details are available at http://www.mafmc.org/newsfeed/2014/mid-atlantic-council-initiates-action-to-protect-unmanaged-forage-species

There are still additional New England Omnibus Habitat Amendment hearings scheduled before the comment period for that action ends on January 8, 2015. Details are available at
http://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/revhabpublichearing_notice.pdf.

I know quite a few people on this list have been to MREP workshops, but please consider if there are folks you know who these could be useful for. The Marine Resource Education Program (MREP) is organized by fishermen, for fishermen and other marine resource professionals. The curriculum is focused on fishery science and management systems unique to the Greater Atlantic Region, preparing participants to be effective contributors to the fishery management process. Expenses are covered for fishermen attending the workshops. The next workshops will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Warwick, RI:
MREP 100 Fishery Science, January 13-15, 2015; MREP 100 Fishery Management, March 10-12, 2015
To register for the program please go online www.gmri.org/MREP-NEapply or contact Patty Collins at (207)-228-1625.

Please see the following link for information regarding the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) 2015 request for proposals for the Fisheries Innovation Fund. The pre-proposal due date is December 19, 2014 - http://nfwf.org/fisheriesfund/Pages/home.aspx#.VIyXUXunQUM for details.

Development of the Joint (NE & MA) Omnibus Industry Funding Amendment Continues. The Mid-Atlantic Council will likely review alternatives at its February meeting, but several New England Committees are also having relevant meetings in the interim. You can keep track of developments at http://www.mafmc.org/actions/observer-funding-omnibus.

The River Herring Technical Expert Working Group (TEWG) continues to work on various river herring issues - see http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/protected/riverherring/tewg/index.html for details.

All for now, thanks!
Jason

Jason Didden
Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Plan Coordinator
jdidden@mafmc.org
www.mafmc.org
(302) 526-5254 (direct)
(302) 397-1131 (cell)
(302) 674-5399 (fax)