NEW BEDFORD— A local fisheries scientist Friday described the transfer of a large amount of yellowtail flounder quota from the scallop fleet to groundfishermen as essentially a makeup call.
Steve Cadrin of UMass Dartmouth's School for Marine Science and Technology and a member of the New England Fishery Management Council's science and statistical committee explained that the problem was that yellowtail allocation for scallopers was based on a 2010 stock assessment.
"The 2011 assessment was much more pessimistic and the 2012 catch limits were based on that. But the council didn't revise the estimates for the scallop fleet," he said.
In the wake of the council's transfer of yellowtail allotment from scallopers to groundfishermen, now the numbers are more appropriate, Cadrin said.
The yellowtail allocation is divided annually between the two fisheries. This year, the scallop fishery's share was increased by 53 percent to approximately 679,024 pounds while the groundfish industry was reduced by roughly 480,608 pounds, an 80 percent cut. Yet, scallop boats caught only 31 percent of their assigned yellowtail quota last year.
The council action now gives groundfishermen 811,440 pounds of yellowtail while reducing the scallopers' quota to 346,185 pounds.
Knute Aarsheim, who owns two scallop boats, welcomed the decision. "It's a sensible idea," he said. "It won't hurt the scallopers and it will allow these other guys to go fishing and stay afloat. This is a move in the right direction."
"It's great that groundfishermen and scallopers are collaborating on a solution that will keep both of them fishing," said Laura Foley Ramsden, a council member and co-owner of Foley Fish in New Bedford. From her perspective as a fish processor the quota increase is good news, she said.
"Yellowtail is one of the flounders we sell on a regular basis and it's a great eating fish. It's definitely an important resource for us," she said.
However, this decision represents a short term solution, Foley Ramsden said.
"We need to do a better job of assessing the health of the stocks. Right now the trawl surveys are not using the right gear and we need to put money aside to do a survey specifically targeting yellowtail."
Cadrin also cautioned that the transfer is only an interim solution. "The 2012 yellowtail stock assessment is due out next week and if the reports now circulating are correct, it is even more bleak than the 2011 assessment," he said.
The National Marine Fisheries Service now has to formally endorse the council decision. The exact timing has yet to be determined, according to Maggie Mooney-Seus, a communications officer with NOAA Fisheries Service.
The Environmental Defense said it was not ready to comment on the decision at press time on Friday and the Nature Conservancy did not respond to a request from The Standard-Times for comment.