Mr. Colvin distributed a press release regarding a workshop on NMFS’s research set-aside program to be held on 05 October 2004 at the Holiday Inn by MacArthur Airport during a meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC).  DEC receives many phone calls about the research set-aside program, which is an effort by the MAFMC to develop an innovative and attractive mechanism to get funding for conducting cooperative research projects with the fishing industry in the Mid-Atlantic region.  It derives somewhat from a cooperative fisheries research program in New England, which was a joint venture of the New England Fishery Management Council, NMFS and a variety of industry organizations.  The New England program was prompted by the crisis in the groundfish fishery and involved the direct appropriation by Congress of millions of dollars for cooperative research with the industry.  The research program was actually built into Amendment 13 of the groundfish fishery management plan, where a fisherman’s allowable  “days at sea” could be increased by days associated with a research project approved under this program.  The mid-Atlantic region has not received any Congressional funding for a similar program, and, as an alternative, some people in the Mid-Atlantic fishing industry suggested the set-aside program.

Mr. Colvin described how the research set-aside program works.  For several species for which there are annual commercial harvest quotas (e.g., fluke, squid, scup, seabass, bluefish, tilefish.), every year, at the MAFMC’s recommendation, up to 3% is taken off the top of the commercial quota and set aside and not made available for harvest.  Instead, that quota is used in cooperative research projects involving commercial fishermen who can harvest, land, and sell the quota to provide a source of funds to support the associated research.  The research projects are selected on the basis of a competitive Request For Proposal (RFP) process.  NOAA administers the research set-aside program as a grant program.  Mr. Colvin handed out a project status report for each of the research set-aside projects now underway.  He encouraged everyone to attend the October 5th workshop for a more thorough explanation of the individual programs.

 

Page last modified Tuesday, November 16, 2004 by George E. Carroll