Monkfish Plan Overview
During the early 1990s fishermen and dealers in the monkfish fishery addressed both the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils with concerns about the increasing amount of small fish being landed, more gear conflicts between monkfish vessels and those in other fisheries, and an expanding directed trawl fishery. In response, the Councils developed a joint fishery management plan that took effect in November 1999. The FMP was designed to stop overfishing and rebuild the stocks through a number of measures, including limiting the number of vessels with access to the fishery, allocating days-at-sea to those vessels, and setting trip limits. Today, the monkfish resource is neither overfished nor has overfishing occurring.Related News, Press Releases, and Announcements
- Council Receives Skate, Whiting, and Monkfish Monitoring Reports, Discusses Path Forward; Reviews Monkfish RSA Status
- Council Takes Final Action on Joint Monkfish/Dogfish/Sturgeon Framework; Posts 2024 Monkfish RSA Project Summaries
- Council Receives Update on Joint Action to Reduce Sturgeon Bycatch in Monkfish and Spiny Dogfish Gillnet Fisheries
- Council Seeks Applicants to Fill 2024-2025 Advisory Panel Seats for Whiting, Skates, Monkfish, GAP/RAP, Herring, and Scallops
- Council Approves Monkfish RSA Working Group Final Report and Range of Monkfish/Spiny Dogfish Alternatives for Sturgeon
- Monkfish Research Set-Aside Program Supports Two 2023-2024 Projects; Both Address a Top Research Priority
- April 2023 Council Meeting Highlights: Monkfish, Skates, EBFM, Sturgeon, Gear Conflict Working Group, Risk Policy, and More
- Monkfish: Council Takes Final Action on Fishing Year 2023-2025 Specifications and Measures; Revises Research Set-Aside Priorities
- Council Receives Final Monkfish Fishery Performance Report and Framework 13 Update; Hears Skate Monitoring Report Recap
- Council Seeks Applicants for All 2023-2025 Advisory Panels; Wide Range of Monkfish, Groundfish, Rec Fishermen Needed
- Monkfish: Council Initiates Framework 13 with Fishing Year 2023-2025 Specifications and Other Management Measures
- Monkfish: Council Receives Report on Estimating Discards for TAL Calculations; Directs Committee to Consider Next Steps
- 2020-2021 Monkfish Research Set-Aside Program Supports Novel Tagging, Image Analysis Projects
- Monkfish: Council Approves 2020-2022 Fishery Specifications
- 2020-2021 Monkfish RSA Competition Underway; September 29, 2019 Deadline for Project Proposals
- New England Joins Mid-Atlantic to Require eVTRs for Vessels with Federal Commercial Permits for Council-Managed Species
- NEFMC Seeks Applicants for Fishery Advisory Panels
- Council Initiates Monkfish and Skate Specifications; Approves Monkfish RSA Priorities; Discusses Skate Limited Access Steps
- Council Hosts Offshore Wind Special Session; Discusses EBFM, Commercial eVTRs, and RSA Program Review
- Council Seeks Input From Fishermen and Research Partners on RSA Programs; Take the Online Survey!
- 2018-2019 Monkfish RSA Awards Aim to Improve Species Biology and Reduce Skate Bycatch
- Monkfish RSA Program: 2018-2019 Research Proposals Wanted; Applications Due by December 21, 2017
- NEFMC Adopts Monkfish RSA Priorities; Shelves Amendment 6
- Monkfish Specifications Expected to Rise in FY 2017-2019
- Committee to Continue Working on Three-Year Monkfish Specs
Upcoming Meetings
Past Meetings
Plan Amendments, Frameworks, and Specifications
Plan Amendments
June 25, 2021
This Amendment is part of the Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment.
June 30, 2015
This action establishes standards of precision for bycatch estimation for all Northeast Region fisheries.
December 1, 2010
Amendment 6 to the Monkfish FMP was initiated so that the Councils could consider developing a catch share program for this fishery and modify the Day-At-Sea system. Scoping occurred from December 2010 to February 2011. The Councils were developing alternatives through 2014 but decided to withdraw this amendment.
March 25, 2011
Amendment 5 to brings the FMP into compliance with the annual catch limit (ACL) and accountability measure (AM) requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). This rule establishes the mechanisms for specifying ACLs and AMs and sets the annual catch target (ACT) and associated measures for days-at-sea (DAS) and trip limits for the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA). NMFS disapproved the proposed ACT, and associated measures, for the Northern Fishery Management Area (NFMA) on the grounds that they are not consistent with the most recent scientific advice. This final rule implements three additional Amendment 5 management measures to promote efficiency and reduce waste, brings the biological and management reference points in the Monkfish FMP into compliance with recently revised National Standard 1 (NS1) Guidelines, and makes one correction to the monkfish weight conversion factors.
April 9, 2018
This action implements approved regulations for the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2.
February 27, 2008
The measures include: Bycatch reporting and monitoring mechanisms; analytical techniques and allocation of at-sea fisheries observers; an SBRM performance standard; a review and reporting process; framework adjustment and annual specifications provisions; a prioritization process; and provisions for industry-funded observers and observer set-aside programs
May 1, 2005
Amendment 2 was developed to address essential fish habitat (EFH) and bycatch issues, and to revise the FMP to address several issues raised during the public scoping process.
April 21, 1999
Omnibus Habitat Amendment 1 (OHA1) was prepared by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) to implement the essential fish habitat (EFH) provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act as reauthorized in 1996.
Framework Adjustments/Specifications
June 27, 2024
UPDATE: On June 27, 2024, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to “discontinue development” of the Northern Edge framework, citing the following rationale.
December 18, 2024
This joint framework action, which is being developed in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, would establish measures to reduce bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in the monkfish and spiny dogfish large-mesh gillnet fisheries.
February 5, 2024
This omnibus action establishes a new Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) in Southern New England through framework adjustments to the groundfish, scallop, monkfish, skate, and Atlantic herring plans.
August 11, 2023
This action contains monkfish specifications for fishing years 2023-2025 and other management measures.
September 17, 2020
This action contains monkfish specifications for fishing years 2020-2022.
May 19, 2020
Omnibus Clam Dredge Framework
May 5, 2017
This action sets monkfish specifications for fishing years 2017–2019 (May 1, 2017 through April 30, 2020). It also increases current days-at-sea allocations and trip limits. This action is intended to allow the fishery to more effectively harvest its optimum yield.
February 26, 2016
This action is necessary to better achieve the goals and objectives of the management plan and achieve optimum yield. It is intended to increase monkfish landings by enhancing the operational and economic efficiency of existing management measures.
July 18, 2014
This action increases monkfish day-at sea allocations and landing limits, allows vessels issued a limited access monkfish Category H permit to fish throughout the Southern Fishery Management Area, and enables vessels to use an allocated monkfish-only day at-sea at any time throughout the fishing year.
October 26, 2011
Framework Adjustment 7 developed to adjust the annual catch target for the Northern Fishery Management Area to be consistent with the most recent scientific advice regarding the acceptable biological catch for monkfish.
October 10, 2008
This action eliminates the backstop provision adopted in Framework Adjustment 4 (Framework 4) to the FMP, which was implemented in October 2007.
May 1, 2008
This action approves and implements revised biological reference points in the FMP to be consistent with the recommendations resulting from the most recent stock assessment for this fishery (Northeast Data Poor Stocks Working Group (DPWG, July 2007)), and approves and implements revised management measures to ensure that the monkfish management program succeeds in keeping landings within the target total allowable catch (TAC) levels.
October 22, 2007
This framework eliminates the control rule for determining management measures established by Framework Adjustment 2 to the FMP, and establishes target total allowable catch (TAC) levels, trip limits, and days-at-sea (DAS) allocations for the final 3 years of the monkfish rebuilding plan.
November 22, 2006
FW 42, is a biennial adjustment to the NE Multispecies FMP that sets forth a rebuilding program for Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder and modifies NE multispecies fishery management measures to reduce fishing mortality rates (F) on six other groundfish stocks in order to maintain compliance with the rebuilding programs of the FMP.
May 7, 2004
NMFS implements measures to establish target total allowable catch (TAC) levels for the monkfish fishery for the 2004 fishing year (FY), and adjust trip limits and days-at-sea (DAS) for limited access monkfish vessels fishing in the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA) based upon the target TAC setting and trip limit and DAS adjustment methods established in Framework Adjustment 2 (Framework 2) to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP).
June 18, 1999
NMFS notifies the public that it has disapproved proposed Framework 1 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). NMFS is issuing this emergency interim rule to amend temporarily the monkfish fishing mortality rate (F) criteria in the FMP to be consistent with those recommended by the most recent stock assessment (SAW 34; January 2002). This emergency rule also implements the management measures that were proposed in Framework 1 to the FMP because, with the amendment of the F criteria in the FMP, these measures are consistent with the best available scientific information. The intended effect of this rule is to suspend temporarily the restrictive Year 4 default management measures that became effective May 1, 2002, and to implement management measures for the monkfish fishery based on the best scientific information.