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2023 DMF Advisories

DMF Advisories provide official announcements of updates to permits, public hearings, opening & closing of fishing seasons, and other important news.

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December

12/04/23: DMF Suspends Operations at Newburyport Shellfish Depuration Plan 

November

Open PDF file, 233.54 KB,  11/27/23: 2024 Commercial Summer Flounder Period I Trip Limit Reduced to 5,000 Pounds (English, PDF 233.54 KB)
Open PDF file, 234.47 KB,  11/15/23: Shellfish Advisory Panel Scheduled to Meet Virtually on November 20 (English, PDF 234.47 KB)
Open PDF file, 242.14 KB,  11/9/23: ASMFC Public Hearings on Striped Bass Draft Addendum II (English, PDF 242.14 KB)
Open PDF file, 306.83 KB,  11/6/23: 2023 Commercial Atlantic Sea Herring Fishery in Management Area 1A to Close (English, PDF 306.83 KB)

October

Open PDF file, 230.75 KB,  10/26/23: Public Comment Sought on In-Season Adjustment to Decrease Period I Summer Flounder Limit for 2024 (English, PDF 230.75 KB)
Open PDF file, 256.75 KB,  10/23/23: Mid-Atlantic Council Seeks Public Input on Summer Flounder Mesh Regulations and Exemptions (English, PDF 256.75 KB)
Open PDF file, 740.33 KB,  10/20/23: BOEM Announces Gulf of Maine Draft Wind Energy Area Meetings For Fishing Community (English, PDF 740.33 KB)
10/20/23: MAFMC Webinar on Mesh Size Regulations and Exemptions 
10/6/23: Upper Cape Cod Bay Whiting Area and Fixed Gear Free Zone 
10/5/23: Reminder on Commercial Summer Flounder Limits for Fall Permit 
10/12/23: 2023 Commercial Tautog Fishery to Close for October 14 

September

Open PDF file, 316.76 KB,  9/15/23: Atlantic Herring Spawning Closures in Effect Starting September 23, 2023 & Days Out Measures for Season 2 of the 2023 Atlantic Herring Area 1A Fishery (English, PDF 316.76 KB)
09/13/23: Updated Recreational Cod and Haddock Limits 
Open PDF file, 220.46 KB,  9/11/23: Commercial Scup Possession Limit for Winter Periods (English, PDF 220.46 KB)
09/08/23: Commercial Black Sea Bass Fishery to Close September 13 

August

Open PDF file, 292.01 KB,  8/25/23: Commercial Atlantic Sea Herring Fishery in Management Area 1A to Close at 12:01AM on Saturday, August 26th (English, PDF 292.01 KB)
Open PDF file, 231.22 KB,  8/24/23: Public Comment Sought on In-Season Adjustment to Commercial Menhaden Trip Limit Triggers for 2023 (English, PDF 231.22 KB)
Open PDF file, 222.88 KB,  8/23/23: Atlantic Sea Herring Management, Eastern Maine Spawning Closure and Days Out Meeting Notice (English, PDF 222.88 KB)
Open PDF file, 243.31 KB,  8/21/23: DMF’s Annual Fall Trawl Survey to Begin September 5th, 2023 (English, PDF 243.31 KB)
08/11/2023: Update on Recreational Cod and Haddock Limits 
08/11/23: 2023 Commercial Striped Bass Fishery is Closed 
Open PDF file, 413.69 KB,  8/11/23: Notice to Lobster Trap Fishermen and Other Interested Parties: Seasonally Recurring Low Oxygen Zones Detected in Cape Cod Bay (English, PDF 413.69 KB)
08/04/23: Horseshoe Crab Bait Fishery to Close on August 7 

July

Open PDF file, 228.67 KB,  07/31/23: DMF’s On-Demand Fishing Gear Economic Modeling Report Released (English, PDF 228.67 KB)
7/27/23: NOAA Fisheries Recognizes DMF for Right Whale Conservation 
Open PDF file, 219.03 KB,  07/13/23: BOEM Schedules In-Person Informational Meetings on Offshore Wind in the Gulf of Maine (English, PDF 219.03 KB)
07/10/23: New Rules and In-Season Adjustment Affecting Horseshoe Crab Fishery 
7/10/23: New Rules and In-Season Adjustment Affecting Commercial Summer Flounder Fishery 
7/10/23: In-Season Adjustment to Increase Smooth Dogfish Trip Limits 

June

Open PDF file, 118.92 KB,  06/29/23: Reminder: Commercial Striped Bass Fishery Closed on July 3rd and July 4th (English, PDF 118.92 KB)
Open PDF file, 229.56 KB,  6/29/23: Public Comment Sought on In-Season Adjustment to Commercial Summer Flounder Trip Limits for 2023 (English, PDF 229.56 KB)
Open PDF file, 118.89 KB,  6/26/23: Public Comment Sought on In-Season Adjustment to Commercial Smooth Dogfish Limit for 2023 (English, PDF 118.89 KB)
Open PDF file, 165.55 KB,  6/16/23: Public Comment Sought on In-Season Adjustment to Commercial Horseshoe Crab Bait Harvest Limits for 2023 (English, PDF 165.55 KB)
Open PDF file, 244.62 KB,  6/9/23: Commercial Striped Bass Fishery to Open June 19 (English, PDF 244.62 KB)
06/08/2023: State Waters Small Mesh Trawl Fishery for Squid to Close 

May

05/24/23: Striped Bass Regulation Change Effective Friday, May 26 
05/22/23: New Rules Affecting Commercial Menhaden Fishery for 2023 
05/22/23: MFAC Approves New Rules for Commercial Summer Flounder Fishery 
05/07/2023: Area 1A (Gloucester/Rockport) Closed to Mobile Gear 
Open PDF file, 137.98 KB,  05/07/23: Commercial Trap Gear Fishery to Open and Small Vessel Speed Limit Lifted Effective Monday, May 8th (English, PDF 137.98 KB)
5/4/23: ASMFC Takes Emergency Action to Support Stock Rebuilding for Striped Bass 
Open PDF file, 122.02 KB,  05/03/23: Annual Spring Trawl Survey to Begin May 8, 2023 (English, PDF 122.02 KB)
Open PDF file, 315.39 KB,  5/2/2023: Atlantic Sea Herring Area 1A Effort Controls for 2023 and Reminder of Category C/D Declaration Deadline (English, PDF 315.39 KB)

April

Open PDF file, 367.94 KB,  04/28/23: DMF Monitoring Presence of Right Whales in Coastal Waters (English, PDF 367.94 KB)
Open PDF file, 226.96 KB,  04/28/23: DMF Extends Small Vessel Speed Restriction for Cape Cod Bay to Protect Right Whales (English, PDF 226.96 KB)
Open PDF file, 238.27 KB,  4/28/23: Update on Recreational Black Sea Bass and Scup Limits for 2023 (English, PDF 238.27 KB)
Open PDF file, 253.38 KB,  4/27/23: Update on Recreational Cod and Haddock Measures – Federally Proposed Measures and Comment Period Ongoing through May 3rd (English, PDF 253.38 KB)
04/05/23: Deadline to Declare into Area 1 Sea Herring Fishery and Upcoming ASMFC Effort Control Meeting 

March

Open PDF file, 446.34 KB,  3/28/23: 2023 Horseshoe Crab Lunar Spawning Closure Dates (English, PDF 446.34 KB)
3/24/23: Expected 2023 Recreational Black Sea Bass and Scup Measures 
Open PDF file, 340.75 KB,  3/23/23: Reminder, Seasonal Small Vessel Speed Limit in Cape Cod Bay (English, PDF 340.75 KB)
Open PDF file, 417.63 KB,  03/15/23: In-Person ASMFC Public Hearing on American Lobster Draft Addendum XXVII Added (English, PDF 417.63 KB)
Open PDF file, 415.1 KB,  03/08/23: ASMFC Public Hearing on American Lobster Draft Addendum XXVII (English, PDF 415.1 KB)

February

Open PDF file, 284.31 KB,  2/28/23: Public Scoping on 2023 Recreational Scup and Black Sea Bass Measures (English, PDF 284.31 KB)
Open PDF file, 244.8 KB,  02/27/23: Weather Related Closures to DMF Offices & Commercial Permit Renewal Deadline Extended to Thursday, March 2nd (English, PDF 244.8 KB)
02/24/23: Shellfish Advisory Panel to Meet on March 2 
02/01/23: Reminder - Lobster Bycatch Rules in Offshore Trawl Fisheries 

January

1/31/22: Reminder to Trap Fishers on State and Federal Closures to Protect Right Whales 
Open PDF file, 242.88 KB,  01/19/23: Early Aggregations of Surface Feeding Right Whales in Cape Cod Bay (English, PDF 242.88 KB)
1/11/23: DMF Establishes New Atlantic Mackerel Permit Requirement and Fishing Limit 
1/11/23: DMF Adopts New Commercial Fishing Regulations Affecting Mobile Gear, Whelk, and Trap Fishing  
1/10/23: Important Updates for Commercial Lobster Permit Holders 
1/9/23: DMF Adopts New Recreational Fishing Regulations Affecting Tautog and Lobster Traps 
1/9/23: Reminder DMF to Host Stakeholder Meeting on Commercial Menhaden Management 
1/6/23: DMF to Hold Virtual Scoping Meeting with Shellfish Dealers on Expanding Bulk Tagging Allowances for Harvesters 

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