Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan DRAFT Affected Environment for 2022 – 2023 Specifications And Amendment 8 DRAFT for May 2021 AP and Committee meetings Prepared by the New England Fishery Management Council In consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service Skate Affected Environment - draft 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT ...................................... 5 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Target Species (Northeast Skate Complex) .................................................................................. 5 1.2.1 Species Distribution ................................................................................................................ 5 1.2.2 Stock Status ............................................................................................................................. 5 1.2.3 Thorny Skate Rebuilding Plan ................................................................................................ 8 1.2.4 Uncertainty Buffer .................................................................................................................. 9 1.2.5 Biological and Life History Characteristics ............................................................................ 9 1.2.6 Discards ................................................................................................................................. 10 1.3 Non-target Species (Bycatch) ..................................................................................................... 13 1.4 Protected Species ........................................................................................................................ 14 1.5 Physical Environment and Essential Fish Habitat ...................................................................... 14 1.5.1 Physical Environment ........................................................................................................... 14 1.5.2 Essential Fish Habitat ............................................................................................................ 14 1.6 Human Communities .................................................................................................................. 15 1.6.1 Commercial Skate Fishery .................................................................................................... 15 1.6.2 Recreational Skate Landings ................................................................................................. 42 1.6.3 Other Managed Resources and Fisheries .............................................................................. 42 1.6.4 Fishing Communities ............................................................................................................ 45 Table of Tables Table 8. Recent survey indices, survey strata used and biomass reference points of skate species. ............ 7 Table 9. Assumed and estimated discard mortality rates of the seven skate species by gear type. ............ 11 Table 10. Discards (mt) of skates (all species) by gear type from all areas combined, calendar year 1964 – 2018. ..................................................................................................................................................... 12 Table 11. Landings, and total and dead discards of skates (all species) for all gear types, calendar year 1968 – 2018. ......................................................................................................................................... 13 Table 12. Federal fishing permits with and without Federal skate permit (endorsements) and relative skate fishery participation, FY 2003-2019. ................................................................................................... 18 Table 13. Number of active non-bait (wing) vessels by gear type for all non-bait (wing) landings and for non-bait (wing) landings over 1,135 lb whole weight at least once during the fishing year, FY 2003- 2019. ..................................................................................................................................................... 19 Table 14. Federal fishing permits landing skate, FY 2003-2019. ............................................................... 22 Table 15. Federal skate permit entry and exit trends, FY 2003-2019. ........................................................ 23 Skate Affected Environment - draft 2 Table 16. Trends in Federal fishing permits with and without Federal endorsements activity in the skate fishery, FY 2003-2019. ........................................................................................................................ 24 Table 17. Number of skate trips by disposition and gear, FY2018. ............................................................ 26 Table 18. FY 2017 - 2019 in-season monitoring of Northeast skate wing and bait landings. .................... 28 Table 19. Year-end Northeast skate complex annual catch limit (ACL) accounting, FY2017-2019. ........ 29 Table 20. Total allowable landings (TAL) (pounds), live landings, and percent of TAL achieved for the wing and bait fisheries by fishing year, 2010-2020.............................................................................. 30 Table 21. FY 2020 and 2021 skate seasons and possession limits. ............................................................ 31 Table 22. Dates when the incidental limits have been triggered in the skate fishery. ................................ 32 Table 23. Skate wing possession limits by season and fishing year. .......................................................... 33 Table 24. Skate bait possession limits by season and fishing year. ............................................................ 34 Table 25. Skate landings by VMS declaration and skate fishery disposition, FY 2017-2018, combined. 35 Table 26. Skate wing and bait landings (live and landed lb) and revenue, FY 2010 – 2019. ..................... 36 Table 27. Vessels landing 1+ lb of skate on at least one trip by dependence on total revenue from all species and dependence on skate revenue by disposition, FY 2016-2018. .......................................... 38 Table 28. Landings and revenues from trips landing skate, by disposition, FY 2018. ............................... 39 Table 29. FY 2018 revenue by species and disposition of vessels landing skate at least once during FY. 41 Table 30. Estimated recreational skate landings by species, 2012-2018. ................................................... 42 Table 31. Total lobster landings (lb) by state, 2009-2015. ......................................................................... 43 Table 32. Bait use in the inshore Gulf of Maine lobster fishery, in 2010. .................................................. 44 Table 33. Skate fishing community engagement and reliance indicators, 2014-2018 average. ................. 48 Table 34. Fishing revenue (unadjusted for inflation) and vessels in top skate ports by revenue, calendar years 2010-2018. .................................................................................................................................. 49 Table 35. Primary and secondary ports in the Northeast skate fishery. ...................................................... 50 Table 36. Changes in engagement over time for all primary and secondary skate ports, plus any port with medium-high or high skate engagement over the time series, 2004-2018. .......................................... 51 Table 37. Social vulnerability in primary and secondary skate ports, 2018. .............................................. 53 Table 38. Gentrification pressure in primary and secondary skate ports, 2018. ......................................... 54 Table 39. Skate revenue by disposition and port, for calendar years 2010-2018. ...................................... 55 Table 40. Skate landings and revenue by fishery and state, calendar year 2010-2018. .............................. 56 Table 41. Top 20 (non-confidential) landing ports by lobster revenue, 2019, Maine to New Jersey. ........ 57 Table 42. Key port communities for the skate fishery and other fisheries potentially impacted by Amendment 5. ...................................................................................................................................... 58 Table 43. Top five species landed by value in Chatham MA, calendar year 2019. .................................... 61 Table 44. Top five species landed by value in New Bedford MA, calendar year 2019. ............................. 61 Table 45. Top five species landed by value in Little Compton RI, calendar year 2019. ............................ 62 Skate Affected Environment - draft 3 Table 46. Top five species landed by value in Point Judith RI, calendar year 2019................................... 63 Table 47. Top five species landed by value in Montauk NY, calendar year 2019...................................... 63 Table 48. Top five species landed by value in Barnegat Light/Long Beach, calendar year 2019. ............. 64 Table 49. Top five species landed by value in Cape May, calendar year 2019. ......................................... 65 Table of Figures Figure 2. Thorny skate NEFSC survey biomass indices (kg/tow), 1963 - 2019. .......................................... 8 Figure 2. Number of active Federal fishing permits with and without a Federal skate permit (endorsement),