It has been almost a week since six New England groundfish sector managers formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for relief on Framework 69, and, from the industry's perspective, nothing has changed. 

In a Feb. 27 letter addressed to Michael Pentony, regional administrator for NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, the managers called the delay in approving Framework 69 “frankly ridiculous,” noting that there are only nine weeks (now eight weeks) left in the fishing year and that vessels are already being forced to stop fishing in the Gulf of Maine.

“We the undersigned Northeast groundfish sector managers petition for relief from the frankly ridiculous delay in what should have been a belated but routine approval of groundfish Framework 69,” the letter states.

Framework 69, approved by the New England Fishery Management Council in December 2024 and submitted to NMFS in March 2025, would increase the Gulf of Maine haddock quota by roughly 50 percent over the prior fishing year. But with the action still awaiting final signoff in Washington, D.C., that additional quota remains inaccessible on the water.

In the meantime, sector managers say they are running out of options.

Stop-fishing notices begin

Hank Soule, manager of the Sustainable Harvest Sectors 1 and 3, said the situation has deteriorated since late February. “In my sector, I have unfortunately, over the weekend, had to issue six stop fishing notices,” Soule shared in a recent interview with National Fisherman.

Those notices from the sector managers mean vessels are no longer allowed to fish in the Gulf of Maine because they have exhausted their Gulf of Maine haddock allocation. While boats technically can shift their tows to Georges Bank or southern New England, Soule said that’s not realistic for many smaller Maine-based vessels.

Soule added, “I happen to know I’m not the only sector that’s in this situation.”

National Fisherman also spoke with Mary Hudson, sector manager for the Maine Coast Community Sector, “We’ve had to ask all of our fishermen to either scale back their fishing operations or stop altogether. The impact of this on their businesses is dramatic; this is the time of year when haddock catch is at its highest, and our boats are missing out on a vital economic opportunity.”

In their letter, the sector managers emphasized that fishermen structured their fishing year, expecting the haddock increase to be implemented. “This year, knowing the Gulf of Maine haddock quota was scheduled to increase, fishermen were comfortable with maintaining a robust, steady catch rate,” the letter said.

“But Framework 69 languishes in Washington DC. The bureaucratic ‘why’ doesn’t matter anymore.”

Soule echoed that frustration, outlining how far the action has already moved through the regulatory pipeline. “We have a quota here that’s embedded in Framework 69. It has been vetted by the Science Center, approved by the New England Fishery Management Council, and approved by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office.”

And for whatever reason, the final approval in Washington lingers.

From the fleet’s standpoint, there has been no known movement at the federal level to push the Framework through- even as the spring run continues.

Historically, Gulf of Maine haddock were most abundant through March, with catch rates dropping sharply at the beginning of April.  “If we were gaining sector quota in the middle of April, it’s really not going to do anything at all for the fleet,” Soule said.

Petition for relief

In their letter, the managers asked NMFS to allow active fishing sectors to temporarily exceed their current Gulf of Maine haddock annual catch entitlement limits while Framework 69 remains stalled.

They proposed capping catch at 90 percent of the Framework 69 haddock limit as a safety buffer, citing precedent from a previous delayed framework in fishing year 2023, when sectors were allowed to exceed Georges Bank cod allocations in anticipation of an approved action.

“Approval of this petition will put fishermen back to work and unlock the currently frozen Gulf of Maine haddock quota leasing market,” the letter stated. “Now is the time.”

As of early March, sector managers say they have not received approval for that request.

David Leveille, manager of the Northeast Fishery Sectors II and VI and one of the letter’s signatories, confirmed that his sector has also been forced to tell boats to stop fishing in the Gulf of Maine after running out of haddock allocation.

Leveille said, “On Monday, Feb. 2, I was forced to issue six stop fishing orders to members of Northeast Fishery Sectors II for the Gulf of Maine fishing area because those vessels exceeded their quota of Gulf of Maine haddock.”

Although the spotlight is currently on Gulf of Maine haddock, the impact of what is happening goes far beyond haddock. The Gulf of Maine is 69,000 square miles of prime winter fishing area for many vessels and valuable species that the fleet depends on, to name a few: white hake, pollock, redfish, and grey sole.

“The haddock issue highlights a trend in government that we have seen for some time. This trend is the inability of governments to approve and complete, in a timely manner, their own rules based on their own science,” said Leveille. “It is not just Framework 69; we are also depending on Framework 72 and Amendment 25, which we need to start the 2026 fishing year on May 1, 2026. Everyone has excuses about why there are delays, but only the industry pays the price.”

He further explained that sectors are currently operating under an emergency action implemented on May 1, 2025, because of the Framework 69 delay. This means the sectors are operating at 75 percent of their previous allocation for many stocks. Framework 69 is based on the best available science, and now the industry is forced to wait almost an entire year for the framework to be implemented.

Being told to tie up because the final signature hasn’t been issued, managers say, is a different kind of blow- one not rooted in stock status but in regulatory paralysis.

Eight weeks left

The fishing year ends April 30, leaving roughly eight weeks for fishermen to access what managers describe as a substantial quota increase that has already been through scientific review, council approval, and regional federal signoff.

With no visible movement in Washington and stop-fishing notices currently being issued, groundfishermen say the window to salvage the spring run is closing fast.

If Framework 69 is not implemented before May 1, the additional haddock allocation for this fishing year effectively disappears for the fleet. And for boats already tied to the dock, another lost spring is not just a policy delay; it’s lost income, lost crew shares, all while the entire groundfish industry waits on a signature.