Regulations

February 25, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

You can now choose to receive texts from NOAA Fisheries' Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) on your cell phone. Alerts will include information about emergency actions, area openings and closings, and possession limit adjustments. To ensure that you don't receive too many texts, we are limiting the texts we send to only time sensitive notifications.  This means that you will receive about 10-12 texts per year, and you may not receive one for some time.

If you would like to receive text messages from the GARFO, go to http://www.nero.noaa.gov/fish and complete the simple form. The information you submit will be anonymous, and no other information will be recorded. If you have any questions, would like to change your cell number, or stop getting text alerts, please text back or send an email to nmfs.ner.feedback@noaa.gov. You may also contact Olivia Rugo, Stakeholder Engagement, GARFO, at 978-675-2167 or email her at Olivia.rugo@noaa.gov

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — February 7, 2014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s American Eel Management Board approved a conservation equivalency proposal from the State of Maine to allow quota management of its glass eel fishery. A quota of 11,749 pounds will be in place for Maine’s 2014 glass eel fishing season, which begins on March 22nd.  This quota, developed with input from Maine’s fishing industry and Tribal Nations, represents a 35% reduction from the 2013 Maine’s glass eel harvest. In addition to quota management, Maine will also be implementing a harvester swipe card system with daily dealer reporting in order to increase accuracy and timeliness of landings data and reduce opportunities for illegal harvest.

Prior to this fishing year, the Maine glass eel fishery was regulated by the 1998 Fishery Management Plan (FMP) which requires all states to maintain as conservative or more conservative management measures at the time the FMP was approved. Under the FMP, Maine’s glass eel fishery was regulated by gear restrictions and a license cap. The change from input controls (gear restrictions and license cap) to output controls (quota management) should allow for increased management flexibility and conservation of the resource.

The Board continues to work on the elements of Draft Addendum IV, which will propose coastwide conservation measures for American eel fisheries. The Board will consider approval of the Draft Addendum for public comment at its next meeting in May 2014. For more information, please contact Kate Taylor at ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.         

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — February 6, 2014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

he Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section initiated a new amendment with the primary purpose of more fully protecting spawning herring in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine). The draft amendment will review and consider  changes to the Area 1A spawning area regulations as well as consider (1) removing the fixed-gear set-aside rollover provision, (2) requiring the declaration of intended fishing gear types prior to the quota periods, and (3) requiring vessel fish holds to be emptied of fish before leaving the dock on a fishing trip.

The draft amendment is initiated to correct inconsistencies in the application of current spawning area regulations. In preparation for the amendment, the Section has tasked the Technical Committee to review the current default closure dates, area delineations, and time periods. The draft amendment will also propose removing the rollover provision for the fixed gear set-aside in order to allow for increased opportunities for small scale fixed gear fishermen when Atlantic herring are present after the overall Area 1A quota has been harvested by the limited access fishery.

Further, the draft amendment will propose that vessel owners declare in advance their intended fishing gear type for each quota period in order to provide managers with an estimate of effort for each quota period and better inform the Section’s decisions regarding harvest control measures (e.g., days out). Additionally, in order to address concerns about the discards and full reporting, the draft amendment will propose vessel holds be emptied of fish before leaving the dock on a fishing trip.

A Public Information Document (PID) will be developed in consultation with the New England Fishery Management Council to ensure consistent regulations with the federal fishery management plan. The PID will be available for Section consideration in the Commission’s Spring Meeting. For more information, please contact, Melissa Yuen, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at myuen@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.     

 

February 6, 2014 — The following was released by Share the Gulf:

Today a federal council that manages Gulf fisheries (Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council) voted in favor of an action that would take red snapper away from commercial fishermen, seafood providers and consumers.  This move – (which will now go through a public hearing process before final action.) – will take 488,800 pounds of red snapper currently available to consumers off the market and limit future increase to the consumer supply of this popular Gulf fish. A reduction of this size will impact supplies of red snapper to restaurants and grocery stores and has the potential to impact many parts of the seafood industry.

The action called “Amendment 28” has been under consideration by the Council and has drawn the attention of more than 250 chefs, fishermen, restaurant owners, seafood providers and conservationists who have joined together in a group called Share the Gulf.

Here are few key points on Amendment 28:

– Government analysis shows that even this significant shift of fish will only add a few days to the red snapper recreational seasons.

– Without major changes to the management of the recreational fishery those few days will disappear over a few years and the season will continue to shrink as it has over the last 5 years.

– Seafood buyers and fishermen are reporting a need for increases in the supply of red snapper, a reduction in commercial quota will negatively impact the seafood industry.

– This reallocation coupled with a continuation of the failed recreational management system will endanger the rebuilding and long-term sustainability of the snapper population.

Many notable chefs from across the Gulf as well as fishermen and other industry leaders (including the Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida restaurant associations) are opposed to this Amendment.

You can read recent op-eds published across the Gulf from Share the Gulf members here.

You can see a full list of our supporters from across the Gulf here.

 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — February 6, 2014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXV to the Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, establishing regional recreational management for both species for the 2014 fishing year. For summer flounder, the Addendum creates management measures by region with the intent of providing more equity in recreational harvest opportunities along the coast, especially between New York and New Jersey. The approved summer flounder regions are Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Connecticut through New Jersey; Delaware through Virginia; and North Carolina. For black sea bass, the Board also approved the continuation of management measures by northern (Massachusetts – New Jersey) and southern regions (Delaware – North Carolina).

Addendum XXV was initiated to address a growing concern that current summer flounder management measures are not providing recreational fishermen along the coast with equitable harvest opportunities to the resource. Its adaptive regional management approach is designed to allow the management program to adjust to past, current, and future changes to the resource and the fishery. Under this approach, all states within a region will be required to have the same possession limit, size limit, and season length. The Technical Committee will work with the states to develop, for Board consideration and approval, measures for each region that will collectively achieve, but not exceed, the recreational harvest limit. The adaptive regional management approach has been approved for the 2014 fishing year only.

For black sea bass, the Board approved the continuation of ad hoc regional management measures by northern (Massachusetts – New Jersey) and southern regions (Delaware – North Carolina). This approach has been used since 2011 and offers some advantages over coastwide regulations, which can disproportionately impact states within the management unit. Specifically, regional measures address geographic differences in the stock (size, abundance and seasonality) while maintaining the consistent application of management measures by neighboring states. States in the northern region will reduce their catch based on the region’s performance in 2013. The Technical Committee will work with the states to develop regional management measures for Board consideration and approval. States in the southern region will implement measures consistent with federal regulations (current recommended federal measures are a 12.5 inch TL minimum fish size, 15 fish possession limit, and open season from May 19 – September 18 and October 18 – December 31). The regulations of the two regions combined will achieve the required coastwide harvest reduction in order to not exceed the 2014 recreational harvest limit. The Board approved the ad hoc regional measures approach for the 2014 fishing year, with the option of extending it through 2015 by Board action.

Addendum XXV will be available on the Commission website by the end of February. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

January 16, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries announces that a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area – DMA) has been established 46 nautical miles southeast of Nantucket to protect an aggregation of 3 right whales sighted in this area on January 15, 2014. This DMA is in effect immediately through January 30, 2014.  Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

46nm Southeast of Nantucket DMA — in effect through January 30, 2014
41 04N
40 24N
069 38W
068 45W

Please visit www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/shipstrike for a graphic depicting this area.

ACTIVE SEASONAL MANAGEMENT AREAS (SMAs)
Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

Cape Cod Bay SMA — in effect through May 15, 2014

Mid-Atlantic SMAs — in effect through April 30, 2014

Southeast SMAs — in effect through April 15, 2014

FOR RECENT RIGHT WHALE SIGHTINGS, VISIT:
www.nefsc.noaa.gov/psb/surveys/SASInteractive2.html

DOWNLOAD THE WHALE ALERT APP FOR iPAD AND iPHONE:
stellwagen.noaa.gov/protect/whalealert.html

APPROACHING A RIGHT WHALE CLOSER THAN 500 YARDS IS A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL AND STATE LAW. PLEASE REPORT ALL RIGHT WHALE SIGHTINGS TO:
866-755-NOAA (8866) 

January 9, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA:

Based on Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council recommendations, NOAA Fisheries today announced a proposed 24% increase in 2014 to the butterfish landings quota compared to 2013 (from 5.7 million lb to 7 million lb). Among other measures, we are also proposing to establish a 236-metric ton cap on river herring (blueback and alewife) and shad (American and hickory) catch in the mackerel fishery. Once this cap is projected to be reached, the directed mackerel fishery would be closed.  Click here for more information and details on how to provide public comments on these proposed measures.

January 8, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is announcing the selection of the 2014 Fishing Year at-sea monitoring service providers for groundfish sectors. Independent, third-party monitoring of sector at-sea catch is required under existing groundfish fishery regulations. Each year NOAA Fisheries reviews applications submitted by companies interested in providing this service. Five companies were authorized for the 2014 fishing year including A.I.S., Inc.; Atlantic Catch Data Limited; East West Technical Services, LLC; Fathom Research, LLC; and MRAG Americas, Inc. All, but Fathom Research, were approved to provide at-sea monitoring services to sectors in previous fishing years.

Click here for more information