January 28, 2026 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Supplemental materials for the ASMFC’s 2026 Winter Meeting are now available at https://asmfc.org/events/
Executive Committee – Draft Meeting Summary from October 2026; White Paper on Notifying “Actions” on Commission Agendas
Legislative and Governor Appointee Commissioners – Agenda
Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Plan Development Team Memo: Progress Report on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3; Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee Meeting Summary from January 2026; Public Comment
Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Technical Committee Memo: Recommendations for Distribution of 20% Liberalization for Black Sea Bass Recreational Management Measures
Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Stock Assessment Subcommittee Memo: Request for Board Guidance on Biological Reference Points and Spatial Management; Charting A Course for Striped Bass: Science and Regulatory Innovation for Offshore Aquaculture; Public Comment
Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board – 2025 Commissioner Survey Results; Atlantic States Shell Recycling: A practitioner’s guide to oyster shell recycling along the US Atlantic coast
Webinar Information
Meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Tuesday, February 3 at 9 AM and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:45 PM) on Thursday, February 5. To register for the webinar, please go to: https://attendee.
Each day, the webinar will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so that people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter. If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.
Meeting Process
Board chairs will ask both in-person and virtual board members if they wish to speak. In-person members can simply raise their hands at the meeting without logging on to the webinar, while virtual members will raise their hands on the webinar. The chair will work with staff to compile the list of speakers, balancing the flow of questions/comments between in-person and virtual attendees. The same process will be used for public comment. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
Public Comment Guidelines
To provide a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:
For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunities to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic.
Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comments will not provide additional insight to the board.
For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.
In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comments for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action).
1. Comments received three weeks prior to the start of a meeting week (January 12) will be included in the briefing materials.
2. Comments received by 5 PM on Tuesday, January 27 will be included in supplemental materials.
3. Comments received by 10 AM on Friday, January 30 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.
The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution. As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail and email