Portland, Maine — November 15, 2012 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section has approved Addendum I to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp. The Addendum provides flexibility and transparency in the annual specification process with the goal of maximizing benefits to the fishery while ensuring stock rebuilding.
Specifically, the Addendum includes provisions to (1) set an annual hard total allowable catch (TAC) that may range between the fishing mortality target and threshold values, inclusive; (2) allocate 87% of the TAC to the trawl fishery and 13% to the trap fishery; and (3) close each fishery when a certain percentage of the TAC is projected to be reached. The exact percent, ranging between 80 and 95%, would be established by the Section during the annual specification process. The Addendum also provides flexibly to (1) transfer unused TAC between gear types; (2) set aside a portion of the TAC for research purposes; and (3) allow for the optional use of a size sorting grate system (compound grate or double Nordmore) to minimize the retention of small shrimp.
The Addendum responds to recent trends in the fishery and the resource that jeopardize the stability of the northern shrimp resource. For the past three fishing seasons, late and incomplete catch reporting and continued fluctuations in participation have led to overharvest of the TAC. These overages coupled with a recent poor recruitment resulted in an overfished and overfishing stock status. The Addendum refines the annual specification process to better control annual harvest and minimize risks to the resource as it rebuilds.