December 2, 2025 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold five public hearings to gather public input on a draft amendment to update Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) descriptions and maps for all 14 Council-managed species. The first hearing will be held by webinar today, December 2, at 6:00 p.m.
More information about the proposed EFH updates can be found in the Public Hearing Document and on the Amendment Webpage. An interactive EFH Demo App allows users to view EFH by species and life stage, compare current and proposed EFH designations, and explore the underlying data and methodology. Click here to watch a video walkthrough of the app’s main features.
Comments may be submitted at any of the following public hearings. Two hearings will focus on specific species, while others will be “all species” sessions. If you are only interested in a particular species, we encourage you to join one of the species focus webinars.
- December 2, 2025, 6:00 p.m. (Webinar) – All Species: Open Discussion – Registration
- December 9, 2025, 6:00 p.m. (Webinar) – Focus: Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, Bluefish, and Spiny Dogfish – Registration
- January 6, 2026, 6:00 p.m. (Webinar) – Focus: Mackerels, Squids, Butterfish, Tilefishes, Surfclam, and Ocean Quahog – Registration
- January 13, 2026, 6:00 p.m. (Webinar) – All Species: Open Discussion –Registration
- February 3, 2026, 6:30 p.m. (In-Person) – Westin Crystal City (1800 Richmond Hwy, Arlington, VA 22202). All Species: Open Discussion.
Written comments are being accepted until Tuesday, February 11, 2026.
Questions? Contact Jessica Coakley at jcoakley@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5252.