Saving Seafood

Despite ongoing poaching, Maine fishermen lobby for increase in baby eel quota

June 7, 2018 — More than 60 fishermen told an interstate marine fisheries official Wednesday that Maine’s annual baby eel catch limit should be raised because there are “plenty” of eels in Maine — even though Maine once again finds itself having to address the issue of ongoing poaching in the fishery.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering whether to raise the state’s baby eel quota, also known as elvers, from 9,688 pounds to 11,749 pounds. It held a hearing on the topic Wednesday in Brewer and plans to hold another in Augusta on Thursday, June 7.

With fishermen earning more than $2,300 per pound for their catch this spring, the 2,000-pound difference could mean as much as $4.8 million in additional revenue for the statewide fishery.

The value of the statewide catch this spring is estimated to be $21.7 million, which is the third-highest annual landings value ever for the fishery, and the highest since Maine adopted a statewide catch limit in 2014.

“We don’t believe at all the [American eel] population is depleted,” John Banks, director of natural resources for the Penobscot Indian Nation, told commission official Kirby Rootes-Murdy. “We’re hearing from [harvesters in] the field that this population is not in trouble at all.”

Patrick Keliher, commissioner of Maine Department of Marine Resources, said Wednesday that the way the 2018 elver fishing season ended last month “didn’t help” the argument in favor of increasing Maine’s quota.

The department abruptly ended the season on May 24, when the statewide catch was still 500 pounds below its 9,688-pound quota, after Marine Patrol discovered that some licensed dealers had been engaged in illegal, under-the-table cash transactions for the lucrative eels. State law prohibits cash transactions and requires all sales to be recorded with a electronic swipe-card system that charts each fisherman’s catch and each dealer’s purchases.

Read the full story at Bangor Daily News

ASMFC: April/May 2018 issue of Fisheries Focus Now Available

June 1, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The April/May 2018  issue of Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5b103db7FishFocusAprilMay2018.pdf.

Upcoming Meetings

page 2

From the Executive
Director’s Desk 

Black Sea Bass: Seeking Solutions through Compromise

page 3

Species Profile

Atlantic Sturgeon

page 4

Fishery Management Actions 

Atlantic Menhaden

Black Drum

Black Sea Bass

page 6

Science Highlight

ASMFC Habitat Committee Revisits 20-Year Policy on Submerged Aquatic Vegetation

page 7

On the Legislative Front

page 8

Comings & Goings

page 9

Proposed Management Action

American Eel

page 11

In the News: Maine’s Elver Fishery Shuts Down

page 11

ACCSP Update

FY19 Proposals Due June 11

ACCSP Releases 2017 Annual Report

page 13

Employees of the Quarter Named

page 14

 

American Eel Stock Assessment Update Finds Resource Remains Depleted

October 19, 2017 — NORFOLK, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Eel Management Board reviewed the results of the 2017 American Eel Stock Assessment Update, which indicates the resource remains depleted. The assessment updates the 2012 American Eel Benchmark Stock Assessment with data from 2010-2016. Trend analyses of abundance indices indicated large declines in abundance of yellow eels during the 1980s through the early 1990s, with primarily neutral or stable abundance from the mid-1990s through 2016. Total landings remain low but stable. Based on these findings, the stock is still considered depleted. No overfishing determination can be made based on the analyses performed.

The American eel fishery primarily targets yellow eel. Glass eel fisheries along the Atlantic coast are prohibited in all states except Maine and South Carolina. In recent years, Maine is the only state reporting significant glass eel harvest. The highest total landings of all life stages occurred from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s after which they declined. Since the 1990s, landings have been lower than historical landings and have been stable in recent decades. The value of U.S. commercial American eel landings has varied from a few hundred thousand dollars (prior to the 1980s) to a peak of $40.6 million in 2012 (largely driven by the price of glass eels).

The 2012 benchmark stock assessment found the resource depleted and Addenda III (2013) and IV (2014) were approved with the goal of reducing mortality across all life stages. These addenda established a 9-inch minimum size limit for commercial and recreational fisheries, a yellow eel commercial coastwide cap of 907,671 pounds, and glass eel quota of 9,688 pounds for Maine beginning for the 2015 fishing year. The yellow eel cap has two management triggers: (1) the coastwide cap is exceeded by more than 10% in a given year and (2) the coastwide cap is exceeded for two consecutive years, regardless of the percent over. If either trigger is met, there is an automatic implementation of state-by-state quotas. The 2015 yellow eel landings were below the cap. However, 2016 landings were 925,798 pounds, which exceeded the cap by less than 10%.

A more detailed overview of the American eel stock assessment is available on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/59e8c077AmericanEelStockAssessmentOverview_Oct2017.pdf. It was developed to aid media and interested stakeholders in better understanding the results. The assessment update will be available on the Commission website on the American Eel webpage the week of October 23rd.

In other business, the Board maintained Maine’s glass eel quota of 9,688 pounds for the 2018 fishing season. The Board also initiated an addendum to consider alternative allocations, management triggers, and coastwide caps relative to the current management program for both the yellow and glass eel commercial fisheries starting for the 2019 fishing season.

For more information on the stock assessment update, please contact Dr. Kristen Anstead at kanstead@asmfc.org and for information on American eel management, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org.

A PDF version of the press release can be found here – http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file//59e8c22cpr48AmEelAssmtUpdate.pdf

UNH research on horseshoe crabs reveals connection between water, spawning

June 24, 2016 — DURHAM, N.H. — It appears that horseshoe crab spawning is based more on water temperature than lunar cycles, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire.

Researchers found that Atlantic horseshoe crabs in New Hampshire’s Great Bay Estuary time their annual spawning based on water temperature.

It was thought that the lunar cycle triggered spawning.

The study provides a first-of-its-kind look at the environmental factors that influence horseshoe crab spawning activity in the state and could pave the way for changes in how monitoring surveys are conducted on the East Coast.

“We wanted to establish a baseline for horseshoe crab populations in New Hampshire because it had never been done before,” said Helen Cheng, who led the research. “Knowing how a species behaves is important in managing their populations, so we needed to know more about horseshoe crab spawning behaviors for effective management.”

A decline in the horseshoe crab population could affect several fields.

In medicine, horseshoe crabs play an important role in eye research and surgical sutures and a component of their bright-blue blood is used in the pharmaceutical industry.

American eel and conch fisheries use them for bait, and several other species in the ecological food chain depend on them for survival.

Read the full story at WMUR

EU declines to recommend endangered label for American Eel

April 26, 2016 — The European Union has decided not to recommend listing American Eel as an endangered species at the upcoming CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Conference of the Parties, to be held later this year.

In a report submitted to CITES (“Conservation of and trade in Anguilla SPP.”), the EU and its Member States instead recommended funding for a study of eel species not listed as endangered by CITES and noted that data on eels in the Northeast U.S. is more comprehensive than elsewhere in the world.

The European Eel (Anguilla anguilla) has been listed in CITES Appendix II since 2009. Currently export and import of European Eel from and into the EU is illegal, and EU Member States have enacted a zero export quota for the species since 2011. That led to an increased demand for other eel species, and an increase in illegal trade. As the EU report explains, U.S. fisheries managers passed a harvest quota and regulations to limit the expansion of the harvest of American Eel (Anguilla rostrata). The U.S. harvest is restricted to one fishery in Maine and a smaller fishery in South Carolina.

The report states that, for American Eel, “there are data for most of this species’ life stages (glass, elver, yellow and silver) from the northern part of its range (Canada and central Atlantic States).” It is more critical of data on eels in the Caribbean, northern South America, and East Asia, and pushes for more information that would lead to effective conservation and management of eels.

In its recommendations, the EU encourages parties involved in the trade of eel species to provide CITES with specific information to inform a potential study, and to participate in workshops where they can share their expertise and knowledge on priority topics.

The EU report comes ahead of the CITES Seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, which will convene from September 24 to Octobers 5 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Read the full report at the European Commission of the European Union

Feds withdraw eel fishing moratorium for Delaware

March 16, 2016 — DOVER, Del. (AP) – The National Marine Fisheries Service says it is withdrawing a federal moratorium on fishing for American eel in the state waters of Delaware.

The agency withdrew the moratorium effective Tuesday after concluding that Delaware is in compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s eel management plan.

Regulators determined last year that Delaware was out of compliance because it had not implemented regulations to rebuild depleted eel stocks and to prevent over-harvest.

Read the full story at WMDT

New American Eel Regulations in Effect in Delaware

February 15, 2016 — A new Delaware law that increases size limits and decreases recreational possession limits on American eel is now in effect, DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife announced today.

The new law, passed by the Delaware General Assembly in January and signed by Governor Markell last week, brings Delaware’s American eel fishing rules into compliance with recent changes in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American eel.

The law increases the minimum recreational and commercial size limit of American eel to 9 inches from 6 inches, decreases the recreational possession limit from 50 to 25 American eels and sets a minimum mesh size requirement of ½” by ½” for all eel pots in commercial and recreational use.

The law also gives DNREC the ability to change American eel size and possession limits, fishing areas, seasons and allowable fishing gear by regulation as required to keep Delaware in compliance with future changes to the ASMFC’s American eel management plan. If the ASMFC plan requires states to restrict their eel harvest by use of a quota in the future, the Legislature will establish a quota management system through law.

Read the full story at WGMD News Radio

ASMFC American Eel Board Approves North Carolina Aquaculture Plan for 2016

February 5, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Management Council:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Eel Management Board approved North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan for 2016, allowing up to 200 pounds of glass eels to be harvested for aquaculture purposes. North Carolina’s plan is the first to be approved under the aquaculture plan provisions of Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Eel. 

“North Carolina is grateful for the Board’s provisional approval of its Aquaculture Plan,” stated Dr. Louis Daniel, Director of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries. “Through the plan, we hope to demonstrate that domestic aquaculture of American eel can be done successfully while maintaining the rebuilding goals and objectives of the FMP.” 

The Board reviewed comments provided by the Technical Committee, Advisory Panel, and Law Enforcement Committee on the various merits of the plan prior to its approval.  Board approval was contingent on two issues (1) export of glass eels will be prohibited, and (2) the first year of the plan will be conducted as a pilot program. During the first year, North Carolina will work with its industry to identify viable collection sites for glass eels for its use in aquaculture.  If North Carolina intends to continue this plan into a second year, which will require additional Board approval, the state will need to work with the Technical Committee to determine sampling protocols for obtaining glass eel abundance estimates across the identified collection sites. 

For more information, please contact Mike Waine, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mwaine@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.       

Supplemental Materials Now Available for ASMFC’s 2016 Winter Meeting

January 27, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Winter Meeting have been posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-winter-meeting for the following Boards/Sections (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). 

American Lobster Management Board – Preliminary Results of Claw Removal and its Impacts on Survivorship and Physiological Stress in Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) in New England Waters; NEFMC Correspondence on Jonah Crab Permit Holders; Jonah Crab Plan Review Team FMP Implementation Memo; MaineJonah Crab FMP Implementation Program

Atlantic Herring Section – Revised Draft Amendment 3 (please note this version has been revised from January 21st draft); Public Hearing Summary; Written Comment (Summary and Submitted Comments); Advisory Panel Meeting Summary

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Draft Addendum XXVII Public Hearing Summaries; Written Comment (Summary and Submitted Comments); Law Enforcement Committee Comments; General Public Comment

ACCSP Executive Committee (please note meeting materials are available through the main header not supplemental) – Draft Minutes from December 17, 2015; Draft Standard Operating Procedures; 2016 Meetings Calendar 

ACCSP Coordinating Council (please note meeting materials are available through the main header not supplemental) – Draft Minutes from November 2, 2015

Executive Committee (please note these materials are the same as those provided for the ISFMP Policy Board) – Memo on Changes to Commission Guidance Documents; Draft ISFMP Charter; Draft Compact, Rules and Regulations; Draft Technical Support Group Guidance and Benchmark Assessment Process

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Law Enforcement Committee Report on Maryland and Potomac River Fisheries Commission Equivalency Proposals; Public Comment

Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board – 2016 FMP Review

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Adaptive Resource Management Subcommittee Meeting Summary

Tautog Management Board – Decision Document for Draft Amendment 1; Law Enforcement Committee Report on Commercial Harvest Tagging Program Objectives 

Winter Flounder Management Board – NEFMC Presentation on Overview of Federal Management Measures for Gulf of Maine and Southern New England/ Mid-Atlantic Stocks; Scientific and Statistical Committee Report

American Eel Management Board – Advisory Panel Report and Technical Committee Review  on North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan; Final version of North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan; Public Comment

ISFMP Policy Board (please note these materials are the same as those provided for Executive Committee) – Memo on Changes to Commission Guidance Documents; Draft ISFMP Charter; Draft Compact, Rules and Regulations; Draft Technical Support Group Guidance and Benchmark Assessment Process

As a reminder, Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 9:00 a.m. on February 2nd and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 3:45 p.m.) on February 4th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast, the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. To register for the webinar, please go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/86228471613051649.

ASMFC 2016 Winter Meeting Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

December 9, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Winter Meeting, February 2-4, 2016 in Alexandria, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-winter-meeting. Materials will be available on January 21, 2016 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-winter-meeting.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

9:00 a.m. – Noon                    American Lobster Management Board

  • Technical Committee Report on the Southern New England (SNE) American Lobster Stock
  • Discuss Future Management of SNE American Lobster Stock
  • Consider Approval of Draft Addendum I to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Public Comment
  • Review and Discuss Catch and Landings Records from Jonah Crab-only Trap Fishermen and Jonah Crab Claw Fishermen
  • Discuss Action to Establish Effort Controls for Jonah Crab-only Trap Fishermen and Create a Standard for Claw Landings
  • Review Implementation Plans for the Jonah Crab FMP
  • Update on State/Federal American Lobster Observer Programs
  • Elect Vice Chair

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.                    Atlantic Herring Section

  • Consider Final Approval of Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Herring FMP Action

 

2:45 – 4:15 p.m.                 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board

  • Review 2016 Black Sea Bass Commercial Quotas
  • Consider Final Approval of Addendum XXVII
  • Update on Black Sea Bass and Summer Flounder Amendment Process
  • Elect Vice Chair

2:45 – 4:15 p.m.                Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) Executive Committee

  • Program Updates
  • Independent Program Review Update
    • Review/Approve Initial Program Standard Operating Procedures
  • Governance Recommendation

4:30 – 6:00 p.m.                 ACCSP Coordinating Council

  • Program Updates
  • Independent Program Review Update
  • Governance Recommendation

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

 

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.              Executive Committee

  • Overview of Commission Guidance Documents and Consider Recommendations to the ISFMP Policy Board for changes to the Guidance Documents
  • ACCSP Governance
  • Upcoming Annual Meetings

10:15 – 11:00 a.m.            Atlantic Menhaden Management Board

  • Update on Draft Amendment 3 Development
  • Discuss Timeline for Setting the 2017 Fishery Specifications

11:15 – 11:45 a.m.            Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board 

  • Update on Progress of 2017 Benchmark Stock Assessment

·         Consider 2016 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports for the 2013 and 2014 Fisheries

 

Noon – 12:30 p.m.           Spiny Dogfish Management Board

  • Review and Set 2016-2018 Fishery Specifications
  • Elect Vice Chair

 

1:30 – 2:15 p.m.                Coastal Sharks Management Board 

  • Discuss Differences in State and Federal Smoothhound Catch Composition Regulations for Processing at Sea

 

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.                Horseshoe Crab Management Board

  • Review Scope of Work for Revisiting the Adaptive Resource Management Framework Model in 2016
  • Discuss Benchmark Stock Assessment Schedule for Horseshoe Crab with Update on Biomedical Landings and Confidentiality
  • Review Alternative Bait Trial Results

3:45 – 4:30 p.m.                South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board                     

  • Update on the Progress of the Red Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment and Desk Review
  • Discuss Recommendation to the ISFMP Policy Board Regarding Spotted Sea Trout Management
  • Consider 2015 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports for Spot
  • Elect Vice Chair

4:45 – 5:45 p.m.                Tautog Management Board

  • Update on Draft Amendment 1 Development
  • Update on Progress of UConn Long Island Sound and New York/New Jersey Stock Assessments
  • Review Commercial Harvest Tagging Program Objectives

  

Thursday, February 4, 2016

8:00 – 9:00 a.m.                 Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board

  • Consider Tabled Motion from November 2015 Meeting Regarding Reconsideration of Addendum IV Management Options Based on the 2016 Stock Assessment Update Results
  • Update on 2016 Cooperative Winter Tagging Cruise
  • Elect Vice Chair 

9:15 – 10:15 a.m.              Winter Flounder Management Board

  • Review and Set 2016-2018 Fishery Specifications
  • Review and Discuss Technical Committee Report, Including an Analysis of Biomass Trends During Heightened Federal Restrictions (2009-2013)

 

10:30 – 11:30 a.m.            American Eel Management Board

  • Review and Consider North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan

 

11:45 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board

                                            (includes a 30-minute working lunch) 

  • Consider Changes to Commission Guidance Documents
  • Review Results of the 2016 Commissioner Survey
  • Review and Consider the Stock Assessment Schedule

 

2:45 – 3:15 p.m.                Business Session

  • Consider Final Approval of Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Herring FMP
  • Consider Amending the Commission’s Rules and Regulations

 

Public Comment Guidelines

With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in 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 opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will use a speaker sign-up list in deciding 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 comment 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 comment 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 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included in the briefing materials.

2.    Comments received by 5:00 PM on the Tuesday immediately preceding the scheduled ASMFC Meeting (in this case, the Tuesday deadline will be January 26, 2016) will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.

3.    Following the Tuesday, January 26, 2016 5:00 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies). 

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, fax, and email.

Read a PDF of the ASMFC Agenda here