Saving Seafood

Commission could increase menhaden catch

August 2, 2016 — New Jersey commercial bait fishermen want to see the coastwide catch of menhaden increased nearly 80,000 metric tons.

“We’re focused on the science. If the science supports an increase, we want to take it,” said Jeff Kaelin from Lunds Fisheries, a commercial fishing operation in Cape May.

The amount of menhaden fishermen will be able to take from the water next year will be decided Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia, when the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meets.

The Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee has given the ASMFC options that would allow the catch to increase by as much as 10,000 to 80,000 metric tons.

Only one option is to keep the status quo at 187,880 metric tons. There is no option to reduce the catch.

Kaelin said Jersey purse seiners have been shut out of the fishery since July 4, after fishermen reached their allocation for this year. He said if they had more quota, they could be selling bait to New England lobstermen who are clamoring for bait.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

AL DUDLEY: Stock Assessments Overwhelmingly Support Raising Atlantic Menhaden Quotas

August 2, 2016 — SEAFOOD NEWS — This week, fisheries managers have the chance to expand opportunities for fishermen as they consider a scientifically supported increase in the coastwide menhaden quota. Although generally not consumed in their own right, menhaden are the bait of choice for both commercial and recreational fishermen and are prominent producers of the Omega-3 nutrients often used in health supplements.

In recent years, commercial fishing of menhaden has been needlessly restricted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the regulatory body charged with managing the species and maintaining the health of the stock. In 2012, based on the results of a stock assessment that was later found to have inaccurately underestimated the strength of the menhaden population, the ASMFC cut the annual menhaden harvest by a deeply felt 20 percent.

This year, as the ASMFC discusses potentially raising the quota, the science clearly and without a doubt demonstrates the menhaden stock is healthy, vibrant, and not in any conceivable danger of becoming overfished.

In an analysis earlier this summer produced by the ASMFC’s Menhaden Technical Committee, scientists analyzed the potential results of an increase in the menhaden quota for the 2017 fishing season. The Committee experimented with nine different potential increases, from simply maintaining the menhaden quota at its current level to increasing it by 40 percent. For each increase, the Committee ran 1,000 separate simulations, to ensure the data were accurate and all variables possible were accounted for. After this thorough and exhaustive study, the Committee concluded that increasing the menhaden quota for the 2017 fishing season poses a zero percent chance of resulting in overfishing.

These results build upon the positive findings of the 2015 menhaden assessment, which overturned the inaccurate results of the previous assessment when it found the stock to be sustainably managed, neither overfished nor subject to overfishing.

The Committee was comprised of 21 different scientists, representing 13 different states up and down the Eastern Seaboard. In addition, the Committee had representatives from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which has been in favor of limiting menhaden fishing in the past. That such a diverse wealth of scientists and regulators agreed raising the quota would have virtually no likelihood of overfishing is testament to the exhaustive and rigorous nature of their efforts.

When the ASMFC meets this week, they intend to discuss the motion for a raise in the annual menhaden quota. Now it is time for them to either fish or to cut bait. The evidence does not lie – menhaden are not at risk of overfishing with a raised quota.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

New Supplemental Materials for ASMFC Horseshoe Crab and Striped Bass Boards

August 1, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

There are two new supplemental materials for the Horseshoe Crab and Atlantic Striped Bass Boards, which will be meeting during the Commission’s 2016 Summer Meeting this week.  The meeting materials are as follows and can be found on the meeting page here as Supplemental 2 at each board header (links are also provided below). Copies of these materials will be provided at the meeting for Board members.

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – a Conference Call Summary of the Horseshoe Crab Technical Committee and the Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committee; and Conference Call Summary of the Horseshoe Crab Advisory Panel

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Advisory Panel Nomination

Latest Scientific Analysis Supports Increased Atlantic Menhaden Quota

Aug 1, 2016 – The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

WASHINGTON (MFC) – An analysis conducted by scientists at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) finds that the coastwide Atlantic menhaden quota can be substantially raised without impacting the sustainability of the species.

In a memo by the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee on June 22, the Committee described projections it ran using nine different potential quota levels for the 2017 fishing season. These projections found a 0 percent chance of overfishing menhaden in 2017, even when menhaden quota was increased by up to 40 percent. Projections were run 1,000 times for each potential quota level to ensure that a full range of potential scenarios were accounted for in the estimates.

The Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee is composed of 21 scientists from 13 states along the U.S. Atlantic coast and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Committee’s projections were short-term (2014-2017) to eliminate uncertainty inherent in longer-term projections.

The ASMFC will hold its summer meeting August 2-4 in Alexandria, Va., where it will discuss, among other topics, Atlantic menhaden, and the possibility of raising its quota for 2017.

Atlantic menhaden catch totaled 171,900 mt tons in 2014. The ASMFC set menhaden quota at 187,800 mt for 2015 and 2016.

In 2015, the ASMFC’s Atlantic menhaden stock assessment found that the menhaden stock was healthy and sustainably managed, with the species neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. It also found that fishing mortality is at an all-time low, and that menhaden fecundity (egg production) has been strong in recent years. Based on these findings, the ASMFC raised the menhaden quota by 10 percent last year.

Menhaden are used to produce fishmeal, fish oil, and fish solubles due to their high concentration of healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. They are also prized for their use as bait in other fisheries.

About the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is a collective of menhaden fishermen, related businesses, and supporting industries. Comprised of over 30 businesses along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition conducts media and public outreach on behalf of the menhaden industry to ensure that members of the public, media, and government are informed of important issues, events, and facts about the fishery.

View the release here

Vote coming on rules about removal of dogfish fins

July 28, 2016 — OLD LYME, Conn. — Interstate fishing regulators will vote on changes to rules that govern removal of fins from some coastal sharks by fishermen.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering an amendment that would allow fishermen to bring smooth dogfish to land with fins removed as long as their total retained catch is at least 25 percent smooth dogfish.

Current rules say fishermen can bring ashore as many dogfish with fins removed as they choose. The vote is scheduled for Tuesday.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Jersey Herald

ASMFC 2016 Summer Meeting Supplemental Material Now Available

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

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Summer Meeting have been posted here for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information).

Executive Committee – Memo on Plan Development Team Member; ACCSP Governance (Transition Document, Draft MOU, Staff Flowchart)

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Cobia Management White Paper; FMP Reviews for Atlantic Croaker and Red Drum

Tautog Management Board – 2016 Tautog Regional Stock Assessments for Long Island Sound and New Jersey/New York Bight; Regional Assessment Desk Review; Tagging Trial Preliminary Results

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Revised Draft Agenda and Meeting Overview; Memo on Ecobait Trials; Draft Recommendations for ARM Framework Review; Draft Biomedical Exceedance Recommendations;

Coastal Sharks Management Board – FMP Review; Advisory Panel Nomination and Request for Review of New Membership

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Advisory Panel Report on Draft Addendum I; Draft Public Information Document for Amendment 3; Public Comment

ACCSP Executive Committee – ACCSP Governance (Transition Document, Draft MOU, Staff Flowchart)

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – FMP Review

ISFMP Policy Board – Cobia Management White Paper; Risk and Uncertainty Policy Workgroup Memo; Habitat Committee Memo on Seismic Testing; MAFMC Correspondence to BOEM; SCWF Correspondence to SAFMC

ACCSP Coordinating Council – ACCSP Governance (Transition Document, Draft MOU, Staff Flowchart)

American Eel Management Board – New York Yellow Eel Allocation Proposal

American Lobster Management Board – American Lobster Technical Committee Memo on the Effect of Gauge Changes on Exploitation, SSB, Reference Abundance, and Catch; GARFO letter to ASMFC on the Southern New England Stock of American Lobster; American Lobster Plan Review Team & Advisory Panel Comments on Maine Conservation Equivalency Proposal

For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF here.

As a reminder, Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 10:15 a.m. on August 2nd and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 4:00 p.m.) on Thursday August  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. Please go here to register.

ASMFC 2016 Summer Meeting Final Agenda and Meeting Materials

July 20, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Meeting will be August 2-4, 2016 at The Westin Alexandria (Telephone: 703-253-8600) located at 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, Virginia. Meeting materials are available on the Commission website. Supplemental materials will be posted to the website on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. CDs containing all meeting materials will also be available at the meeting in limited quantities.

Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 10:15 a.m. on August 2nd and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 4:00 p.m.) on Thursday August  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. Please go here to register.

We look forward to seeing you at the Summer Meeting. If the staff or I can provide any further assistance to you, please call us at 703-842-0740.

Read the full meeting agenda as a PDF

Regulators look for solutions to lobster bait shortage

July 20, 2016 — PORTLAND, Maine — Interstate fishery managers will meet to discuss how to regulate the catch of a key lobster bait fish they say is at risk of heavy fishing.

Herring is the most popular bait fish for lobsters, and fishermen aren’t catching many far off New England. Regulators fear heavy herring fishing closer to shore will result in the fishery hitting its quota before the end of September.

Members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s herring board will meet Wednesday to discuss how to manage the rate of catch off states like Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Baltimore Sun

New Atlantic Marine Monument Poll Presents Misleading Picture of the Issues

July 12, 2016 (NCFC) — Yesterday, a poll released by the Protect New England’s Ocean Treasures Coalition claimed that 80 percent of Massachusetts and Rhode Island residents support national monument designation for certain ocean areas. However, the survey questions selectively presented information to respondents, withholding information about existing protections in the proposed monument areas.

The poll, conducted by Edge Research, a suburban Washington, DC polling company with a specialty in ocean conservation issues, consisted of phone interviews with 400 residents in Massachusetts and 403 residents in Rhode Island. Respondents were presented with questions that minimized the economic impacts of a potential marine monument.

When asked about the monuments, respondents were told, “protecting these areas would prohibit the fishing activity in these limited areas and could result in a small adverse economic impact on commercial fishing.” [emphasis added]

But according to fishermen themselves, the economic impact of a marine monument could in fact be devastating – potentially costing the industry millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. The affected areas are important grounds for the valuable red crab, swordfish, tuna, and offshore lobster fisheries. This has led the affected fisheries, as well as virtually the entire New England fishing industry and its regulatory bodies, to unite in opposition to the current monument proposals.

The pollsters also repeatedly asked whether respondents supported federal protections for the areas in question, without mentioning the protections already in place under the current management system. These protections include the prohibition of federally managed fisheries from using bottom-tending gear in Cashes Ledge, one of the areas under consideration.

Several leading fisheries management bodies have made it clear that they support the current public and transparent process for habitat and fisheries management. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission passed a resolution in May asserting its preference for using the current process, under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to develop protections for the proposed monument areas.

Also in May, the Council Coordination Committee, comprised of all eight regional fishery management councils in the U.S., stated its support for the “public, transparent, science-based process and management” of fisheries required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law governing fisheries management in the country. Marine protections enacted under this process are not mentioned as a potential alternative in the poll.

The press release accompanying the poll states that Edge Research “is recognized as the chief pollster for ocean issues.”

The Edge Research principal named in the release, Lisa Dropkin, is described as having “conducted research for a host of conservation organizations, including The Ocean Conservancy, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Environmental Defense Fund, and World Wildlife Fund.” She also chairs Green Media Toolshed, “an application service provider supporting media communications for environmental organizations,” which lists among its goals strengthening the “ability of conservation groups to influence national, regional and local media.”

In June 2015, Edge Research “partnered with the David & Lucile Packard Foundation to conduct new research on American Millennials’ attitudes towards oceans, ocean conservation, and pathways for engaging this next generation of ocean leaders.”

There is no indication on the Edge Research website that they have ever done work for the commercial fishing or maritime shipping industries.

The Protect New England’s Ocean Treasures Coalition, which is advocating for a Marine National Monument in the North Atlantic Ocean, is composed of Center for American Progress, Conservation Law Foundation, Earthjustice, Environment America, Mystic Aquarium, National Geographic Society, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, New England Aquarium, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

About the NCFC 
The National Coalition for Fishing Communities provides a national voice and a consistent, reliable presence for fisheries in the nation’s capital and in national media. Comprised of fishing organizations, associations, and businesses from around the country, the NCFC helps ensure sound fisheries policies by integrating community needs with conservation values, leading with the best science, and connecting coalition members to issues and events of importance.

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission eyes menhaden

July 6, 2016 — DOVER, Del. — Delaware officials are hosting an Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission public hearing on proposed changes to the interstate management plan for Atlantic Menhaden.

Wednesday evening’s hearing in Dover involves a proposal to allow two licensed commercial fishermen to harvest up to 12,000 pounds of menhaden bycatch when working from the same vessel and fishing with stationary, multi-species gear, limited to one vessel trip per day.

Currently, the bycatch limit is 6,000 pounds per vessel per day.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Washington Times