Saving Seafood

ASMFC 74th Annual Meeting Final Agenda and Meeting Materials Now Available

October 22, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The final agenda and meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 74th Annual Meeting can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting; click on the relevant Board/Committee name to access the documents for that Board/Committee. The agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of meetings. Interested parties should anticipate meetings starting earlier or later than indicated herein.

For ease of access, meeting materials for all the Boards/Sections, including the ISFMP Policy Board and Business Session are combined into one PDF (http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2015AnnualMeeting/CombinedFiles.pdf). This PDF does not include materials for any other committees that will be meeting; nor does it include the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review of Red Drum, which can obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2015AnnualMeeting/RedDrumAssmt.pdf.Some documents may be large, so please be patient downloading. Supplemental materials will be posted to the website next Wednesday, October 28th.

Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 8:00 a.m. on November 2nd, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:45 p.m.) on November 5th.  The webinar will allow registrants to listen to the proceedings of the Commission’s management boards/sections during the  74th Annual Meeting, November 2-5, 2015. Registrants will also be able to view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise during the streaming of 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/2086181846563838978.

Board/Section summaries, presentations, and audio files will be available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting the week of November 9th.

As a reminder, the guidelines for 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) are as follows: 

1.   Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included with the main meeting materials.

2.   Comments received by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 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, October 27, 2015 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.

MAINE: Lobstermen Cry ‘Foul’ Over Proposed Searsport Harbor Dredging

October 15, 2015 — The state of Maine has long been synonymous with deep forested tracts of wilderness stretching from its western boundary with the Connecticut lakes in far northern New Hampshire, up to its northern border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick. The state has long been associated with pristine springs, rivers and lakes, the habitat of its signature majestic large antlered moose – and all the while conjuring up images of the ubiquitous Poland Spring water bottle.

The southern and “downeastern” end of Maine is composed of miles of sandy beaches that gradually give way to rocky crags, jutting coastline, and hundreds of small rock outcrops and islands dotted with salty old lighthouses. This rocky coastline is the perfect breeding ground for the one sea creature that Maine is famous for, and makes up the heart of the state’s predominant seafood export – that delectable crustacean, the Maine lobster.

It also appears the “typical Maine rocky coastline” is the prime location where these tasty crustaceans are caught and eventually get exported far and wide to consumers’ tables. This is according to the most recent Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report, released last month. Of note, an interesting statistic gleaned from this NOAA study is: “… More than 98 percent of the total GOM (Gulf of Maine) catch has come from inshore NMFS statistical areas.”

This statistic is of great importance as it puts one such lobster breeding-ground right in the crosshairs of an ambitious U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and Maine DOT proposed project to dredge and deepen the channel in Searsport – to the tune of approximately $13 million – to allow two Canadian oil companies, Sprague Energy and Irving Oil, to off-load their crude oil at a local terminal at Mack Point.

At issue for these two oil companies is that they would prefer not to wait for a high tide to off-load their cargo at the terminal, and thus save – by their account – approximately $845,000 per year. To accommodate these oil companies, the COE would risk jeopardizing prime lobster breeding-grounds in western Penobscot Bay, by dumping approximately 1 million cubic yards of dredge spoils from the Searsport channel in areas of Penobscot Bay containing numerous pockmarks created by methane venting.

Read the full story at Triple Pundit

 

River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop Scheduled for November 18-20, 2015 in Linthicum, MD

ARLINGTON, VA – October 15, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will conduct a River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop on November 18-20, 2015 in Linthicum, MD. The Workshop will bring together researchers from state and federal marine fishery agencies, Tribal Nations, and Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans to evaluate current fishery-independent surveys for river herring and develop recommendations to standardize survey methodologies as well as data collected by these surveys for use in future stock assessments. Workshop participants will also consider some fishery-dependent sampling that collect river herring along the Atlantic coast.

Standardization of river herring data collection methods and datasets was identified as a priority for future stock assessments by the 2012 river herring benchmark stock assessment and peer review, the Commission’s River Herring Technical Committee, and NOAA Fisheries’ River Herring Technical Expert Working Group.  The Workshop, which is being supported with funding by NOAA Fisheries, will begin at 1 PM on November 18th and end at 3 PM on the 20th, and will be held at the Sheraton BWI, 1100 Old Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090. The Workshop is open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room.  Opportunities for public comment will be provided.

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

 

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, AESA Agree: American Eel Population Stable, Not Threatened

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — October 14, 2015 — The following was released by the American Eel Sustainability Association:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has rejected a petition from the Council for Endangered Species Act Reliability (CESAR) to list American eels as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), confirming that the species is “stable” and not in need of Federal protection. The announcement also affirms and reiterates the American Eel Sustainability Association’s (AESA) repeated public statements attesting to the fishery’s sustainable operations, thanks in large part to the sacrifices made by eel fishermen to ensure proactive, responsible resource management.

According to the FWS, “the eel’s single population is overall stable and not in danger of extinction (endangered) or likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future (threatened).” This determination was reached after an extensive review of the most recent scientific data from several federal agencies and independent sources, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

The Service specifically cited “harvest quotas and mechanisms restoring eel passage around dams and other obstructions” as some of the proactive measures being taken to conserve the species, as well as one of the primary reasons the American eel is not under threat. The FWS also mentioned the species’ wide geographic range, as well as “flexibility and adaptability” in its lifecycle and habitat as reasons for the decision.

This is the second time that the Service has determined that American eel does not require protections under the ESA, first ruling in 2007 that eels were not “endangered.” These repeated findings support AESA’s position that the species is being sustainably harvested, and that current management by the ASMFC is ensuring the health and future viability of the eel stock. Through their adherence to strict quotas and support of responsible management, American eel fishermen have played a key role in maintaining today’s healthy populations.

AESA commends the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its thorough review of American eel, as well as the ASMFC for its proactive management and conservation of the species. AESA will continue to advocate for strong and responsible eel management to safeguard the sustainability for the future.

The American Eel Sustainability Association (AESA) is a leading industry organization focused on the science and management of American eel. For more information about AESA and the American eel fishery, please visit www.americaneel.org.

View a PDF of the release here

American Eel Population Remains Stable, Does not Need ESA Protection: Conservation efforts should continue for long-term species health

October 7, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

“The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is encouraged by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to not list American eel under the Endangered Species Act,” states Commission Chair Dr. Louis B. Daniel, III.  “The Commission, its member states, and federal partners have invested significant resources over the past several years to conduct the first coastwide benchmark stock assessment for American eel. The assessment findings, which were fully endorsed by an independent panel of fisheries scientists, have formed the basis of our current management for American eel. This management program seeks to reduce mortality and increase conservation of American eel stocks across all life stages.  However, given the current depleted status of the resource, there is still considerable work to be done to rebuild American eel. The Commission will continue to closely monitor American eel fisheries and the status of the resource, and make adjustments to the management program as necessary, to ensure stock rebuilding.”

See below for more information on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s finding.  

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the American eel is stable and does not need protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Nonetheless, for the species’ long-term stability, the agency recommends continuing efforts to maintain healthy habitats, monitor harvest levels, and improve river passage for migrating eels.

The life of the American eel begins and ends in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean. Millions of adult American eels leave waters from as far north as Greenland and south to Venezuela to reproduce in the Sargasso Sea. Hundreds of millions of American eel larvae return from the sea to freshwater, estuarine and marine waters. Their random mating behavior makes eels panmictic, meaning the species is composed of one population worldwide. They are a culturally and biologically important part of the aquatic ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere. American eels have been harvested for thousands of years by Native American cultures, and were an important part of the diet of early colonial settlers.

Today’s decision, also known as a 12-month finding, follows an in-depth status review on a 2010 petition to list the eel as threatened under the ESA. The review was largely based on a biological species report peer-reviewed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Fisheries, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Eel Technical Committee and academia. After examining the best scientific and commercial information available regarding past, present and future stressors facing the species, the Service determined the eel’s single population is overall stable and not in danger of extinction (endangered) or likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future (threatened).

While American eels still face local mortality from harvest and hydroelectric facilities, this is not threatening the overall species. Harvest quotas and mechanisms restoring eel passage around dams and other obstructions have also reduced these effects. Dam removals, culvert replacements, night-time hydroelectric facility shutdowns, and updated passage structures have restored habitat access in many areas. The Service is working with partners across the range on conservation efforts to ensure long-term stability for the American eel and other migratory fish species. The agency’s Northeast fisheries program alone has removed or improved more than 200 barriers to fish passage since 2009, opening more than 1,200 miles and 12,000 acres of rivers for aquatic wildlife including the American eel. The Service has also secured $10.4 million in Hurricane Sandy resilience funding to restore fish passage through removal of 13 dams in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

American eels remain widely distributed throughout much of their historical range, despite habitat loss and reduced numbers over the past century. New information reiterates their flexibility and adaptability by indicating that some eels complete their life cycle in estuarine and marine waters, contrary to former research that suggested eels required freshwater for growing to adulthood.

This is the second time the Service has evaluated the American eel for listing under the ESA and found listing not warranted. The first decision came in 2007 after an extensive status review. This 12-month finding will be published in the Federal Register on October 8, 2015. The finding and supporting documents can be found at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/americaneel/.

More information is available on the American eel website.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rejects Push to List American Eel Under Endangered Species Act

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — October 7, 2015 — The following was released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the American eel is stable and does not need protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Nonetheless, for the species’ long-term stability, the agency recommends continuing efforts to maintain healthy habitats, monitor harvest levels, and improve river passage for migrating eels.

The life of the American eel begins and ends in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean. Millions of adult American eels leave waters from as far north as Greenland and south to Venezuela to reproduce in the Sargasso Sea. Hundreds of millions of American eel larvae return from the sea to freshwater, estuarine and marine waters. Their random mating behavior makes eels panmictic, meaning the species is composed of one population worldwide. They are a culturally and biologically important part of the aquatic ecosystems in the Western Hemisphere. American eels have been harvested for thousands of years by Native American cultures, and were an important part of the diet of early colonial settlers.

Today’s decision, also known as a 12-month finding, follows an in-depth status review on a 2010 petition to list the eel as threatened under the ESA. The review was largely based on a biological species report peer-reviewed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-Fisheries, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Eel Technical Committee and academia. After examining the best scientific and commercial information available regarding past, present and future stressors facing the species, the Service determined the eel’s single population is overall stable and not in danger of extinction (endangered) or likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future (threatened).

While American eels still face local mortality from harvest and hydroelectric facilities, this is not threatening the overall species. Harvest quotas and mechanisms restoring eel passage around dams and other obstructions have also reduced these effects. Dam removals, culvert replacements, night-time hydroelectric facility shutdowns, and updated passage structures have restored habitat access in many areas. The Service is working with partners across the range on conservation efforts to ensure long-term stability for the American eel and other migratory fish species. The agency’s Northeast fisheries program alone has removed or improved more than 200 barriers to fish passage since 2009, opening more than 1,200 miles and 12,000 acres of rivers for aquatic wildlife including the American eel. The Service has also secured $10.4 million in Hurricane Sandy resilience funding to restore fish passage through removal of 13 dams in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

American eels remain widely distributed throughout much of their historical range, despite habitat loss and reduced numbers over the past century. New information reiterates their flexibility and adaptability by indicating that some eels complete their life cycle in estuarine and marine waters, contrary to former research that suggested eels required freshwater for growing to adulthood.

This is the second time the Service has evaluated the American eel for listing under the ESA and found listing not warranted. The first decision came in 2007 after an extensive status review. This 12-month finding will be published in the Federal Register on October 8, 2015. The finding and supporting documents can be found at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/americaneel/.

Read the release from the Fish and Wildlife Service here

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission released the following statement on the decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service:

“The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is encouraged by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to not list American eel under the Endangered Species Act,” states Commission Chair Dr. Louis B. Daniel, III. “The Commission, its member states, and federal partners have invested significant resources over the past several years to conduct the first coastwide benchmark stock assessment for American eel. The assessment findings, which were fully endorsed by an independent panel of fisheries scientists, have formed the basis of our current management for American eel. This management program seeks to reduce mortality and increase conservation of American eel stocks across all life stages.  However, given the current depleted status of the resource, there is still considerable work to be done to rebuild American eel. The Commission will continue to closely monitor American eel fisheries and the status of the resource, and make adjustments to the management program as necessary, to ensure stock rebuilding.”

NOAA’s Update of ‘Menhaden Facts’ Webpage Confirms Sustainable Menhaden Fishery

WASHINGTON (Menhaden Fisheries Coalition) — October 5, 2015 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

NOAA Fisheries’ Chesapeake Bay Office has updated its “Menhaden Facts” webpage, confirming the sustainability of the Atlantic menhaden fishery, and stating clearly that Atlantic menhaden is neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. The update is based upon the most current menhaden benchmark stock assessment, released in early 2015.

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition credits the stock’s natural resilience for these positive indicators. Years of diligent work by state and federal scientists produced the 2015 Atlantic menhaden stock assessment, considered the most thorough and accurate in the history of the fishery. Its results differ sharply from the prior update assessment, released in 2012, which was broadly criticized for mathematical flaws that underestimated the species’ health.

The results of the 2012 assessment were used as justification for a sweeping 20 percent coastwide harvest cut. As it did then, and now with the support of the 2015 stock assessment, the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition questions the legitimacy of this harvest cut.

Fisheries managers have now affirmed what the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition has long maintained. In January, the latest menhaden stock assessment found that menhaden were in fact being harvested sustainably, with positive indicators such as record low levels of fishing mortality and near-record levels of stock fecundity. In June, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) acted on this news and increased harvests by 10 percent, partially reversing the 2012 cut. And last month, NOAA updated its official menhaden page to reflect these changes.

Both agencies-NOAA and the ASMFC-have now officially declared the species to be sustainably harvested and managed. The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is committed to continuing that sustainability into the future.

About the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition is a collective of menhaden fisherman, 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 a PDF of the release from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition

 

CONNECTICUT: Managers consider how to save southern New England lobsters

October 2, 2015 — OLD LYME, Connecticut (AP) — An interstate regulatory committee is set to meet to discuss new management possibilities for southern New England’s imperiled lobster population.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Southern New England Lobster Subcommittee is meeting in Old Lyme on Friday. The group will consider potential management tools to help preserve the species, which has crashed to record low levels.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Herald

 

Atlantic Herring Area 1A’s Trimester 3 Landing Days

ARLINGTON, Va. — September 29, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, with input from industry, set a “days out” effort control measure to allow three (3) consecutive landing days per week in Area 1A during Trimester 3 (October 1 through December 31). Effective 12:01 AM, Monday, October 5, the Trimester 3 Atlantic herring fishery will move from zero landing days to three landings days. Vessels may fish and land Atlantic herring from 12:01 AM each Monday through midnight on Wednesday throughout Trimester 3. Thursday through Sunday are “no landing” days. Please note a state may implement different start and finish times for the three consecutive landing days.

Landings will be monitored closely and the directed fishery will be closed when 92% of the Area 1A quota is projected to be reached.  For the Trimester 3 Area 1A fishery that value is 6,971 metric tons (mt).

In addition, the spawning area in Massachusetts-New Hampshire is closed until October 18. Vessels participating in other fisheries may possess no more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip in a spawning closure area.

Please contact Ashton Harp at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740 for more information.

 

Access options tabled for native shrimp fishery

September 28, 2015 — The three states involved in the Gulf of Maine northern shrimp fishery are no closer to agreeing on future management options for the beleaguered fishery and have postponed until next summer the discussion on limiting access to the fishery when it reopens.

The northern shrimp section of the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission, the multi-state regulator for shrimp and other near-shore species, announced it has halted further development of the draft amendment addressing access to the collapsed fishery.

Now it appears it largely will be left to Maine to come up with a plan amenable to Massachusetts, New Hampshire and the rest of the ASMFC.

“The states were having trouble finding something that would work for them all,” said ASMFC spokeswoman Tina Berger. “So, for now, Maine will tackle it on their own because they have by far the largest number of fishermen in the fishery.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times