Saving Seafood

Maine shrimp fishery may allow fewer fishermen in future

August 22, 2015 — Maine shrimp might come back on the market eventually but there could be fewer fishermen catching them.

Regulators are considering putting a limit on the number of fishermen who can participate in the Gulf of Maine’s beleaguered shrimp fishery in an attempt to revive the shuttered industry.

A board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is developing a proposal to control the number of fishermen who can fish for the shrimp that are prized for their sweet, tender meat. The plan will likely be the subject of public hearings next year, and could apply as soon as the 2017 fishing year, said commission spokeswoman Tina Berger.

The winter fishery, which formerly took place in the early months of the year, is currently shut down over concerns about low population, and fishermen haven’t been able to catch shrimp there since 2013.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

American Lobster and Jonah Crab Reports Now Available

August 21, 2015 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has released the final versions of the 2015 American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report and Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Jonah Crab. Both documents can be found on the Commission website at www.asmfc.org on the American Lobster webpage. Direct links to the documents follow:
 
2015 American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report  – Please note this is a low resolution version; a high resolution copy of the report can be obtained at https://asmfc.egnyte.com/dl/kJfBicPSNR.
 
 

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update: 8/17/15

August 17, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

JERRY’S UPDATE

Last week I attended the joint meeting of the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in New York City. The primary issue was the quota setting for the next three years for summer flounder. There were about 40 council and commission members with staff sitting around the table and about twice that many in the audience, mostly commercial and recreational fishermen plus some reps of environmental groups. There was quite a bit of public comment on Tuesday and one of those rare times when commercial and recreational fishermen were on the same page. The original proposal was for a 43 percent quota reduction in 2016. Although what they agreed on was a 29 percent reduction for next year’s summer flounder quota, it will have tremendous impacts on both commercial and recreational fishermen. In addition, a motion passed by the council will take a look at the landings regulations which could have other very serious consequences for North Carolina.

At the state level, we have a very important Marine Fisheries Commission meeting coming up this week in Raleigh, with the commission addressing the southern flounder regulations. (For those not familiar with these terms, it can be confusing. Summer flounder is regulated jointly by the feds and states with southern flounder regulated by the state.)

See the schedule elsewhere in this update. We are strongly encouraging fishermen and their families to attend at least part of this very important meeting!

NCFA’s position from the start has been that the MFC should consider further management of southern flounder through the amendment process rather than the supplement course they’re on. We will continue to make that point this week in Raleigh. Based on previous actions by the MFC, it seems like it’s impossible to change their course. But should we roll over and give up? A couple of points here:

1.) At the time I write this, we have 2 new commissioners: Janet Rose of Currituck in a commercial seat and Keith Rhodes of Wilmington in an at-large seat. There is one more recreational fisherman yet to be named, but the point here is that we need to show up to talk to these new commissioners and make public comment as they can make all the difference in the decisions coming out of the MFC.

2.) Even if we know that the deck is stacked on this issue with the current commission, what kind of message are we sending if we don’t show up the way we usually do? That it’s over? That we’ve given up? I sincerely hope that isn’t the message we want to convey to the MFC, to the public and the media!

THE WORLD IS RUN BY THOSE WHO SHOW UP! SO LET’S SHOW UP!

Jerry

ANNUAL SPECS FOR SUMMER FLOUNDER, SCUP, BLACK SEA BASS AND BLUEFISH APPROVED BY MAFMC AND ASMFC

NMFS ANNOUNCES PROPOSED RULE TO SET QUOTAS AND OPENING DATES FOR 2016 ATLANTIC SHARK COMMERCIAL FISHING SEASON

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces a proposed rule that would establish quota levels and opening dates for the 2016 Atlantic commercial shark fisheries.

The proposed 2016 quotas, adjusted as appropriate to account for over- and underharvests, are summarized in Table 1 by management group.  Adjustments based on over- and underharvests depend on stock status.  The proposed rule uses landings data received as of June 19, 2015.  The final rule will be based on updated data received in dealer reports as of October or November 2015 based on the timing of the final rule.  Thus, the quotas in the proposed rule are subject to change in the final rule.  All dealer reports that are received after the date of the final rule will be used to adjust the 2017 quotas, as appropriate.

Specifically, NMFS proposes to:

* Open all shark management groups on the effective date for this action (i.e., on or about January 1, 2016).

* Start the 2016 commercial shark fishing season with a retention limit of 45 large coastal sharks (LCS) other than sandbar sharks per    vessel per trip.

* Adjust the commercial shark retention limit inseason to allow more equitable fishing opportunities across the fishery.

* Increase the Gulf of Mexico blacktip shark management group sub-regional quotas based on underharvests in 2014 and 2015.

* Decrease the Gulf of Mexico non-blacknose small coastal shark management group quota based on an overharvest in 2014.

* Decrease the Atlantic blacknose shark management group quota over a five-year timeframe based on an overharvest in 2012 and further decrease the quota over a three-year timeframe based on an additional overharvest in 2015.

Public hearings are currently not scheduled.  If you are interested in public hearings for the proposed rule, please contact Karyl Brewster-Geisz or Guý DuBeck by phone 301-427-8503 Written comments will be accepted until Sept. 17.  For more information and how to submit comments see the news release.

RECREATIONAL SECTOR EXCEEDS 2015 ACL FOR HOGFISH IN SOUTH ATLANTIC, FISHERY TO CLOSE AUG. 24

Recreational harvest of hogfish in South Atlantic federal waters will close, at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on Aug. 24, 2015. Federal waters will reopen to recreational harvest at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on Jan. 1, 2016. The recreational annual catch limit for hogfish is 85,355 pounds whole weight. Reports indicate that landings have exceeded the 2015 recreational annual catch limit for hogfish.

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

–Coral Amendment 8 in the South Atlantic Effective Aug. 17

–Amendment 6 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic HMS Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Sharks Effective Aug. 18

–Snowy Grouper Season Re-opens Aug. 20

-South Atlantic Gag and Wreckfish Catch Limits Change Effective Sept. 11

-Atlantic Mackerel Slippage Consequences Measures Effective Sept. 11

-USCG Mandatory Dockside Inspections Required Effective Oct. 15

DEADLINES:

Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. – Snapper-Grouper Regulatory Amendment 16  Comments

Aug. 26 – Green Sea Turtles ESA Uplisting Comments

Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. – Snapper-Grouper Regulatory Amendment 36 Comments

Sept. 1 – SAFMC Snapper-Grouper Draft Vision Blueprint Comments

Sept. 4 – Cape Fear River Restoration Scoping Document Comments

Sept. 10 – NMFS Updated Draft Acoustic Guidelines Comments

Sept. 14 – NMFS Generic Amendment to Snapper-Grouper, Golden Crab and Dolphin-Wahoo FMPs Comments

Sept. 17 – 2016 Commercial Atlantic Shark Season Comments

Sept 21 at 5 p.m. – 2016-2018 Atlantic Herring Research Set Aside Applications

Oct. 2 – MFC Proposed Rules Comments

MEETINGS:

If you are aware of ANY meetings that should be of interest to commercial fishing that is not on this list, please contact us so we can include it here.     

Aug. 18  at 6 p.m.– Cape Fear River Restoration Public Meeting, Navassa Community Center, 338 Main St., Navassa

Aug. 19 at 1:30 p.m. – MAFMC Spiny Dogfish Advisory Panel Meeting via webinar

Aug. 19-21 – Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting, Brownstone Hotel, Raleigh

Aug. 31-Sept.1 – ASMFC Menhaden Ecosystem Management Workshop

Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. – MFC Rules Public Hearing, DMF Central District Office, 5285 Hwy 70 W, Morehead City

PROCLAMATIONS: 

CRAB TRAWLING AND TAKING SHRIMP WITH NETS (OPENING: Outer Shallowbag Bay)

CRAB TRAWLING AND TAKING SHRIMP WITH NETS

SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX – COMMERCIAL PURPOSES (SNOWY GROUPER)

SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX – RECREATIONAL PURPOSES (SNOWY GROUPER)

 

Mid-Atlantic Council and ASMFC Approve Specifications for Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish

August 17, 2015 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) met jointly last week in New York, NY to establish specifications for the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries. The table below summarizes the recommended commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass (2015 values are provided for comparison purposes). Please note that specifications may be adjusted based on changes in the fishery or new scientific information. 

The Council’s recommendations apply to federal waters (3 – 200 miles from shore) and will be forwarded to NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for approval. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore).

Summer Flounder 

For summer flounder, the Council and Commission approved an Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) limit of 16.26 million pounds for the 2016 fishing year. This represents an approximate 29% decrease relative to the 2015 ABC.  After accounting for projected discards in the commercial and recreational fisheries, this ABC is divided into a commercial quota of 8.12 million pounds and a recreational harvest limit of 5.42 million pounds for the 2016 fishing year.

These reductions in summer flounder catch and landings limits were recommended based on the findings of the 2015 stock assessment update, which indicates that the summer flounder stock was experiencing overfishing in 2014. The fishing mortality rate in 2014 was estimated to be 16% above the fishing mortality threshold reference point. For more information on the assessment update and its impacts on harvest limits for 2016, please see the Council’s Summer Flounder Catch and Landings Limit Fact Sheet.

Scup 

For scup, the Council and Commission approved an ABC of 31.11 million pounds for the 2016 fishing year. After accounting for projected discards in the commercial and recreational fisheries, this ABC is divided into a commercial quota of 20.47 million pounds and a recreational harvest limit of 6.09 million pounds. This represents a decrease from 2015 levels due to a slight decrease in spawning stock biomass (SSB) as projected by the 2015 benchmark stock assessment. 

Black Sea Bass 

For black sea bass, the Council and Commission approved an ABC of 5.50 million pounds for the 2016 and 2017 fishing years. After accounting for projected discards in the commercial and recreational fisheries, this ABC is divided into a commercial quota of 2.24 million pounds and a recreational harvest limit of 2.33 million pounds. These catch levels are unchanged relative to 2015 levels. Both the commercial quota and recreational harvest limit may be changed pending further review by the Council’s Science and Statistical Committee in September 2015. The next benchmark stock assessment is scheduled be peer-reviewed through the Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee in late fall 2016.

Bluefish 

For the bluefish fishery, the Commission and Council approved an ABC of 19.45 million pounds for the 2016 fishing year, an approximate 10% decrease from 2015 levels. The reduction responds to the findings of the 2015 benchmark stock assessment which lowered  both the SSB target level (223 million pounds) and the SSB estimate (191 million pounds in 2014). The 2016 commercial quota and recreational harvest limit will be set once the 2015 recreational harvest estimates are available.

 

Stock assessments important for fish and fishermen

August 14, 2015 — Why was the striped bass limit cut to one fish?  Why are you allowed to take 9″ scup from select shore areas and the minimum is 10″ from a boat and other shore areas?  And, why have we been restricted to one black sea bass all summer?

The answer to these and similar questions lies, in part, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ability to manage and prioritize fish stock assessments for recreational and commercial fisheries so fish managers can make decisions based on the best available scientific information.

Earlier this month NOAA released a final version of a new stock assessment prioritization system.  NOAA manages over 500 fish species nationally but only has the recourses to conduct about 200 fish stock assessments a year with its partners.  So, they had to develop an objective and transparent way to prioritize assessments.  Details of the final assessment system report can be found at www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/stock-assessment/stock-assessment-prioritization.

Stock assessments are fundamental to the sustainable management of our Nation’s fisheries. They represent the best scientific information available used to determine the status of fish stocks and guide the setting of harvest regulations that prevent overfishing and attain optimum yield from our Nation’s fisheries.

Read the full story at the Cranston Herald

 

Maine elver fishermen to have same quota next season

August 14, 2015 — The following is an excerpt from a story published yesterday by the Associated Press, appearing in the Portland Press Herald:

Maine’s elver fishermen will have the same quota next spring when they fish for the valuable baby eels.

The fishermen are dealing with fluctuating volume and value in a fishery that exploded in interest early this decade. Elvers are sold to Asian aquaculture companies that raise them to maturity and use them as food, including sushi. Maine’s fishery for elvers is by far the biggest in the country, and the eels have become more valuable in recent years largely because of a sharp decline in their population across Europe in the 1990s.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which manages elver fishing, met earlier this month to discuss the fishery. There was no discussion of the possibility of changing the quota, which will remain in effect through 2017, when it will be re-evaluated, a spokeswoman said.

The quota system and Maine’s swipe card tracking system have been valuable tools to manage the fishery, said David Allen, a member of the commission’s American Eel Advisory Panel.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

Presentations and Audio Files of the ASMFC’s 2015 Summer Meeting Are Now Available

August 13, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Presentations and audio links of Board/Section proceedings from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2015 Summer Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-summer-meeting under the relevant Board/Section.  Past meeting materials can also be accessed on the website (www.asmfc.org) under News/Meeting Archives.

 

REVISED: ASMFC 2015 Summer Meeting Press Releases, Meeting Summaries and Motions Now Available

August 11, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC):

The document containing the press releases, meeting summaries and motions from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2015 Summer Meeting has been revised with the inclusion of the following American Lobster Management Board which had been inadvertently removed.

Motion to adopt the following biological measures for commercial Jonah crab harvest:

·         For Issue 2 – Minimum size – Option 5:  a minimum size of 4.75”
·         For issue 3 – Commercial minimum size tolerance – Option 1: No tolerance for undersize crabs.
·         For Issue 5 – Egg-Bearing Females – Option 2: Prohibit retention of egg-bearing females.

Motion made by Mr. Adler and seconded by Mr. Keliher. Motion passes unanimously.

The revised document can be obtained at the following link – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/Summer2015/2015SummerMeetingSummary.pdf.

Lobster Catch Up In Maine, Down In Southern New England

August 7, 2015 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has released a preliminary assessment of the U.S. Atlantic coast lobster stock, and it presents a mixed picture. The Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank has seen a record high abundance of lobster, while Southern New England’s stock has diminished, due in part to rising water temperatures, a report indicates.

“The Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank stock is not overfished and not experiencing overfishing,” according to a panel assessment representing the Commission, in an Aug. 5 news release. “The Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank were previously assessed as separate stock units and are now combined into one stock unit due to evidence of seasonal migratory patterns and connectivity between the two areas. Conversely, the Southern New England stock is severely depleted with poor prospects of recovery, necessitating protection.”

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is an interstate compact, working with the federal government. The Commission was established in 1942 to sustain healthy fisheries along the U.S. coastline.

Read the full story at Penobscot Bay Pilot

ASMFC 2015 Summer Meeting Press Releases, Meeting Summaries and Motions Now Available

August 6, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC):

Press releases, meeting summaries and motions from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2015 Summer Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/Summer2015/2015SummerMeetingSummary.pdf.  The meeting summary, as well as summaries and materials for past meetings, can also be found on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive. Presentations and audio files for the Boards/Sections that met during the Summer Meeting will be posted to the website early next week at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-summer-meeting.