Saving Seafood

ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Continues to Move Forward on the Development of Draft Amendment 7

May 7, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board met to review public comments and Advisory Panel (AP) recommendations on the Public Information Document for Draft Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP), and provide guidance on which issues to include in the Draft Amendment. The purpose of the amendment is to update the management program in order to reflect current fishery needs and priorities given the status and understanding of the resource and fishery has changed considerably since implementation of Amendment 6 in 2003. The Board intends for the amendment to build upon the Addendum VI (2019) action to end overfishing and initiate rebuilding.

Prior to the Board’s deliberations, Commission Chair Patrick Keliher provided opening remarks urging the Board to take action to address the downward trend of the Commission’s flagship species. He stated, “While we are not at the point we were in 1984, the downward trend of this stock is evident in the assessment. For many of the Commission’s species, we are no longer in a position to hold hope that things will revert to what they have previously been if we just hold static. The change is happening too fast and action needs to be taken.” He further requested the Board to consider “what is best for this species, and also what is best for the future of the Commission.”

After its review of the AP report, input received at the 11 virtual public hearings (targeting stakeholders from Maine to Virginia), and the more than 3,000 submitted comments, the Board approved the following issues for development in Draft Amendment 7: recreational release mortality, conservation equivalency, management triggers, and measures to protect the 2015 year class. These issues were identified during the public comment period as critically important to help rebuild the stock and update the management program. In its deliberations, the Board emphasized the need to take focused and meaningful actions to address the declining stock and allow for the expedient development and implementation of the amendment.

While the coastal commercial quota allocation issue will not be included for further consideration in the Draft Amendment, the Board requested staff from the Commission and the State of Delaware prepare background information, options, and timelines for possible inclusion in a separate management document. The remaining issues that will not be developed as part of the amendment will remain unchanged from current management measures. However, they can be included in the adaptive management section of Draft Amendment 7 and addressed in a separate management document following approval of the final amendment.

As the next step in the amendment process, the Plan Development Team (PDT) will develop options for the four issues approved by the Board for inclusion in Draft Amendment 7. The Board will meet again during the Commission’s Summer Meeting in August to review the PDT’s progress on the Draft Amendment and recommend any further changes to the document. Based on progress made on the Draft Amendment, the Board’s next opportunity to meet and consider possible approval of the document for public comment will be in October during the Commission’s Annual Meeting.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

NOAA Fisheries Announces 2021 Recreational Rules for Summer Flounder

May 5, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are finalizing “conservation equivalency” for the recreational summer flounder fishery as recommended by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Under conservation equivalency the combination of state or regional measures must be “equivalent,” in terms of conservation (i.e., not expected to exceed the recreational harvest limit), to a set of “non-preferred coastwide measures,” which are recommended by the Council and the Commission each year.

For the 2021 fishing year we have waived the federal recreational bag limit, minimum fish size, and fishing season for summer flounder, and fishermen are subject to regulations in the state where they land. Please contact your state for information on summer flounder recreational rules.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register today.

Read the full release here

$6.7M in COVID relief will be distributed to New York’s fishing industries

April 29, 2021 — Starting April 28, $6.7 million in relief aid is being distributed to New York’s seafood, marine commercial, and for-hire fishing industries after excessive losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. The State will distribute an additional $5.7 million in the coming months through the Marine Fisheries Relief Program.

The Program assists marine fishing industries and provides support for COVID-19 economic recovery. Eligible New York applicants from seafood, commercial fishing and marine recreational for-hire fishing businesses have been awarded relief based on reported economic loss experienced in 2020 compared to the previous five years.

Read the full story at ABC 10

NOAA Fisheries Announces Revised 2021 and Projected 2022 Spiny Dogfish Specifications

April 29, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective May 1

NOAA Fisheries is implementing revised catch specifications for the 2021 and 2022 spiny dogfish fishery, as recommended by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils. These catch limits are revised from what was originally projected for fishing year 2021 to reflect the Mid-Atlantic Council’s updated risk policy to prevent overfishing, and the same specifications are projected for fishing year 2022. Because the new risk policy accepts a higher level of risk for stocks at or above biomass targets, the proposed revisions increase all catch limits nearly 10 percent, as shown in the table below.

All other spiny dogfish management measures and requirements, including the 6,000-lb federal trip limit, remain unchanged.

For more details, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register, and/or the bulletin posted on our website.

Read the full release here

ASMFC 2021 Spring Meeting Webinar Supplemental Materials Now Available

April 28, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2021 Spring Meeting Webinar are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2021-spring-meeting-webinar for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, all supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2021SpringMeetingWebinar/2021SpringMeetingMaterialsCombinedSupplemental.pdf. Below is the list of documents included in the supplemental materials.

American Lobster Management Board – April 2021 Technical Committee Meeting Summary and Memo on Electronic Vessel Tracking for Federal Lobster and Jonah Crab Fleet

ACCSP Coordinating Council – FY2022 Request for Proposal Package and ACCSP News & Web Announcements

American Eel Management Board – Advisory Panel Report on American Eel Fisheries, Recent Landings, and Market Demand

Climate Crisis Executive Order – Florida FWC Comments

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – 2020 FMP Review; Memo on NC DMF Daily Pound Net Landings Proxy for Effort for Atlantic Menhaden; Memo on Atlantic Menhaden Spatial Model Needs

Shad and River Herring Management Board – Technical Committee Recommendations on American Shad Habitat Plan Updates

Webinar Information

Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, May 3 at 1 PM and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:30 PM) on Thursday, May 6. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. To register for the webinar go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4182611915717793807, Webinar ID# 647-565-931.

Each day, the webinar will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so that people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter.  If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.

If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can may also call in at 1.562.247.8321 (a pin will be provided to you after joining the webinar); see webinar instructions  for details on how to receive the pin. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, you can do so by dialing 1.562.247.8321 (access code: 785-852-884).

Public Comment Guidelines

To provide a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board  approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings. Please note these guidelines have been modified to adapt to meetings via webinar:

For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide an opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide 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 the webinar (April 19) will be included in the briefing materials.
  2. Comments received by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, April 27 will be included in the supplemental materials.
  3. Comments received by 10:00 AM on Friday, April 30 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.

Comments should be submitted via email at comments@asmfc.org. All comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.

Atlantic Herring Area 1A 2021 Effort Controls

April 23, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts set the effort control measures for the 2021 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery for June 1 – September 30.

The Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) is 1,453 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for the carryover from 2019, the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside, and the fact that Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL. In October 2020, the Board established the following seasonal allocations for the 2021 Area 1A sub-ACL: 72.8% available for season 1 (June 1 – September 30) and 27.2% available for season 2 (October 1 – December 31).

Days Out of the Fishery

  • Landing days will be set at zero from June 1 until the start of the fishery on June 13 at 6:00 p.m.
  • Vessels with an Atlantic herring Limited Access Category A permit that have declared into the Area 1A fishery may land herring five (5) consecutive days a week. One landing per 24 hour period. Vessels are prohibited from landing or possessing herring caught from Area 1A during a day out of the fishery.
  • Landing days begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m. starting June 13.

Weekly Landing Limit

  • Vessels with an Atlantic herring Category A permit may harvest up to 240,000 lbs. (6 trucks) per harvester vessel, per week starting June 13.

At-Sea Transfer and Carrier Restrictions

The following applies to harvester vessels with an Atlantic herring Category A permit and carrier vessels landing herring caught in Area 1A to a Maine, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts port.

  • A harvester vessel may transfer herring at-sea to another harvester vessel.
  • A harvester vessel may not make any at-sea transfers to a carrier vessel.
  • Carrier vessels may not receive at-sea transfers from a harvester vessel.

Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A until June 13, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. Landings will be closely monitored and the fishery will be adjusted to zero landing days when the season 1 quota is projected to be reached.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

The announcement can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerring2021Area1A_DaysOutMeasures_Aprl2021.pdf

MAFMC News Roundup – 4/22/21

April 22, 2021 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

April Council Meeting Summary: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council met via webinar April 6-8, 2021. Check out the April 2021 Council Meeting Summary for all the details, or watch the meeting recordings on YouTube. During this meeting, the Council:

  • Postponed final action on the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment during a joint meeting with the ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board
  • Adopted status quo specifications for the Mid-Atlantic blueline tilefish fishery for 2022-2024
  • Reviewed a preliminary range of alternatives for the Tilefish Multi-Year Specifications Framework
  • Provided comments on E.O 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
  • Received an update regarding several ongoing activities in support of the Council’s EAFM guidance document
  • Reviewed the 2021 Mid-Atlantic State of the Ecosystem Report and EAFM Risk Assessment
  • Received an update on the East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Initiative
  • Received a presentation on Climate Change Science Efforts Underway at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center

June Council Meeting to be Conducted by Webinar: The next Council meeting, scheduled for June 8-10, will be held virtually. Topics to be addressed in June include final action on the Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment; review of previously approved 2022 specifications for longfin squid, butterfish, Atlantic surfclam, and ocean quahog; approval of 2022 Illex squid specifications; review of the Illex incidental trip limit and butterfish mesh regulations; habitat updates; and more. An agenda will be available in early May.

Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment: Tomorrow, April 23, is the last day to submit comments on the Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment. Learn more and submit comments here.

Advisory Panel Application Deadline: Tomorrow is also the deadline to apply for the Council’s advisory panels. All current advisors must reapply to be considered for reappointment. Apply here.

May SSC Meeting: The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet via webinar May 11-12, 2021. During this meeting the SSC will review and consider changes to the 2021 Illex squid ABC, recommend a 2022 Illex ABC, and review the previously recommended ABCs for butterfish, longfin squid, Atlantic surfclam, and ocean quahog. The SSC will also discuss topics related to the Mid-Atlantic State of the Ecosystem Report and provide feedback on possible 2026 Research Track Assessment Priorities.

Mid-Atlantic Ocean Forum: The Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean (MACO) will convene its Third Annual Mid-Atlantic Region Ocean Forum from May 3-6, 2021. This year’s all-virtual event will feature expert panel discussions on ocean planning issues including offshore wind energy in the Mid-Atlantic, climate-induced ocean changes, ocean justice, and emerging technologies for monitoring the ocean. The event will also feature opportunities for public participation, a virtual networking luncheon and a first-ever poster session highlighting the work of students and early career professionals.

For-Hire and Recreational Tilefish Reporting: As a reminder, for-hire vessels with permits for MAFMC-managed species are required to submit their Vessel Trip Reports (VTRs) electronically within 48 hours of completing their trip. All recreational vessels targeting or retaining golden or blueline tilefish from Virginia to Maine are required to obtain a recreational tilefish permit and must submit an electronic VTR within 24 hours of completing a trip where tilefish were targeted and/or retained.

Commercial Electronic Reporting: Beginning November 10, 2021, commercial and some recreational fishermen in the Greater Atlantic Region will be required to start submitting VTRs electronically. Learn more about the reporting requirements and software options.

Offshore Wind Updates: The Council periodically sends out updates on offshore wind activities in the Mid-Atlantic region. Read the latest update sent on 4/13/21. Sign up to receive wind updates here. Recent notices to mariners and comment opportunities are also listed on our Offshore Wind Notices page.

ASMFC At-Sea Monitoring RFP: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to conduct components of the At-Sea Monitoring Training Program for the NEFSC.

ROSA Fisheries Resource Data Project RFP: The Responsible Offshore Science Alliance (ROSA) is seeking a qualified contractor to conduct research and prepare a report with recommendations for standardizing and sharing fisheries resource data to support better understanding of the impacts of offshore wind development on ecosystems. Read the RFP for more details. Proposals are due May 11, 2021.

Upcoming Meetings

Questions? Contact Mary Sabo – msabo@mafmc.org, (302) 518-1143.

ASMFC 2021 Spring Meeting Webinar Final Agenda and Materials Now Available

April 21, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please note there was an error in the final agenda for the ISFMP Policy Board. The correct agenda item follows.

Review and Consider New York’s Appeal of Addendum XXXIII to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (P. Keliher) Final Action

The revised agenda is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2021SpringMeetingWebinar/2021SpringMtgWebinarFinalNotice_Agenda.pdf

Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment Public Comment Deadline – Friday, April 23

April 19, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The deadline to submit written comments on the Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment is this Friday, April 23, 2021. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission are developing this joint amendment to address a wide range of issues related to management of the Atlantic Bluefish fishery. The amendment contains alternatives to:

  • Revise the fishery management plan (FMP) goals and objectives;
  • Modify the bluefish allocations between the commercial and recreational sectors;
  • Modify the commercial allocations to the states;
  • Initiate a rebuilding plan;
  • Revise the quota transfer processes;
  • Revise how the FMP accounts for management uncertainty; and
  • Revise the de minimis provisions in the Commission’s FMP.

Submit Comments Here

Details about the management alternatives being considered in this amendment are available at the following links:

Written Comments

Written comments may be submitted through April 23, 2021 by any of the following methods:

  1. ONLINE: Online Comment Form (recommended)
  2. EMAIL: mseeley@mafmc.org
  3. MAIL: Dr. Christopher Moore, Executive Director
    Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
    800 North State Street, Suite 201
    Dover, DE 19901
  4. FAX: 302-674-5399

Please include “Bluefish Amendment” in the subject line if using email or fax, or on the outside of the envelope if submitting written comments.

Tips for Providing Public Comment

We value your input. To be most effective, we request that your comment include specific details as to why you support or oppose a particular alternative. Specifically, please address the following:

  • Which proposed alternative(s) do you support, and which do you oppose?
  • Why do you support or oppose the alternative(s)?
  • Is there any additional information you think should be considered?

Contacts

If you have any questions, please contact:

  • Matthew Seeley, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, mseeley@mafmc.org, 302-526-5262
  • Dustin Colson Leaning, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, dleaning@asmfc.org, 703-842-0714