December 2, 2019 — A regulatory panel that oversees New England’s shrimp fishing industry is scheduled to meet to discuss the industry’s future, which looks bleak.
The New England shrimp fishery, based mostly in Maine, has been shut down since 2013, and is in the middle of a fishing moratorium that is scheduled to last until 2021. The regulatory panel, which is an arm of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, is slated to meet Friday and could alter the terms of the shutdown.
December 2, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission), in partnership with the NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP), seeking marine aquaculture pilot projects focused on sustainable aquatic farming techniques and regional business practices to grow U.S. domestic seafood. The geographic scope of the proposed projects is the U.S. East Coast states from Maine to Florida. The primary location of the proposed projects must be in the marine/estuarine environment. Examples of the types of pilot projects being sought through the RFP follow:
NOAA Fisheries, through the Commission, is making available $625,000 for the funding period of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Individual proposals should not exceed $200,000 or be less than $50,000. It is anticipated that approximately 4-6 projects will be funded. Eligible applicants include researchers at U.S. academic institutions, research laboratories, forprofit companies/firms, nonprofits, and state agencies. Applicants seeking to apply to the RFP must submit, as a single file, an electronic proposal by email no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on January 15, 2020. Please see the RFP for complete proposal details, qualifying requirements, and submission instructions. The RFP is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/RFPs/ASMFC2020PilotAquacultureRFP_Nov2019.pdf.
December 2, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board (Board) releases two documents for public comment: Draft Addendum III to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Croaker and Draft Addendum III to the Omnibus Amendment to the Interstate FMPs for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout. The states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addenda. The details of those hearings follow.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
November 27, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board (Board) releases two documents for public comment: Draft Addendum III to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Croaker and Draft Addendum III to the Omnibus Amendment to the Interstate FMPs for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout. The states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addenda. The details of those hearings follow.
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
November 21, 2019 — With a tough letter accusing a Canadian-owned firm of stealing Virginia fish, Gov. Ralph Northam asked for a federal freeze on catching menhaden.
Northam said the freeze was needed because Reedville-based Omega Protein had exceeded a cap set on the menhaden catch in Chesapeake Bay earlier this year. Omega is owned by Cook Aquaculture Inc., of New Brunswick.
The governor’s request to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross came in the wake of a finding by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that Virginia had violated the cap because of Omega’s operation.
The commission cut the Bay cap by 41% in 2017, in what it described as a precautionary measure, but without a finding of overfishing.
“Despite direct appeals by Virginia’s Marine Resources Commissioner and myself that Omega abide by the 51,000 metric ton limit, the company has continued over-harvesting menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay even after exceeding the cap,” Northam wrote in his request to Ross.
November 21, 2019 — New England shrimp are still in bad shape despite a fishing shutdown that is unlikely to end soon, new data show.
The region’s shrimp fishing industry, long based mostly in Maine, has been shut down since 2013 because of concerns about the health of the population. Recent surveys off Maine and New Hampshire say signs are still poor, scientists with the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission said.
A big part of the problem is that the shrimp thrive in cold water and the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than most of the world’s oceans. The mean average summer sea bottom temperature was about 42 degrees Fahrenheit from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, and it rose to 45 degrees this year, said Dustin Colson Leaning, a fishery management plan coordinator for the Atlantic States.
That small difference makes it harder for young shrimp to thrive and join the population, he said.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News
November 20, 2019 — A year ago, fishery regulators that manage northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine closed the fishery for the 2019 season because the imperiled stock remained a prisoner to its own meager abundance and unrelenting inability to improve biomass and recruitment.
The closure — the sixth since the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission’s initial shuttering following the 2013 season — was not a surprise. What was surprising was that the commission opted to forgo a single-season closure and instead closed the northern shrimp, or Pandalus borealis, fishery for three seasons ending in 2021.
Things were that bad. Apparently, they haven’t gotten any better in the past year.
The commission’s northern shrimp section is set to convene Dec. 6 via webinar to discuss the 2019 data update to its benchmark stock assessment for northern shrimp.
Based on preliminary findings, it is not expected to be a cheery meeting.
On Tuesday, the ASFMC said preliminary findings from the 2019 northern shrimp stock summer survey —and the Maine-New Hampshire survey — show no improvement in the health of the stock and provide no compelling reason for its northern shrimp section to recommend changes to the current management plan of closures.
November 14, 2019 — The profile of the humble Jonah crab, once considered mere bycatch in the lobster fishery, continues to rise.
On Dec. 19, NOAA Fisheries will implement new regulations that will sharpen the scope and definition of the Jonah crab fishery in federal waters by establishing permitting requirements and setting size and possession limits.
The new federal measures closely replicate Jonah crab fishery management plans already enacted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates Jonah crabs on an interstate level, and many East Coast states — including Massachusetts.
“The federal regulations that are being issued mirror those set in place by ASMFC when they released the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan in 2015,” said Derek Perry, a crab biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. “More than 99% of Jonah crabs are caught in federal waters, so this is mostly a federal waters fishery.”
So, beginning on Dec. 12, only vessels with a federal American lobster trap or non-trap permit may retain Jonah crab in federal waters. The minimum size will be the same as set by Massachusetts for state waters — 4.75 inches across the carapace.
November 12, 2019 — George Bucci has been fishing the waters off New Jersey’s coast for about 30 years, and says the striped bass population has taken a sharp dive in recent years.
He remembers boom times after a moratorium on the fish ended in the late 1990s.
“I would go in the ocean in ’98 and just see miles and miles of striped bass,” Bucci said.
But overfishing has brought it back to critical levels.
“I almost strictly target striped bass,” said Bucci, 52, of Northfield. “In the last five years, I’ve seen the decline in the population. I wouldn’t call it a steady decline, I would call it a sharp decline. … The biomass has shrunk to the point where the juice isn’t worth the squeeze almost.”
The dwindling population led the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board in October to amend the rules for commercial and recreational fishers alike.
The commission, in amending the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic striped bass, is aiming for an 18% reduction in commercial removal of the popular fish from 2017 levels, according to a release from the organization.
November 12, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries has approved federal measures for the Jonah crab fishery that complement the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Jonah Crab.
Approved measures include:
|
Sector |
Management Measure |
Requirement |
|
Commercial |
Vessel permitting |
Landing requires a federal lobster permit |
|
Minimum size |
4.75-inch (12.065-cm) carapace width |
|
|
Broodstock protection |
Prohibit retention of egg-bearing females |
|
|
Incidental limit |
Up to 1,000 crabs per trip |
|
|
Incidental latch definition |
Up to 50 percent of weight onboard |
|
|
Dealer permitting and reporting |
Federal dealer permit required and mandatory Federal dealer reporting |
|
|
Recreational |
Broodstock protection |
Prohibit retention of egg-bearing females |
|
Catch limit |
50 crabs per day |
Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register and the permit holder bulletin available on our website.