Saving Seafood

Atlantic fishing commission ignores New Jersey criticism and adopts cuts to flounder quota

February 2, 2017 — A proposal that likely will force New Jersey to make changes to its fishing regulations for summer flounder was advanced by a coastal fisheries management board Thursday despite strong opposition from state officials.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a regional agency that helps set fishing quotas for the 15 East Coast states, voted 10-2 to adopt the controversial new flounder rule, called Addendum XXVIII, which would drastically reduce New Jersey and other coastal states’ flounder catch limits.

The vote followed nearly three hours of debate among the coastal states’ representatives and fishery managers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for federal fisheries management.

New Jersey and Rhode Island were the only states to vote “no” on the proposal, which likely would force New Jersey to adopt its most stringent fishing regulations ever for anglers, such as a 19-inch minimum size limit, as well as a shortened season and reduced daily catch limit.

Read the full story at the Burlington County Times

ASMFC APPROVES FLUKE OPTION 5

February 2, 2017 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) on Thursday, February 2, voted 7-3 in favor of the so-called Option 5 of the Summer Flounder Draft Addendum XXVIII for 2017 recreational measures for fluke. The option would apply a “near coastwide 1-inch size limit increase and bag limit reduction to four fish or less” along the Atlantic Coast in 2017, with North Carolina exempt from the measures, and the tri-state region of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey getting a three-fish bag limit.

Because the measure is thought to achieve a roughly 30% coastwide reduction on recreational fluke harvest – less than the required reduction of 41% required by NOAA Fisheries – the approved measures are not certain to meet the ASMFC Technical Committee requirements and final approval by NOAA Fisheries. A motion made by New Jersey to postpone final action until later in February when ASMFC meets jointly with the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) in Kitty Hawk, NC in hopes of getting that final analysis and approval failed.

Spearheaded by the New York delegation, the vote was also approved by Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and the Potomac River Commission. Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey voted in opposition to the Option 5 compromise, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) both abstained.

Read the full story at The Fisherman

ASMFC American Lobster Board Approves Jonah Crab Addendum II

February 2, 2017 — Alexandria, VA — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: 

Alexandria, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved Addendum II to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Addendum establishes a coastwide standard for claw harvest and a definition of bycatch, based on a percent composition of catch, in order to minimize the expansion of a small-scale fishery under the bycatch allowance.  

The Addendum responds to concerns regarding the equity of the claw provision established in the 2015 FMP, which instituted a whole crab fishery with the exception of fishermen from New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia who have a history of claw landings prior to June 2, 2015. Following approval of the FMP, claw fishermen from New York and Maine were identified and, while these fishermen had a history of claw landings, they were required to land whole crabs under the provisions of the FMP. Addendum II permits claw harvest coastwide. Specifically, the Addendum allows Jonah crab fishermen to detach and harvest claws at sea, with a required minimum claw length of 2.75” if the volume of claws landed is greater than five gallons. Claw landings less than five gallons do not have to meet the minimum claw length standard. Fishermen may also harvest whole crabs which meet the 4.75” minimum carapace width.

 Addendum II also establishes a definition of bycatch in the Jonah crab fishery, whereby the total pounds of Jonah crabs caught as bycatch must weigh less than the total amount of the targeted species at all times during a fishing trip. The intent of this definition is to address concerns regarding the expansion of a small-scale fishery under the bycatch limit. Prior to this Addendum, a non-trap or non-lobster trap fisherman could land 1,000 crabs as bycatch but was not required to have any other species of catch on-board. Through Addendum II, fishermen harvesting under the bycatch limit must have another species on board of greater weight than landed Jonah crabs.

For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.   

Atlantic States MFC to Consider Summer Flounder Reduction Today

February 2, 2017 — A proposal to drastically reduce this year’s summer flounder catch could get final approval at a federal regulatory meeting Thursday morning in Virginia.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Committee is scheduled consider strategies that would reduce the summer flounder harvest by up to 41 percent coast-wide and implement tighter restrictions on bag and size limits for recreational fishermen.

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire

Quota for elver catch could change in 2018

February 2, 2017 — Interstate regulators say the fishing quota for Maine’s expensive baby eels could change in 2018.

Fishermen are allowed to catch about 9,700 pounds of the eels, which are also called elvers, every year. The elvers are shipped to Asian aquaculture companies to be raised to maturity and used as food.

The fishing season comes in the spring and is closely monitored by state authorities.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will re-evaluate the quota before the 2018 fishing season. An arm of the commission will review the stock later this year before any decisions are made.

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

Fishing managers seek to avoid another herring shortage

February 1, 2017 — Interstate fishing regulators are considering new rules to help the herring fishery run more smoothly in the future.

The Atlantic herring is an important bait fish that’s caught off of several East Coast states, especially Massachusetts and Maine. The fishery suffered from supply issues last summer, which caused a bait shortage in the lobster fishery.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is looking at new ways to manage the fishery. Options include limiting the amount of herring a vessel can land per week.

Read the full story at the New Jersey Herald

Lobstermen question need for restrictions to help species

February 1, 2017 — Some lobster fishermen expressed skepticism Tuesday about a plan to try to revive the dwindling southern New England lobster stock through new fishing restrictions.

Lobster fishing in the U.S. is experiencing a boom that has lasted several years, and prices have also been high. But the population of the species has diminished in the waters off southern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Long Island, New York, where it was once plentiful.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering a host of options to try to rejuvenate the region’s lobster stock, which scientists have said is falling victim to rising ocean temperatures. An arm of the commission voted Tuesday to send the options out for public comment.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Newsminer.com

ASMFC American Lobster Board Approves Draft Addendum XXV for Public Comment

February 1, 2017 — Alexandria, VA — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved Draft Addendum XXV to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster for public comment. The Draft Addendum seeks to address the depleted condition of the Southern New England (SNE) stock while preserving a functional portion of the SNE lobster fishery. The document presents a suite of management measures to increase egg production and lower fishing mortality through a combination of management tools including gauge size changes, season closures, and trap reductions.

The Draft Addendum responds to the results of the 2015 American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment which found the SNE stock is severely depleted and experiencing recruitment failure. Declines in population abundance were most pronounced in the inshore portion of the stock where environmental conditions have remained unfavorable to lobster since the late 1990s. These stock declines are largely in response to adverse environmental conditions, including increasing water temperatures over the last 15 years, combined with continued fishing mortality.  

Draft Addendum XXV focuses on increasing egg production so that, if environmental conditions become favorable, the SNE stock can benefit from a strong recruitment year. The Draft Addendum includes six issues. The first proposes four targets to increase egg production, ranging from 20% to 60%, with an additional option for status quo. The second issue seeks input on proposed management tools to increase egg production and whether these tools should be used independently or in conjunction with one another. The third issue addresses the effects of proposed measures on the recreational fishery. The fourth issue explores the implementation of season closures and potential impacts to the Jonah crab fishery. The fifth issue examines whether management measures should be uniform across Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMA) in SNE. The sixth issue asks how management measures should be applied to the offshore waters of LCMA 3, which spans both the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank and SNE stock units.

The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org (under Public Input) by February 20, 2017. It is anticipated that the majority of states from Massachusetts through Virginia will be conducting public hearings; the details of those hearings will be released in a subsequent press release. The Board will review submitted public comment and consider action on the Addendum at the Commission’s Spring Meeting in May 2017.  

In other business, the Board initiated development of Draft Addendum XXVI to respond to the need for improved harvest reporting and biological data collection in state and federal waters. The Draft Addendum seeks to utilize the latest technology to improve reporting, increase the spatial resolution of harvester data, collect greater effort data, and advance the collection of biological data offshore. The Board will receive an update on the development of Draft Addendum XXVI at the Commission’s Spring Meeting in May 2017. 

For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, atmware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.       

Lobster fishermen question new fishing restrictions

February 1, 2017 — New fishing restrictions aimed at restoring the declining lobster population of the Southern New England fishery could begin to be applied in May.

However, fishermen remain skeptical about the success of a plan designed to revive the crustacean population. They argue that it might not make sense to restrict fishing when it is actually the environment that is harming the lobster population.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is considering a variety of options to rejuvenate the region’s lobster stock, which scientists have said is falling victim to rising ocean temperatures, Associated Press informed.

The measures that would come into force to comply with the recommendations of the Commission members include changing the legal harvesting size limit for lobsters, reducing the number of traps in the water and enforcing seasonal closures.

Read the full story at Fish Information & Services 

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Approves Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

February 1, 2017 —  Alexandria, VA — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: 

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Section approved Draft Addendum I to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring for public comment. Draft Addendum I includes management options to ensure the seasonal quota is distributed throughout Trimester 2, are applied consistently by the states adjacent to Area 1A, and address excessive capacity.

The Draft Addendum was initiated in response to the accelerated rate of Area 1A Trimester 2 (June through September) landings in recent years and the increasingly dynamic nature of days out measures to control effort that have varied across states. The Section utilizes days out of the fishery to slow the rate of Area 1A catch by restricting the number of available landing days. Landing reports indicate vessels are harvesting herring on days out of the fishery and transferring fish at‐sea to carrier or larger vessels until landing is permitted. The practice of fishing outside of landing days has limited the effectiveness of the days out program in controlling the rate of harvest.

The Draft Addendum presents six management options to improve the performance of the Area 1A fishery, ranging from restricting a vessel from landing fish caught on days out of the fishery to limiting transfers at sea as well as the amount a vessel can land per week. The document also seeks input on a tiered weekly landing limit for future management consideration.

The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org (under Public Input) by February 10, 2017. It is anticipated Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New Jersey will be conducting public hearings in March/April. The details of those hearings will be released in a subsequent press release. The Section will review submitted public comment and consider final approval of Addendum I at the Commission’s Spring Meeting in May 2017.

For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.