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    • Fishing Terms Glossary

NORTH CAROLINA: Changes made to MFC citation program criteria

April 26, 2021 — The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries will make several changes to its Saltwater Fishing Tournament criteria effective May 1.

The tournament, popularly known as the Citation Program, is not a competition but a longstanding certification program that recognizes outstanding saltwater catches. Catches that meet minimum weight or release length requirements, along with other qualifications, are eligible for an 8½-by-11-inch citation (certificate) that is suitable for framing.

Changes to the requirements:

  • Atlantic bonito and striped bass will no longer be eligible for citations.
  • Atlantic croaker will be eligible for a citation at 1 pound, 8 ounces.
  • Black drum will only be eligible for a release citation. The minimum release length will remain 40 inches.
  • Gag grouper will be the only species eligible for a grouper citation. The minimum weight will remain 20 pounds.
  • Sea mullet will be eligible for a citation at the minimum weight of 2 pounds.
  • Sharks will only be eligible for a release citation. The minimum release length will remain 80 inches.
  • Gray tilefish a will be eligible for a citation at the minimum weight of 12 pounds.
  • Blackfin tuna will be eligible for a citation at the minimum weight of 25 pounds.

Read the full story at The Coastland Times

ASMFC Sciaenid Board to Meet Via Webinar March 18 from 1–3 PM

March 3, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Sciaenid Management Board will meet via webinar on March 18, 2021 from 1 – 3 PM. The Board will consider approval of state implementation plans to reduce recreational and commercial harvest of Atlantic croaker and spot in response to declining trends in abundance and harvest identified in the latest Traffic Light Approach (TLA) report. In October 2020, based on the TLA, the Board initiated a management response as outlined in Addendum III for each species. Specifically, the Addendum requires states to implement a 50-fish bag limit for their recreational fisheries for each species and reduce commercial harvest by 1% of the average state commercial harvest from the previous 10 years. De minimis states, which have minimal commercial and/or recreational fisheries, are not required to change their measures. However, states with more restrictive measures in place are encouraged to maintain them. The Board will also review the Spot Fishery Management Plan Review and state compliance reports, and receive an update on the ongoing red drum simulation stock assessment.

Meeting materials are available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/SciaenidBoardMaterials_March2021.pdf.

Webinar Instructions

To register for the webinar go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6403860697365421070, Webinar ID# 815-817-291. The webinar will begin 30 minutes prior to the start of the 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 877.309.2071 (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 877 309 2071 (access code: 389-114-411).

Public Comment 

Submitting Comments Prior to the Meeting
Public comment may be provided in advance of the meeting by sending comments to comments@asmfc.org no later than March 15 (Subject line: Sciaenid Board). These will be distributed to the Board on March 16.
 
Providing Comments at the Meeting
For issues that are not on the agenda, the Board Chair will provide an opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the Board’s attention at the start of the meeting. The Board Chair 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, the Board Chair will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. The Chair has the 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 more information, please contact Savannah Lewis, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at slewis@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC South Atlantic Board Approves Atlantic Croaker and Spot Addenda

February 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board approved Addendum III to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Croaker and Addendum III to the Omnibus Amendment to the Interstate FMPs for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout. These Addenda adjust management of Atlantic croaker and spot through their respective Traffic Light Approaches (TLA).

Through the annual analysis of the TLA, which assigns a color (red, yellow, or green) to characterize relative levels of indicators that reflect the condition of the fish population (abundance characteristic) or fishery (harvest characteristic). If the amount of red, indicating low abundance or low harvest, in both characteristics exceeds threshold levels (30% and 60%) for too many years, management action is triggered. In 2018, the Atlantic Croaker Technical Committee and Spot Plan Review Team recommended updates to their respective TLAs that would incorporate additional fishery-independent indices, age information, use of regional characteristics, and changes to the management-triggering mechanism.

These Addenda change the management-triggering mechanisms to enact coastwide management if the amounts of red for both the harvest and abundance characteristics within a region (Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic) exceed threshold levels for 3 of the 4 most recent years for Atlantic croaker and 2 of the 3 most recent years for spot. The Addenda also define commercial and recreational management responses to triggers at each threshold level (see table below). Finally, the Addenda define the processes for evaluating the fisheries while triggered measures are in place and determining when triggered measures may be removed.

Read the full release here

REVISED: States Schedule Public Hearings on Atlantic Croaker and Spot Draft Addenda (Public Hearing Webinar Moved to January 18th)

December 4, 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, as well as an ASMFC Public Hearing webinar, follow.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

December 3, 2019 at 6 PM

  • Tawes State Office Building
  • C1 (Lobby) Conference Room
  • 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
  • Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285

December 16, 2019 at 6 PM*

  • Wor-Wic Community College
  • 32000 Campus Drive, Hazel Center Room 302, Salisbury, MD 21804
  • Contacts: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285 and John Clark at 302.739.9914
    • * Held jointly with the DE Division of Fish & Wildlife

Virginia Marine Resources Commission

  • January 7, 2020 at 6:30 PM
  • 380 Fenwick Road, Ft. Monroe, VA 23651
  • Contact: Adam Kenyon and Somers Smott at 757.247.2200

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

  • December 5, 2019 at 6 PM
  • N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Southern Regional Office
  • 127 Cardinal Drive Extension, Wilmington, NC 28405
  • Contact: Chris Batsavage at 252.808.8009

REVISED: ASMFC Public Hearing Webinar

  • January 8, 2020 at 6 PM
  • Webinar link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3538748890460954125
  • Conference Call #: 1-888-585-9008 (enter Conference Room: 275-479-282 when prompted)
  • Contact: Mike Schmidtke at 703.842.0740

The Board initiated the development of the Draft Addenda for Atlantic croaker and spot to incorporate updates on the annual traffic light approach (TLA) and propose changes to the management program. In the absence of an approved stock assessment, which is the case for both species, the TLA is conducted each year to evaluate fishery trends and develop management actions (e.g. bag limits, size restrictions, time and area closures, and gear restrictions) when harvest and abundance thresholds are exceeded. The TLA assigns a color (red, yellow, or green) to categorize relative levels of indicators on the condition of the fish population or fishery. For example, as harvest or abundance increases relative to its long-term average, the proportion of green in a given year will increase and as harvest or abundance decreases, the amount of red in that year will increase. The Board annually evaluates the proportion of red against threshold levels to determine if management action is required. In recent years, fisheries for both Atlantic croaker and spot have experienced declines in harvest, but not declines in abundance as indicated by fishery-independent surveys used in the TLA. Therefore, management action has not been triggered. The lack of triggering management action with these harvest declines has raised concerns, leading to re-evaluation of TLA methods and the proposal of changes to management.

Both Draft Addenda present updates to resolve issues with the TLA analyses in order to better reflect stock characteristics, based on recommendations from the Atlantic Croaker Technical Committee and Spot Plan Review Team. Each Draft Addendum also presents options for four issues that address the TLA management triggering mechanism, triggered management responses for the recreational and commercial fisheries, and evaluation of the population’s response to triggered management actions.

The Draft Addenda are available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AtlCroakerDraftAddIII_PublicComment_Oct2019.pdf and http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/SpotDraftAddIII_PublicComment_Oct2019.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. Fishermen and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addenda either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 10, 2020 and should be sent to Dr. Michael Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org(Subject line: Croaker and Spot Draft Addenda III).

The Board will meet at the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February to review public comment and consider final approval of the Addenda.

REVISED: States Schedule Public Hearings on Atlantic Croaker and Spot Draft Addenda (Public Hearing Webinar Scheduled for December 16)

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

  • December 3, 2019 at 6 PM
  • Tawes State Office Building C1 (Lobby) Conference Room 580 Taylor Avenue Annapolis, Maryland 21401
  • Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285
  • December 16, 2019 at 6 PM*
  • Wor-Wic Community College 32000 Campus Drive, Hazel Center Room 302 Salisbury, MD 21804
  • Contacts: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285 and John Clark at 302.739.9914
    • * Held jointly with the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife

Virginia Marine Resources Commission

  • January 7, 2020 at 6:30 PM
  • 380 Fenwick Road Ft. Monroe, VA 23651
  • Contact: Adam Kenyon and Somers Smott at 757.247.2200

Read the full release here

States Schedule Public Hearings on Atlantic Croaker and Spot Draft Addenda

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.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources
December 3, 2019 at 6 PM
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Tawes State Office Building
C1 (Lobby) Conference Room
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285
 
December 16, 2019 at 6 PM*
Wor-Wic Community College
32000 Campus Drive
Hazel Center Room 302
Salisbury, MD 21804
Contacts: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285 and
John Clark at 302.739.9914
* Held jointly with the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife
 
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
January 7, 2020 at 6:30 PM
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
380 Fenwick Road
Ft. Monroe, VA 23651
Contact: Adam Kenyon and Somers Smott at
757.247.2200

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

December 5, 2019 at 6 PM
N.C. Department of Environmental Quality
Southern Regional Office
127 Cardinal Drive Extension
Wilmington, NC 28405
Contact: Chris Batsavage 252.808.8009
 
The Board initiated the development of the Draft Addenda for Atlantic croaker and spot to incorporate updates on the annual traffic light approach (TLA) and propose changes to the management program. In the absence of an approved stock assessment, which is the case for both species, the TLA is conducted each year to evaluate fishery trends and develop management actions (e.g. bag limits, size restrictions, time and area closures, and gear restrictions) when harvest and abundance thresholds are exceeded. The TLA assigns a color (red, yellow, or green) to categorize relative levels of indicators on the condition of the fish population or fishery. For example, as harvest or abundance increases relative to its long-term average, the proportion of green in a given year will increase and as harvest or abundance decreases, the amount of red in that year will increase. The Board annually evaluates the proportion of red against threshold levels to determine if management action is required. In recent years, fisheries for both Atlantic croaker and spot have experienced declines in harvest, but not declines in abundance as indicated by fishery-independent surveys used in the TLA. Therefore, management action has not been triggered. The lack of triggering management action with these harvest declines has raised concerns, leading to re-evaluation of TLA methods and the proposal of changes to management.
 
Both Draft Addenda present updates to resolve issues with the TLA analyses in order to better reflect stock characteristics, based on recommendations from the Atlantic Croaker Technical Committee and Spot Plan Review Team. Each Draft Addendum also presents options for four issues that address the TLA management triggering mechanism, triggered management responses for the recreational and commercial fisheries, and evaluation of the population’s response to triggered management actions.
 
The Draft Addenda are available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AtlCroakerDraftAddIII_PublicComment_Oct2019.pdf andhttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/SpotDraftAddIII_PublicComment_Oct2019.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. Fishermen and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addenda either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment.Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 10, 2020 and should be sent to Dr. Michael Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Croaker and Spot Draft Addenda III). 
 
The Board will meet at the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February to review public comment and consider final approval of the Addenda.

Young fish might soon be the ones that get away from North Carolina fishermen

June 21, 2019 — Fishermen won’t be able to catch certain species of fish in North Carolina unless they meet minimum size standards set by state regulators under a proposal that cleared the House on Thursday.

House Bill 483, dubbed “Let Them Spawn,” directs the state Marine Fisheries Commission to set minimum sizes for spot, Atlantic croaker, kingfish, striped mullet, southern flounder and bluefish. The sizes will be based on biological data to ensure that 75 percent of juvenile fish in each species will be able to reach maturity and spawn at least once.

The issue pits recreational anglers against commercial fishermen and was debated for about two hours over two days before the House voted 58-47 on final approval – a preliminary vote Wednesday was even closer, at 58-54 – sending the measure to the Senate.

Read the full story at WRAL

Your dinner might be swimming North thanks to climate change, Rutgers study says

May 18, 2018 — Climate change is making oceans warmer and the fish are taking flight.

And that could have a big impact on New Jersey’s $7.9 billion fishing industry according to a new Rutgers-led study published Wednesday.

Aquatic life has a narrow tolerance for temperature range, so as the water heats up species populations are shifting northward to find suitable habitat according to Malin Pinksy, a co-author of the study and an assistant professor in Rutgers’ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources.

By 2100, the Atlantic’s temperature off the Jersey Shore could rise to levels currently seen in Virginia. That could lead to species like black sea bass and summer flounder, both staples of New Jersey’s fishing industry, leaving the area and being replaced by more southern species like Atlantic Croaker.

Pinsky said the most dramatic example of a shifting fishery is the Atlantic Cod. The species could lose 90 percent of its habitat in U.S. waters by 2100 in a worst case scenario.

Read the full story at NJ

 

ASMFC South Atlantic Board Receives Atlantic Croaker and Spot Benchmark Stock Assessment & Peer Review Reports

August 2, 2017 — ALEXANDRIA, Va. — 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 met in May and August to receive the findings of the 2017 Atlantic Croaker and Spot Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Reports. While neither assessment was endorsed by an independent panel of fisheries scientists (Peer Review Panel) for management use, the Panel agreed with the general results of the assessment that immediate management actions are not necessary. The Panel recommended continued use of the annual traffic light analyses (TLA), established in 2014 to monitor fishery and resource trends, and implement management measures as needed, for Atlantic croaker and spot.

The Panel did acknowledge several improvements since the 2010 Atlantic croaker assessment, notably with regard to the estimation and inclusion of dead discards from the Southeastern US shrimp trawl fishery. Estimates of these discards indicate they account for a large majority of fish removed from the population annually (via directed and non-directed fishing activities) for both Atlantic croaker and spot. The Panel recommended continued monitoring of these discards and potential inclusion or consideration of these discards in the annual TLAs conducted for Atlantic croaker and spot.

A key issue causing uncertainty in the results of both assessments was the disagreement between recent trends in harvest and abundance. Trends in stock abundance for Atlantic croaker and spot are estimated through several federal and state fishery-independent surveys. Typically, if these surveys catch a relatively large number of Atlantic croaker or spot, that would indicate a greater number of Atlantic croaker or spot available to be harvested by their directed fisheries. Thus, scientists and managers would expect a greater abundance of Atlantic croaker or spot would also be reflected through an increase in harvest for that year. Similarly, a decrease in abundance would be expected to be coupled with a decrease in harvest. However, for both Atlantic croaker and spot, recent harvest numbers are declining while estimated abundance is increasing.

A similar trend is evident in the 2016 TLAs for Atlantic croaker and spot. The TLA assigns a color (red, yellow, or green) to categorize relative levels of indicators on the condition of the fish population (abundance metric) or fishery (harvest metric). For example, as harvest increases relative to its long-term mean, the proportion of green in a given year will increase and as harvest decreases, the amount of red in that year will increase. Under the Addendum II to Amendment 1 for Atlantic Croaker and Addendum I to the Omnibus Amendment for Spot, state-specific management action would be initiated when the proportion of red exceeds the specified thresholds (for both harvest and abundance) over three consecutive years for Atlantic croaker and two consecutive years for spot.

The 2016 TLA for Atlantic croaker shows red proportions of greater than the 30% threshold for the harvest metric (Figure 1) and 0% for the abundance metric (Figure 2), indicative of relatively low harvest and high abundance in 2016. Since thresholds were not exceeded for both metrics over the last three years, no management response is necessary for Atlantic croaker.

The 2016 TLA for spot also shows red proportions of greater than the 30% threshold for the harvest metric (Figure 3) and 0% for the abundance metric (Figure 4), indicative of relatively low harvest and high abundance in 2016. Since thresholds were not exceeded for both metrics over the last two years, no management response is necessary for spot.

The Peer Review Reports will be available on the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, on the respective species pages by mid-August. For more information, please contact Mike Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mschmidtke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

March/April 2017 Issue of ASMFC Fisheries Focus Now Available

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

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has released the 14th report in its Habitat Management Series entitled, Atlantic Sciaenid Habitats: A Review of Utilization, Threats and Recommendations for Conservation, Management and Research. Prepared by ASMFC staff, sciaenid experts, and a subset of the Commission’s Habitat Committee, the report is the most comprehensive compilation of habitat information to date on Commission-managed and other common sciaenid species found throughout the Western Atlantic. These species include Atlantic croaker, black drum, red drum, spot, spotted seatrout, weakfish, northern kingfish, southern kingfish and Gulf kingfish. The report provides a habitat description for all stages of each species’ life cycle, their associated Essential Fish Habitats and Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (when applicable), threats and uncertainties to their habitats, and recommendations for habitat management and research. It was developed to serve as a resource for fisheries managers to use when amending existing fishery management plans.

Sciaenids are found throughout the Western Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Mexico, in shallow coastal waters and larger bays and estuaries, including their tributaries. They utilize a variety of habitats throughout their life stages, including estuaries, salt marshes, freshwater marshes, oyster reefs, sea grasses and mud banks/shores. Because of the way different species of sciaenids use various types of habitats throughout their life, several different habitats are key for maintaining healthy populations.

Read the full release here

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