Saving Seafood

October/November 2018 issue of Fisheries Focus Now Available

November 19, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The October/November 2018  issue of Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5bef3628FishFocusOctNov2018.pdf.  Wishing you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Upcoming Meetings

page 2

Report from the Chair
Reflections on Our Past and Future

page 3

Species Profile

Atlantic Herring

page 4

Fishery Management Actions

Coastal Sharks

Horseshoe Crab

Northern Shrimp

Spiny Dogfish

page 6

Proposed Management Actions

Summer Flounder

Scup

Black Sea Bass

page 8 

Science Highlight

Living Shorelines

page 9 

ACCSP

What Do You Do?

page 10

On the Legislative Front

page 11

Past issues of Fisheries Focus can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/search/%20/%20/Fishery-Focus

New England Council eying more monitoring of some fisheries

November 16, 2018 — The New England Fisheries Management Council wants to standardize future industry-funded monitoring incorporated into other fisheries beyond the Northeast multispecies groundfishery and the scallop fishery.

The council is soliciting public comment on a proposal to increase industry-funded monitoring in certain fisheries “to assess the amount and type of catch and reduce uncertainty around catch estimates,” according to the summary of the proposed rule published in the Federal Register.

The proposal specifically would increase industry-funded monitoring in the Atlantic herring industry, as well.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily News

Report card on Canada’s fish stocks suggests action required to reverse decline

November 16, 2018 — Atlantic herring is a hearty source of protein for people and marine mammals alike, but like a startling number of Canada’s fish stocks the plan to rebuild the depleted herring population is currently one big question mark.

That’s a conclusion reached by advocacy group Oceana Canada, which published its second annual fisheries audit Tuesday — a report card assessing the health of Canada’s fish stocks.

The report found Canada has a lot of work to do to reverse the term decline of its fish stocks, and it needs to pick up the pace.

Oceana’s science director Robert Rangeley said he hopes the audit is a “wake-up call” for better fisheries management.

“My biggest fear is one of complacency,” said Rangeley. “We’re still hovering around one-third of our fish stocks (that) are healthy, which is very poor performance for the 194 stocks that are so important for coastal communities.”

Only 34 per cent of Canada’s fish stocks are considered healthy. Twenty-nine per cent are in a critical or cautious zone, and perhaps most alarmingly, 37 per cent of stocks don’t have sufficient data to assign a health status.

Some, like Pacific herring in Haida Gwaii, slipped into the critical red zone this year.

The numbers are indicative of the slow policy implementation that plagues management of Canada’s fisheries, Rangeley said. The Oceana team expected to see more stocks move from the uncertain zone into one of the other categories this year, but in fact, the needle barely moved

Read the full story at CTV News

Lobster industry chief expects bait crunch

November 15, 2018 — An expected cutback of the Atlantic herring catch quota is causing concern among lobster fishing interests, which largely rely on herring as bait.

“We obviously have to be looking at different sources of bait,” Kristan Porter, president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, told the Bangor Daily News this week. He added that a quota cut could drive up bait costs.

Fishermen’s Voice reported that at the September meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council, Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, said: “We predict it’s going to be devastating.”

Tuna fishing interests said the expected cutback will affect them, too. At that meeting, the council decided to adopt a rule that would slash the fishing quota for the Atlantic herring fishery for fishing years 2019 through 2021. It also decided to ban boats using midwater trawl gear from within 12 miles of the shore from the Canadian border to Connecticut. The actions are part of the Amendment 8 to the Atlantic herring fishery management plan.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Trimester 3 Effort Controls Revised

November 13, 2018 — 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 revised the effort control measures for the 2018 Area 1A Trimester 3 (October 1 – December 31) fishery. Board members, with input from industry, agreed to seven (7) consecutive landing days until 92% of the Area 1A sub-ACL is projected to be harvested. Vessels may only land once every 24-hour period.

  • Beginning on November 16, 2018: Vessels in the States of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may land Atlantic herring starting at 12:01 a.m. on seven (7) consecutive days a week.

Trimester 3 landings will be closely monitored and the directed fishery will close when 92% of the Area 1A sub-ACL is projected to be reached. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip once the fishery is closed. For more information, please contact Megan Ware at 703.842.0740 ormware@asmfc.org.

Read the full announcement here

Feds eye improved fishing monitoring off East Coast states

November 12, 2018 — Federal ocean managers are looking to increase the amount of monitoring that goes on while fishing boats are out at sea.

Many fisheries are subjected to monitoring, which collects valuable data that inform regulations and catch quotas. The New England Fishery Management Council says it’s looking at ways to beef up monitoring in some fisheries to get an idea of the amount of catch and reduce uncertainty about estimates.

The Federal Register states that the goal of the effort is to “ensure consistency in industry monitoring programs.” It’s also aimed at increasing monitoring in the Atlantic herring fishery, which is a major source for bait fish and food on the East Coast.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WBNG

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Board Initiates Draft Addenda to Protect Spawning Herring in Areas 1A and 3

October 25, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board initiated Draft Addenda II and III to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring to consider strengthening spawning protections in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) and extending spawning protections to Area 3 (off of Cape Cod and Georges Bank). This action responds to the results of the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment which showed reduced levels of recruitment and spawning stock biomass over the past five years, with 2016 recruitment levels the lowest on record.

Currently, the Board uses a series of closures to protect spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Maine. These closures, which were implemented through Amendment 3, extend for four to six weeks; their timing is informed by samples which are used to project the start of spawning. Recent analysis by the Atlantic Herring Technical Committee found that while the current spawning closure system was significantly improved under Amendment 3, the protocol could continue to be strengthened by considering when, and for how long, a closure is initiated. Specifically, the analysis showed, under the current protocol, spawning closures are initiated when there are approximately 25% spawners in the fishery; greater protection could be provided by initiating a closure when a lower percentage of the population is spawning and extending the closure for a longer time. As a result, the Board initiated Draft Addendum II to consider these modifications to the Gulf of Maine spawning closure protocol.

In addition, the Board initiated Draft Addendum III to consider the establishment of a spawning protection program in Area 3. This management area encompasses Georges Bank and the back side of Cape Cod. While both are recognized as important spawning areas for herring, they do not currently have protections specific to spawning. By initiating this addendum, the Board seeks to protect spawning in this region in order to promote stock rebuilding.

Finally, to support future management of the stock, the Commission’s Executive Committee allocated funds to carry out sampling of the Atlantic herring fishery. This sampling will focus on investigating spatial and temporal spawning patterns in Georges Bank and Nantucket Shoals. For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Atlantic Herring Massachusetts/New Hampshire Spawning Closure in Effect October 26 through November 22, 2018

October 19, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic herring Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery regulations include seasonal spawning closures for portions of state and federal waters in Eastern Maine, Western Maine, and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. The Atlantic States marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board (previously Atlantic Herring Section) approved a forecasting method that relies upon at least three samples, each containing at least 25 female herring in gonadal states III-V, to trigger a spawning closure.

Eight samples of female herring were collected to evaluate spawning condition. Based on the analysis of the samples, the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area will be closed starting at 12:00 a.m. on October 26, 2018 extending through 11:59 p.m. on November 22, 2018. Vessels in the directed Atlantic herring fishery cannot take, land or possess Atlantic herring caught within the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area during this time and must have all fishing gear stowed when transiting through the area. An incidental bycatch allowance of up to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip/calendar day applies to vessels in non-directed fisheries that are fishing within the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area.

The Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area includes all waters bounded by the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine coasts, and 43° 30’ N and 70° 00’ W.

Please contact Megan Ware at 703.842.0740 or mware@asmfc.org for more information.

A copy of the announcement can be found here – http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/MA_NHSpawningClosure_Oct2018.pdf.

ASMFC: 77th Annual Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

October 17, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 77th Annual Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2018-annual-meeting for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, supplemental materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/77AnnualMeeting/2018AnnualMeetingCombined_Supplemental.pdf

American Lobster Management Board – Revised Agenda & Meeting Overview; ME DMR letter on NOAA Technical Memorandum on North Atlantic Right Whales—Evaluating Their Recovery Challenges in 2018; Memo on Recent Meeting of Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team; American Lobster FMP Review; and Report of the Electronic Reporting Subcommittee

Atlantic Herring Management Board – Memo on 2019 Specifications for Area 1A; Amendment 3 Spawning Re-Closure Protocol; and Public Comment

Strategic Planning Workshop – Draft Agenda & Summary of Strategic Planning Workgroup Meeting

Business Session – Draft 2019 Action Plan & Anticipated Board Activities for High Priority Species

Coastal Sharks Management Board – Advisory Panel Meeting Summary

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Public Comment

Executive Committee – Draft Recommendations for Revising the Appeals Process & Awards Committee SOPPs

Weakfish Management Board – FMP Review

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – FMP Review & Public Comment

ISFMP Policy Board – Revised Draft Agenda & Meeting Overview; Public Comment; and Living Shorelines Factsheet

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Public Comment Summary on Cobia PID (including hearing overviews and submitted comment); Black Drum, Spotted Seatrout and Spanish Mackerel FMP Reviews; Advisory Panel Nomination

As a reminder, Board proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning October 22nd at 8:30 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1 p.m.) on Thursday, October 25th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. Please go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4350173068754736387 to register.

 

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Wednesday, October 10, 2018, Scallop and Herring Issues

October 3, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 to discuss scallop and herring issues.  The public is invited to attend in person or listen live via webinar or telephone.  Here are the details.

MEETING LOCATION:  Hilton Garden Inn, Boston Logan Airport, 100 Boardman Street, Boston, MA.  Hotel information is available here.

START TIME:  9:00 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting will be available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (631) 992-3221. The access code is 285-275-351.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will:

  • Review the results of the recent Atlantic sea scallop benchmark stock assessment and information provided by the Council’s Scallop Plan Development Team (PDT);
  • Recommend overfishing limits (OFLs) and acceptable biological catches (ABCs) for Atlantic sea scallops for the 2019 and 2020 fishing years with 2020 levels serving as defaults;
  • Review results of the recent Atlantic herring benchmark stock assessment and information provided by the Council’s Herring PDT;
  • Recommend 2019-2021 OFLs and ABCs for Atlantic herring using the Council’s proposed Amendment 8 ABC control rule, as well as the assessment and PDT information; and
  • Discuss other business as necessary.

COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 5 p.m. on Friday, October 5, 2018.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  The address for mailing comments via the U.S. Postal Service is:  New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill #2, Newburyport, MA  01950.

MATERIALS:  Meeting materials will be posted on the Council’s website at SSC October 10, 2018 documents.

QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 106, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.