Saving Seafood

ASMFC Releases Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

May 19, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The states of Rhode Island through Delaware have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to Amendment 2 the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Menhaden. The details of those hearings follow.

Rhode Island Division of Fish & Wildlife

June 20, 2016 at 6:00 PM

University of Rhode Island Bay Campus

Corliss Auditorium

South Ferry Road

Narragansett, Rhode Island

Contact: Jason McNamee at 401.423.1943

 

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

June 28, 2016 at 7:00 PM

Marine Headquarters

Boating Education Center

333 Ferry Road

Old Lyme, Connecticut

Contact: David Simpson at 860.434.6043

 

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

June 29, 2016 at 6:30 PM

Bureau of Marine Resources

205 North Belle Mead Road

East Setauket, New York

Contact: Jim Gilmore at 631.444.0430

 

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

July 7, 2016 at 6:30 PM

Atlantic County Library (Galloway Twp. Branch)

306 East Jimmie Leeds Road

Galloway, New Jersey

Contact: Russ Allen at 609.748.2037

 

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

June 23, 2016 at 6:00 PM

Easton High School

723 Mecklenburg Avenue

Easton, Maryland

Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285

 

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

July 6, 2016; 6 PM

DNREC Auditorium

89 Kings Highway

Dover, Delaware

Contact: John Clark at 302.739.9914

The Draft Addendum proposes modifying the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision. Specifically, it considers allowing two licensed individuals to harvest up to 12,000 pounds of menhaden bycatch when working from the same vessel fishing stationary, multi-species gear – limited to one vessel trip per day. Bycatch represents less than 2% of the total coastwide landings.

The practice of two permitted fishermen working together from the same vessel to harvest Atlantic menhaden primarily occurs in the Chesapeake Bay pound net fishery.  This practice enables the fishermen to pool resources for fuel and crew.  However, the practice is currently constrained by the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision, which includes a 6,000 pound/vessel/day limit. The Draft Addendum seeks comment on whether the provision should be revised to accommodate the interests of fixed-gear fishermen who work together, as authorized by the states and jurisdictions in which they fish.

The intent of Draft Addendum I is to add flexibility to one element of the bycatch allowance provision while the Board prepares to address menhaden management more comprehensively through the development of Draft Amendment 3 to the FMP over the next two years. A subsequent press release on the public hearing schedule and Draft Addendum I availability will be distributed once state hearings have been scheduled.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained here or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on July 11, 2016and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mware@asmfc.org(Subject line: Draft Addendum I).

ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Board Approves Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

May 5, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Comission:

Alexandria, VA – The Atlantic Menhaden Management Board approved Draft Addendum I to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Menhaden for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes modifying the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision. Specifically, it considers allowing two licensed individuals to harvest up to 12,000 pounds of menhaden bycatch when working from the same vessel fishing stationary, multi-species gear – limited to one vessel trip per day. Bycatch represents less than 2% of the total coastwide landings.

The practice of two permitted fishermen working together from the same vessel to harvest Atlantic menhaden primarily occurs in the Chesapeake Bay pound net fishery.  This practice enables the fishermen to pool resources for fuel and crew.  However, the practice is currently constrained by the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision, which includes a 6,000 pound/vessel/day limit. The Draft Addendum seeks comment on whether the provision should be revised to accommodate the interests of fixed-gear fishermen who work together, as authorized by the states and jurisdictions in which they fish.

The intent of Draft Addendum I is to add flexibility to one element of the bycatch allowance provision while the Board prepares to address menhaden management more comprehensively through the development of Draft Amendment 3 to the FMP over the next two years. A subsequent press release on the public hearing schedule and Draft Addendum I availability will be distributed once state hearings have been scheduled.

In a separate action, the Board extended the episodic event set aside program until the finalization of Amendment 3. It also conditionally approved a request from New York to be added as an eligible state.  The program reserves 1% of the coastwide total allowable catch to be used by New England states in areas and times when menhaden occur in higher abundance than normal.  Rhode Island opted into the program in 2014 and 2015, and harvested a portion of the set aside each year.  As a result of the Board’s decision to extend the program, the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut remain eligible to participate in the program in 2016.

New York is currently reporting unusually large amounts of menhaden in the Peconic Bay estuary, raising the potential for more large fish kills, similar to last year, as the waters warm.  New York sought Board approval to participate in the episodic event set aside program so fishermen can harvest a portion of the large build-up of menhaden in the Peconic Bay estuary to mitigate the impacts of additional fish kills. The Board approved the request subject to a one million pound harvest cap under the episodic event set aside.

Counting fish from the air

March 31, 2016 — This week, I was reminded of the outstanding Atlantic menhaden management program we have in Narragansett Bay. Monday night, George Purmont, a spotter pilot commissioned by the Marine Fisheries Division of the Department of Environmental Management (DEM), spoke about his work of counting schools of Atlantic menhaden (pogies) from the air in Narragansett Bay.

At a R.I. Saltwater Anglers Association meeting, Purmont said, “When the amount of Atlantic menhaden in the Bay goes above the threshold, the Bay is open to commercial harvesting. When it falls below the threshold, the Bay is closed to Atlantic menhaden fishing.”

The program is one of the most sophisticated and effective programs of its type in the nation. Purmont said, “Flights once or twice a week give fish managers at DEM good information to manage the fishery.” The program works well for recreational fishermen to protect this forage fish, as well as for the commercial fishery, allowing the Bay to be fished when there is an abundance of fish in the Bay.

Read the full story at The Warwick Beacon

ASMFC February/March Issue of Fisheries Focus Now Available

March 25, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Management Comission:

The February/March issue of ASMFC Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/56f557b0FishFocusFebMarch2016.pdf.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

ASMFC 2016 Spring Meeting Preliminary Agenda

page 1 

Upcoming Meetings

page 2

From the Executive Director’s Desk

A New Initiative: ASMFC Kicks-off Socioeconomic Study on Atlantic Menhaden Commercial Fisheries

page 3

Species Profile

Northern Shrimp

page 4

Science Highlight

Larval Fish and Climate Change Research in National Estuarine Research Reserves

page 8

ACCSP

GARFO Authorizes eTrips/ Mobile for Use in Electronic Trip Reporting

ACCSP Seeks Your Feedback on Ways to Improve SAFIS 

ACCSP Happenings

page 10

On the Legislative Front

page 11

ASMFC Releases 2015 Annual Report

page 11 

ASMFC Comings & Goings

page 12

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

Study eyes fisheries for menhaden— a key forage fish

March 21, 2016 — Gloucester, Mass. — Interstate fishing managers will commission a study of the commercial fisheries for Atlantic menhaden, an important forage fish that is caught all along the East Coast.

Menhaden are an important bait fish and are also caught for use as fish oil and fish meal. States from Maine to Florida have been the site of commercial fisheries for menhaden in the past ten years.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The San Francisco Chronicle

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition releases ‘Atlantic Menhaden: Fishing by the Numbers’

March 16, 2016 (Menhaden Fisheries Coalition) — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

While prominent environmental groups have claimed for years that the menhaden fishery has harvested too many menhaden, a thorough analysis from the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition shows that the number of fish being caught is a small fraction of the coastwide population.

Between 2004-2013, the fishery only harvested an average of 6.4 percent of the overall menhaden population. This leaves over 93% of menhaden left in the ecosystem as forage for birds, fish and other sea creatures. Menhaden fishing mortality, which hit an all-time low in the last assessment, is dwarfed by natural mortality, which accounts for predation and mortality from other causes outside of the fishery.

The analysis, “The Fate of an Atlantic Menhaden Year Class,” and accompanying infographic, “Atlantic Menhaden: Fishing by the Numbers,” is based on the catch data included in the 2015 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Atlantic menhaden stock assessment. Also examined in the analysis is the age of menhaden that are caught by the fishery. The fishery specifically does not target juvenile menhaden-those most likely to serve as forage-and the oldest fish-those that are the most fertile spawners. This harvest approach is reflected in the catch data: the fishery overwhelmingly catches menhaden between the ages of 2 and 3, and the catch for juvenile and older menhaden is negligible. 

These estimates, along with the 2015 assessment’s headline findings that menhaden are not experiencing overfishing nor are they being overfished, further confirm the sustainability of the fishery. With such a small percentage of the menhaden population actually going to harvest, as well as other positive indicators for stock health, it is clear that current menhaden management is safeguarding the health and the future of the species.

For more information on the results of the analysis, please review the infographic below. For more information on how these estimates were calculated, read “The Fate of an Atlantic Menhaden Year Class.”

ASMFC Initiates Socioeconomic Study on Atlantic Menhaden Commercial Fisheries

Arlington, VA – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has awarded funding to a research team headed by Dr. John Whitehead of Appalachian State University and Dr. Jane Harrison from North Carolina Sea Grant to conduct a socioeconomic study of Atlantic menhaden commercial fisheries. The study is intended to characterize the coastwide commercial fisheries, including bait and reduction sectors and the fishing communities they support.

“We are excited for this opportunity to provide the Commission with these critical data which will characterize the socioeconomic dimensions of menhaden fisheries stakeholders to help managers better understand management impacts,” stated Dr. Harrison.

The principle objective of the study is to analyze data from participants in the Atlantic menhaden commercial industry. The Atlantic menhaden reduction fishery industry converts menhaden into fishmeal and fish oil, while the bait fishery industry supports other commercial (e.g. American lobster, blue crab) and recreational fisheries (e.g. striped bass, bluefish). Case studies along the Atlantic coast will link the harvesting, processing, and distribution sectors across the supply chain. Information on landing trends, industry participation, and social leadership and organizations will also be analyzed. Over the next month, ASMFC staff will be working with the research team to identify and reach out to fishery participants. 

View a PDF of the proposal

ASMFC 2016 Spring Meeting Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

March 16, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find attached and below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Spring Meeting, May 2-5, 2016 in Alexandria, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-spring-meeting.  Materials will be available on April 20, 2016 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-spring-meeting. 

Monday, May 2, 2016

9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.              American Lobster Management Board

·         Discuss Future Management of Southern New England American Lobster Stock

o   Address Tabled Motion to Initiate an Addendum to Address the Declining Stock Conditions

o   Technical Committee Report

o   Plan Development Team Report

·         Discuss Future Management for Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank American Lobster Stock

·         Consider Final Action on Draft Addendum I to the Jonah Crab FMP

·         Discuss Possible Action to Create a Coastwide Standard for Claw Landings in the Jonah Crab Fishery

·         Update on Effort Control Measures for Jonah Crab Only Trap Fishermen in Rhode Island

·         Update on the New England Fishery Management Council Deep Sea Coral Habitat Amendment and ASMFC Survey to Area 3 Fishermen

·         American Lobster Law Enforcement Subcommittee Update on Offshore Enforcement and Trap Reduction Enforcement

 

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.                        Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) Executive Committee

·         Program Update

·         Update on the MRIP APAIS Transition

·         Review and Approve Standard Operating Procedures Written in Response to the Independent Program Review

·         Develop a Program Governance Recommendation

·         Review Request for Proposals for the Upcoming Funding Cycle

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.                         ACCSP Coordinating Council

·         Program Update

·         Update on the MRIP APAIS Transition

·         Consider Approval of Standard Operating Procedures

·         Review and Consider Approval of Governance Recommendations

·         Review and Consider Approval of Request for Proposals for the Upcoming Funding Cycle

 

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

 

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.                      Executive Committee

·         Report of the Administrative Oversight Committee

·         Presentation of the FY17 Budget

·         Discussion of ACCSP Governance

·         Discussion of Plan Development Team Membership

·         Future Annual Meetings Update

 

10:15 – 11:15 a.m.                    Horseshoe Crab Management Board

·         Discuss Biomedical Data Confidentiality and Stock Assessment Planning

·         Review of Alternative Bait Costs

·         Update on Adaptive Resource Management Framework Review

 

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.          Shad and River Herring Management Board

·         Report from Data Standardization Workshop

·         Update on Activities of the River Herring Technical Expert Work Group

·         Stock Assessment Planning and Timetable for American Shad and River Herring Benchmark Assessments

 

Noon – 5:00 p.m.                     Law Enforcement Committee (LEC)

·         Update on Maine Lobster Trap Tag Transferability Program

·         Discuss Lobster Offshore Enforcement Issues

·         Review Tautog  Tagging Program Options and Subcommittee Efforts

·         Discuss Aerial Enforcement Issues and Subcommittee Efforts

·         Review 2016 Action Plan Tasks for LEC

·         Discuss Ongoing Enforcement Activities (Closed Session)

·         Federal Agency Report Highlights

·         State Agency Report Highlights

·         Review and Discuss Additional ISFMP Species Issues (as needed)

1:15 – 3:45 p.m.                        Climate Change Workshop

 

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.                        American Eel Management Board

·         Discuss Potential Options for Revisiting Yellow Eel Commercial Quota

 

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.                        Annual Awards of Excellence Reception

  

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

 

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.                      Weakfish Management Board

·         Review and Consider Approval of the 2016 Weakfish Benchmark Stock Assessment for Management Use

·         Discuss Next Steps for Management in Response to Assessment Results

8:30 a.m. – Noon                       Law Enforcement Committee (continued)

                                                               

10:15 – 11:45 a.m.                    Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board

·         Executive Committee Report

·         Management & Science Committee Report

·         Assessment Science Committee Report and Approval of the Stock Assessment Schedule

·         Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership Report

·         Law Enforcement Committee Report

·         Consider Next Steps Relative to Climate Change and ASMFC Management

·         Report on Commissioner Survey Follow-up

·         Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Assessment Update

·         Overview of the Sturgeon Research and Recovery Workshop Scheduled for May 16-19, 2016 (Coordinated by NOAA Fisheries)

 

1:00 – 5:00 p.m.                        Commissioner Parliamentary Workshop

  

Thursday, May 5, 2016

 

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.                      Atlantic Menhaden Management Board

·         Consider Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

·         Provide Guidance to the Technical Committee Regarding Stock Projections

·         Consider 2015 FMP Review and State Compliance

10:15 – 11:00 a.m.                    Coastal Sharks Management Board

·         Review and Consider Approval of Draft Addendum IV (Smoothhound Dogfish) for Public Comment

11:15 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.            South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board

·         Review and Consider Approval of the 2016 Red Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment for Management Use

·         Discuss Next Steps for Red Drum Management in Response to the Assessment Results

·         Progress Update on Spot and Atlantic Croaker Benchmark Stock Assessments

·         Review North Carolina Report on Spanish Mackerel Pound Net Landings as Required by Addendum I to the Omnibus Amendment for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout

·         Elect Vice-Chair

 

2:00 – 2:30 p.m.                      Business Session (if necessary)

·         Review Noncompliance Findings (if necessary)

 

Public Comment Guidelines

With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:

For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will use a speaker sign-up list in deciding 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 a meeting week will be included in the briefing materials.

2.    Comments received by 5:00 PM on the Tuesday immediately preceding the scheduled ASMFC Meeting (in this case, the Tuesday deadline will be April 26, 2016) will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.

3.    Following the Tuesday, April 26, 2016 5:00 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies).

The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.  As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail, fax, and email.

View a PDF of the Agenda

Climate cycle could determine the reproductive success of menhaden

February 19, 2016 — Scientists have long puzzled over what drives the reproductive success of Atlantic menhaden, a tiny but critical East Coast fish.

A new study, published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science and supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program, provides a partial answer: An oceanic climate cycle known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, or AMO.

The finding is likely to be useful in improving the way scientists assess the species and the way managers set catch limits.

Menhaden is a small, oily fish that provides food for striped bass, bluefish, and several other species, as well as bait for fishermen.

It also is the target of the largest fishery on the East Coast, which is centred in Virginia and catches menhaden for use in nutritional supplements, animal feed, and fertilizer.

Setting catch limits has proved challenging, in part because no one has been able to say what drives recruitment—a technical term for how many young fish are produced. Recruitment largely determines how much fishing a population can sustain.

Tom Miller of the University of Maryland, and one of the authors of the study, explained that it is very difficult to understand and manage this stock.

To address this, the researchers used a statistical model designed for disorderly data like those on the abundance of young menhaden. They considered 16 factors that might be driving that abundance, including climatic cycles, intensity of fishing, temperature, salinity, and predator abundance.

Read the full story at FIS

Menhaden Fisheries Coalition Responds to Claims of ‘Environmental Collateral Damage’ from Mission Blue – Sylvia Earle Alliance

January 29, 2015 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

A recent post from Mission Blue – Sylvia Earle Alliance (“Chesapeake Bay Suffers from Menhaden Reduction Industry”) makes several claims about the Atlantic menhaden fishery, most notably that the fishery, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay, is responsible for “environmental collateral damage.” The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition disputes this categorization, as based on the most recent assessments conducted on the menhaden stock, there is little evidence that the menhaden fishery is negatively impacting the health of the species.

Mission Blue claims that menhaden are the only species “managed directly by Virginia’s General Assembly,” and implies that menhaden are managed according to political, rather than scientific, considerations. But menhaden harvest levels are not set by the Virginia General Assembly. Instead, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), an interstate scientific and management body, is responsible for setting menhaden quotas according to the latest menhaden science and stock assessments. The General Assembly, while approving and implementing the quotas within Virginia borders, do not determine what harvest levels are appropriate, and do not act contrary to the ASMFC’s scientific advice.

According to the ASMFC’s most recent 2015 stock assessment, Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing, meaning that the fishery is not significantly impacting the long-term viability of the resource. In 2015, the ASMFC even raised the coastwide menhaden quota by 10 percent, in recognition of the fishery’s sustainability. The 2015 stock assessment contains other indicators that point to the fishery being sustainable. Fishing mortality is near an all-time low. The reduction fishery is smaller and having less of an impact on the menhaden stock than at any point in its history. Fecundity is near an all-time high.

Fecundity is a particularly important measurement, as it may be one of the best metrics available to predict the future health of the stock. As the ASMFC has acknowledged, the size of the menhaden population does not have a discernible impact on the number of menhaden that actually spawn, with environmental conditions being a far better indicator than fishing for whether or not future menhaden year classes will be large enough to sustain the resource.

According to the ASMFC, “the stock-recruitment relationship observed to date is weak at best,” and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science states that “environmental conditions are likely more important than the size of spawning stock in determining reproductive success.” Ensuring that the stock is producing enough eggs—as is currently the case—is thus the best tool fisheries managers have to influence future menhaden stock size.

Considering that the Atlantic menhaden reduction fishery is smaller than at any point in its history, and is currently abiding by the scientifically determined catch levels set by interstate fisheries managers, the Menhaden Coalition finds that there is little to support the claim of “environmental collateral damage.” Evidence instead points to the fishery being responsibly and sustainably managed.