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
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
January 27, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Supplemental meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Winter Meeting have been posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-winter-meeting for the following Boards/Sections (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information).
American Lobster Management Board – Preliminary Results of Claw Removal and its Impacts on Survivorship and Physiological Stress in Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) in New England Waters; NEFMC Correspondence on Jonah Crab Permit Holders; Jonah Crab Plan Review Team FMP Implementation Memo; MaineJonah Crab FMP Implementation Program
Atlantic Herring Section – Revised Draft Amendment 3 (please note this version has been revised from January 21st draft); Public Hearing Summary; Written Comment (Summary and Submitted Comments); Advisory Panel Meeting Summary
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Draft Addendum XXVII Public Hearing Summaries; Written Comment (Summary and Submitted Comments); Law Enforcement Committee Comments; General Public Comment
ACCSP Executive Committee (please note meeting materials are available through the main header not supplemental) – Draft Minutes from December 17, 2015; Draft Standard Operating Procedures; 2016 Meetings Calendar
ACCSP Coordinating Council (please note meeting materials are available through the main header not supplemental) – Draft Minutes from November 2, 2015
Executive Committee (please note these materials are the same as those provided for the ISFMP Policy Board) – Memo on Changes to Commission Guidance Documents; Draft ISFMP Charter; Draft Compact, Rules and Regulations; Draft Technical Support Group Guidance and Benchmark Assessment Process
Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Law Enforcement Committee Report on Maryland and Potomac River Fisheries Commission Equivalency Proposals; Public Comment
Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board – 2016 FMP Review
Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Adaptive Resource Management Subcommittee Meeting Summary
Tautog Management Board – Decision Document for Draft Amendment 1; Law Enforcement Committee Report on Commercial Harvest Tagging Program Objectives
Winter Flounder Management Board – NEFMC Presentation on Overview of Federal Management Measures for Gulf of Maine and Southern New England/ Mid-Atlantic Stocks; Scientific and Statistical Committee Report
American Eel Management Board – Advisory Panel Report and Technical Committee Review on North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan; Final version of North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan; Public Comment
ISFMP Policy Board (please note these materials are the same as those provided for Executive Committee) – Memo on Changes to Commission Guidance Documents; Draft ISFMP Charter; Draft Compact, Rules and Regulations; Draft Technical Support Group Guidance and Benchmark Assessment Process
As a reminder, Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 9:00 a.m. on February 2nd and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 3:45 p.m.) on February 4th. 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. To register for the webinar, please go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/86228471613051649.
December 15, 2015 — For much of the last decade, the MV Shearwater caught menhaden by the ton but in its new life, as part of the Del-Jersey-Land reef 26-miles off the coast, it will become a fish habitat and diving destination in the state’s artificial reef program.
The ship didn’t go easy into the deep last week. The stern sank first and the ship started to turn leaving just the bow out of the water. It took about six hours to fully sink after the seacocks opened and the interior compartments flooded.
The 176-foot-long vessel went down in 120 feet of water. It lays about one-half nautical mile from the 568-foot long USS Arthur W. Radford, a former Navy destroyer. The Radford was sunk at the artificial reef site in 2011 and has become a popular destination for divers and anglers.
“About three weeks ago, a state-record bluefish was caught there,” said Jeff Tinsman, the state artificial reef coordinator.
“These old freighters make ideal reefs because of the voids and cavities in them – they’re really the perfect sanctuary for fish,” Tinsman said. “But not long after this ship sinks, the fish will start to come ‘outside’ it to feed. Within a few weeks, blue mussels, sponges, barnacles and soft corals will attach themselves to the structure, and in about a year, the reef will be fully productive, for fish and fishermen alike.”
Read the full story at Delaware Online
December 7, 2015 — The Chesapeake Bay may be the best-studied estuary in the world, but a group of scientists attending a recent workshop were surprised about how little they knew about what predatory fish eat.
After all, menhaden — dubbed by some as the “most important fish in the sea” would also be the “most important” fish in the Bay, right?
Apparently not. That honor, were one species to be singled out, might belong to the tiny bay anchovy — a fish that rarely grows more than 3–4 inches in length and typically doesn’t live longer than a year.
“They’re the most abundant fish in the Bay,” said Ed Houde, a fisheries scientist with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, who helped organize the workshop. “They’re really important in the Bay’s food web.”
An analysis of 12 years of Baywide diet information for five major predators prepared for the workshop found that bay anchovy was a significant portion of the diet for four of those species. Menhaden was important for only one, striped bass, and even for them, bay anchovy were more important.
“Menhaden came out not as high on the list as people thought it was going to be,” Houde said. “It was an important prey, but it certainly wasn’t in the top three or four.”
Even more significantly, the analysis showed that the Bay’s food web is less of a fish-eat-fish world than popularly thought, even among many scientists. A host of unheralded species, from worms to clams to crustaceans, are major food sources for the Chesapeake’s predatory fish.
Read the full story at Bay Journal
December 11, 2015 — The following is a commentary by Peter Himchak, Senior Fisheries Scientist for Omega Protein, a member of the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition. Mr. Himchak served for 39 years as a fisheries biologist for the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, and served on advisory and management boards for both the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC). He served on the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Sub-Committee from 1988 until 2006:
A recent Virginian-Pilot op-ed by Chesapeake Bay Defense Foundation (CBDF) Director of Public Affairs William Tabor (“A tragedy of the Chesapeake,” 11/29) contains a deeply flawed and scientifically inaccurate take on the menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake Bay. These inaccuracies illustrate that this recently-formed organization may not have a great understanding of the menhaden fishery or basic fisheries biology. The menhaden fishery, rather than being an example of “market aggression” and “licensed plunder,” as CBDF states, is, according to all available evidence, both responsibly regulated environmentally sustainable.
Many of CBDF’s claims about the local impact of the menhaden fishery are simply not supported by the best and most current science on menhaden. CBDF advocates for banning purse seine fishing for menhaden in Virginia state waters largely over fears of localized depletion—that the menhaden fishery is taking too many menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay. But there is currently no scientific evidence that localized depletion is occurring.
Menhaden are a highly migratory species that travel to inshore and near-shore waters up and down the Atlantic coast. Nowhere has an incidence of localized depletion ever been recorded or confirmed, and many believe that the phenomenon may not even exist. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), acting out of an abundance of caution and not a scientific mandate, has already imposed a cap on how much menhaden can be harvested from the Chesapeake Bay.
Fears that that the menhaden fishery is not leaving enough food for predator species is similarly overblown. Species like striped bass and bluefish generally target younger menhaden, age 1 and under. This is a segment of the menhaden population that is not directly targeted by the fishery, which mostly harvests menhaden age 2 and older. Based on stock assessment reports and the Beaufort Assessment Model, from 2004-2013, the menhaden fishery only harvested around 3.35% of the total menhaden population. The overwhelming majority of the remaining population is consumed by predator species coastwide, and the fishery does not represent a significant threat to the coastal supply of forage.
Menhaden also do not, as CBDF claims, contribute significantly to removing the “excess algae and nutrients that clog the Bay.” As several scientific papers have confirmed, menhaden are opportunistic feeders, consuming both the phytoplankton that leads to algal blooms as well as zooplankton. However, phytoplankton is consumed primarily by younger menhaden, which are not targeted by the fishery, and represent only a small fraction of the overall harvest.
The environmental impacts of the menhaden boats and purse seine nets themselves are also greatly overstated by the op-ed. CBDF cites fears of bycatch and damage to the environment as more reasons Virginia should ban purse seining in its waters. But, because they target densely packed schools of menhaden, purse seine nets are some of the most efficient methods of harvesting fish, and bycatch from these efforts are minimal. The ASMFC acknowledged in its 2010 assessment that “it is suspected that bycatch and discards of menhaden are trivial compared to total landings.”
Purse seine nets also do not frequently interact with the seafloor, and are not a significant threat to the Bay’s corals, grass beds, or oysters. And while the op-ed is concerned with the effect of water discharge from menhaden boats, any effects from this discharge are localized, and temporary. These boats also operate with the approval of relevant regulators. Compared to the widespread and long-lasting dead zones that regularly afflict the Bay, water discharge from a handful of menhaden vessels does not represent a significant, long-term environmental threat.
The menhaden fishery is already managed according to the best available science and management practices. Virginia’s quota is set in accordance with maintaining the sustainability of the stock, and fisheries science confirms that the Chesapeake-based menhaden fleet does not have a serious negative impact on the health of either the Bay or the local menhaden population. A ban on purse seining in Virginia state waters would be both unnecessary and ineffective.