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American Lobster Draft Addendum XXIX/Jonah Crab Draft Addendum IV for Public Comment: Public Hearing Presentation Now Available

January 11, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board has approved for public comment Draft Addendum XXIX to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Lobster and Draft Addendum IV to the Jonah Crab FMP. The Draft Addenda were initiated in August 2020 to consider implementing electronic tracking requirements for federally-permitted vessels in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries, with the objective of collecting high resolution spatial and temporal effort data.

The collection of enhanced spatial and temporal data via electronic tracking devices in the offshore fishery would support managers in addressing a number of challenges facing the fishery. Electronic tracking data would greatly improve the stock assessment’s ability to estimate exploitation and abundance for American lobster, as the trackers would allow size composition data to be linked to harvest at a finer spatial resolution than what is currently possible. Additionally, the data could improve the models used to assess the location of vertical lines in the fishery and their associated risk to endangered North Atlantic right whales, which could impact federal risk reduction requirements for the fishery. Characterizing the footprint of the U.S. lobster fishery will also be critical to ocean planning efforts to minimize spatial conflicts with other ocean uses such as aquaculture, marine protected areas, and offshore energy development, as well as provide fishery managers tools to help maintain industry fishing grounds. Last, the efficiency of law enforcement efforts could be significantly improved with data to help enforcement officials locate widely dispersed gear in the offshore fishery. 

 

The Commission and its member states from Maine to Virginia will be conducting a series of hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addenda. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most hearings will be conducted via webinar; some hearings will be state-specific and others regionally-focused. Public hearing information, webinar links, and call-in information are below. Please note that in order to comment during the hearings you will need to use your computer or download the GoToWebinar app for your phone. Those joining by phone only will be limited to listening to the presentation and will not be able to provide input. Additional details on participating in the webinar can be found later in this release; this information is particularly important for those that have not used the GoToWebinar platform before.

Date State or Regional Hearing Contact(s)
Wednesday, January 12, 2022

6:30 – 8 PM

Connecticut and New York Colleen Bouffard (CT), 860.876.6881

Maureen Davidson (NY), 631.444.0483

Thursday, January 13, 2022 

 6:30 – 8 PM

New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Joseph Cimino (NJ), 609.748.2020

John Clark (DE), 302.739.9914

Michael Luisi (MD), 443.758.6547

Patrick Geer (VA), 757.247.2236

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

6 – 8 PM

Maine Department of Marine Resources

 

Megan Ware (ME), 207.446.0932

 

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

6 – 8 PM

Maine Department of Marine Resources

 

Megan Ware (ME), 207.446.0932

 

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

6:30 – 8 PM

New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game

Note: This hearing will be held in a hybrid format. To virtually attend this hearing, please use this webinar registration link. To listen in only, dial1.415.655.0052 and enter 879-685-496.

You can also attend in person at the address below:

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road

Portsmouth, NH 03801

 

Cheri Patterson (NH), 603.868.1095

 

Thursday, January 20, 2022

6:30 – 8 PM

Massachusetts and Rhode Island  Nichola Meserve (MA), 617.626.1531

Jason McNamee (RI), 401.222.4700

The Draft Addenda include two options for proposed management programs. The first is status quo or no changes to the current program, and the second is to implement electronic tracking requirements for federally-permitted American lobster and Jonah crab vessels with commercial trap gear area permits for Lobster Conservation Management Areas 1 through 5 and Outer Cape Cod. Under this option, the specified permit holders would be required to install an approved electronic vessel tracking device to their vessel prior to beginning a fishing trip to collect and transmit spatial data. The devices would collect vessel locations every minute, which would allow for the distinction between transiting and fishing activity, as well as the estimation of traps per trawl. The Draft Addenda also describe administrative processes at the Commission, state, and federal levels for successful implementation of the management program to ensure the data collected meet the needs of state and federal partners.

Webinar Instructions

To register for a public hearing webinar please click HERE and select the hearing(s) you plan to attend from the dropdown menu. Hearings will be held via GoToWebinar, and you can join the webinar from your computer, tablet or smartphone. If you are new to GoToWebinar, you can download the software (click here)or via the App store under GoToWebinar. We recommend you register for the hearing well in advance of the hearing since GoToWebinar will provide you with a link to test your device’s compatibility with the webinar. If you find your device is not compatible, please contact the Commission at info@asmfc.org (subject line: GoToWebinar help) and we will try to get you connected. We also strongly encourage participants to use the computer voice over internet (VoIP) so you can ask questions and provide input at the hearing. Those joining by phone only, will be limited to listening to the presentation but will not be able to provide input during the hearing. In those cases, you can send your comments to staff via email, U.S. mail, or fax at any time during the public comment period. To attend the webinar in listen only mode, dial 1-877-309-2071 and enter access code 350-416-497.

The Draft Addenda are available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/LobsterDraftAdd_XXIX_JonahCrabDraftAdd_IV_PublicComment_Dec2021.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. Members of the commercial fishing industry and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input either by participating in public hearings, webinars, or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 31, 2022 and should be sent to Caitlin Starks, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Lobster Draft Addendum XXIX). For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks at cstarks@asmfc.orgor 703.842.0740.

New York Sues U.S. Dept. of Commerce Over Fluke Allocation

October 15, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In the most recent salvo of a lengthy battle, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation sued the Department of Commerce for maintaining the annual allocation of summer flounder to the state, despite a well-documented stock migration from the mid-Atlantic to off the shores of NY’s Long Island.

“It is unjust that New York’s fishing communities continue to be subjected to outdated restrictions on a key source of their livelihoods, which is why we are challenging this quota,” said New York’s Attorney General Letitia James. “Previous years of limiting commercial fluke fishing have shown us that the federal government’s reliance on erroneous data violates federal fisheries law and stunts commercial growth in the state. My office will continue to fight for fair treatment of those who depend upon on our commercial fishing industry.”

The suit, filed on October 10, charges the DOC of violating the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) and the Administrative Procedures Act by not responding to the stocks northward migration over the years and instead relying on outdated allocation shares.

Summer flounder is co-managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and the Atlantic States Fisheries Commission for inshore and offshore waters in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.  Allocation to all 11 states has been based on historical catch data from 1980-89, data which New York’s DEC says are “obsolete.”

Allocation shares give 27.5% to North Carolina, 21.3% to Virginia, 16.7% to New Jersey, 15.7% to Rhode Island; 7.7% to New York, 6.8% to Massachusetts, with the remaining 5% to Connecticut, Maryland, Maine, Delaware, and New Hampshire.

That puts 5.6 mlbs of summer fluke landings at ports in North Carolina and Virginia while only .88mlbs at ports in New York, “even though the center of the biomass of summer flounder—and commercial fishing activity—is off Long Island,” states the suit.

“New York’s commercial fishing industry is a critical economic driver that has been held back by outdated federal restrictions for decades,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “After numerous attempts to work with the federal government to adjust this unfair quota, we’re forced to make our case through the courts to protect the hardworking men and women of this industry. We will not back down until these unreasonable limits on New York’s fishing industry are made right.”

“In the more than 30 years since those data were collected, the center of the summer flounder stock has shifted significantly northeast to the waters off New York’s coast,” wrote Plaintiff Basil Seggos, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

“Boats from North Carolina and Virginia—states which have significantly larger quotas than New York predicated on the now obsolete landings data derived from the vastly different fishery of the 1980s—routinely travel hundreds of miles to waters off Long Island, fish, and then return hundreds of miles back to land their catch.

“Long Island-based boats have a far shorter trip to the prime fishing grounds but are constrained by New York’s small allocation—based on the same obsolete data—to return with far fewer fish than their southern counterparts.  To eke out a living, some New York boats have had to purchase North Carolina or Virginia licenses, catch summer flounder off Long Island, then sail hundreds of miles south to land their catch.”

The suit claims the management actions taken by DOC are inconsistent with four National Standards in the MSA: National Standard 2, which calls for “best scientific information” to be used in management decisions; NS 4, which prohibits discrimination between residents of different states; and NS 5 and 7, which require efficiency in the use of fishery resources and to minimize costs where practicable.

The suit asks the court to partially vacate the 2020–2021 Specifications Rule by invalidating New York’s quota and partially vacate the 1993 Allocation Rule by invalidating New York’s allocation and remand the Rules to Commerce for further proceedings.

Commercial landings of summer flounder peaked in 1984 at 37.77 million pounds and reached a low of 5.83 million pounds in 2017. Total ex-vessel value in 2018 was $25.27 million, resulting in an average price per pound of $4.11

The Council and ASFMC recently approved increases in quota for all the states if the coastwide commercial quota exceeds 9.55mlbs. In that case, NY would get 12.375% of the additional quota, as would six other states. But the modification will not be effective, if approved, until January 1, 2021.

The stock for summer flounder spawning females is at 98 million pounds, but recruitment is low. In addition, annual removals are above what the stock can currently replace, so forecasts are for declining abundance.

Recent changes in accounting for sport landings have also increased those removals historically.

The next benchmark stock assessment is tentatively scheduled for 2021.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

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