Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Archives

Jonah Crab Benchmark Stock Assessment Workshop Scheduled for April 18-20 in New Bedford, MA

March 20, 2023 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will hold an in-person Jonah Crab Benchmark Stock Assessment Workshop at the UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology, 706 South Rodney French Blvd., New Bedford, MA. The stock assessment, which will be the species’ first range-wide assessment, will evaluate the health of the Jonah crab population and inform its management. The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data*, when the public will be asked to leave the room.

Corrected American Lobster Draft Addendum XXVII Available for Public Comment

March 9, 2023 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

An error has been identified in the previously released Draft Addendum XXVII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster for public comment. Specifically, Section 3.2 (Issue 2, Option C) should have contained three steps in the proposed maximum gauge size changes for Area 3 and Outer Cape Cod rather than only two. The revised draft is available athttps://asmfc.org/files/AmericanLobster/AmLobsterDraftAddendumXXVII_PublicComment_Revised.pdf and the public comment deadline has been extended to April 8, 2023.

The Draft Addendum considers measures to increase protection of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GBK) spawning stock. Atlantic coastal states of Maine through New York are conducting hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addendum; some hearings will be conducted in-person, and some hearings will be conducted via webinar. Additional details on participating in the webinars can be found later in this release.

The American Lobster Management Board initiated Addendum XXVII in 2017 as a proactive measure to improve the resiliency of the GOM/GBK stock, responding to signs of reduced juvenile settlement and the combining of the GOM and GBK stocks following the 2015 Stock Assessment. Work on this addendum was paused due to the prioritization of work on take reduction efforts for North Atlantic right whales and the 2020 stock assessment. The Board reinitiated work on Draft Addendum XXVII in February 2021, and has since revised its goal to consider a trigger mechanism such that measures would be automatically implemented to increase the overall protection of the GOM/GBK spawning stock when a defined trigger level is reached. Draft Addendum XXVII also considers the standardization of management measures across Lobster Conservation Management Areas with the goal of providing a consistent conservation strategy and simplifying enforcement across management areas and interstate commerce.

New Web Page Highlights MAFMC Responses to Climate Change

March 7, 2023 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is excited to announce the launch of a new web page highlighting the Council’s efforts to build resilient, climate-ready fisheries. The Climate Change and Mid-Atlantic Fisheries page is organized around eight themes:

Strengthening partnerships to prepare for governance challenges
Addressing changing distributions
Monitoring emerging fisheries
Implementing an ecosystem approach to fisheries management
Incorporating climate information in management decisions
Ensuring healthy fish habitat
Advancing climate science
Planning for the future

Climate change has the potential to affect all aspects of fisheries, from stock distribution and productivity to fisheries governance and management. Understanding and preparing for these impacts is critical to the long-term sustainability of Mid-Atlantic fisheries.

The new page provides a comprehensive overview of actions the Council has taken to enhance its adaptive capacity and address the effects of climate change on Mid-Atlantic fisheries. New information and resources will be added on an ongoing basis. Visit Climate Change and Mid-Atlantic Fisheries to learn more.

States Schedule Public Hearings on American Lobster Draft Addendum XXVII

February 13, 2023 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic coastal states of Maine through New York have scheduled hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum XXVII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster, which considers measures to increase protection of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GBK) spawning stock. Some hearings will be conducted in-person, and some hearings will be conducted via webinar. Additional details on participating in the webinars can be found later in this release.

Webinar Instructions

For all virtual hearings, please note that in order to comment during webinar 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. In those cases, you can send comments to staff via email or U.S. mail at any time during the public comment period. To attend the webinar in listen only mode, dial 213-929-4212 and enter access code 210-711-884.

For all virtual hearings, please click HERE and select the hearing(s) you plan to attend from the dropdown menu to register for a public hearing webinar. 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 by (clicking 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.

Hearing Presentation Recording

For those who cannot attend any in-person or virtual hearings, the Commission will also post a recording of the hearing presentation on the Commission’s Public Input page so that stakeholders may watch the presentation and submit comment at any time during the comment process. This recording will be available in early March.

Submitting Comments

The Draft Addendum is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AmLobsterDraftAddendumXXVII_PublicComment.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. All those interested in the management of American lobster are encouraged to provide input either by participating in public hearings, which may be conducted via webinar, or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 11:59 PM (EST) on March 31, 2023 and should be sent to Caitlin Starks, Senior FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Lobster Draft Addendum XXVII).

If your organization is planning to release an action alert in response to the Draft Amendment, please contact Caitlin Starks at cstarks@asmfc.orfg or 703.842.0740, so she can work with you to develop a unique subject line to enable us to better organize and summarize comments for Board review.

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board Webinar Scheduled for March 2; 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

February 6, 2023 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board is scheduled to meet via webinar on March 2 from 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM. The purpose of the meeting is to review and consider final approval of proposed regional scup and black sea bass recreational measures for the 2023 fishing year. The draft agenda is available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/SFlounderScupBSBboardMarch2023/SFSBSB_DraftAgenda_March2023.pdf. Meeting materials will be available by February 16.

Webinar Information

To register for the webinar, please go tohttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1545173806305206104 (Webinar ID 704-124-243). If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can may also call in at +1 (562) 247-8422, access code 707-645-763. 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, press the # key when asked for a PIN.

Meeting Process

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.

The webinar will begin 15 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.

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 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, 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)

Comments received by 5 PM on Wednesday, February 15 will be included in the main meeting materials.
Comments received by 5 PM on Wednesday, February 22 will be included in the supplemental materials.

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 and email.

For more information, please contact Tracey Bauer, FMP Coordinator, at tbauer@asmfc.org.

Press Releases, Meeting Summaries, Motions, and Recordings from ASMFC’s 2023 Winter Meeting Now Available

February 3, 2023 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Press releases, meeting summaries, and motions from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2023 Winter Meeting are now available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2023WinterMeeting/2023WinterMeetingSummary.pdf. The document can also be obtained on the Commission website on the Meeting Archives page athttp://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive.

The majority of Board/Committee recordings are posted as well to the Winter Meeting webpage (at the audio link at the respective Board/Committee header). Presentations from this week’s meeting will be available by early next week on the 2023 Winter Meeting webpage.

Wishing you all a good weekend.

ASMFC Spiny Dogfish Board Sets Quota for 2023/2024 Fishing Season

February 2, 2023 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved a coastwide commercial quota for the 2023/2024 fishing season (May 1-April 30) of 12 million pounds (state-specific allocations are provided in table below). The quota is consistent with the measures recommended to NOAA Fisheries by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC). The Board also maintained the commercial trip limit in state waters of 7,500 pounds for the northern region states of Maine through Connecticut. The states of New York through North Carolina have the ability to set state-specific trip limits based on the needs of their fisheries. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore). The MAFMC and NEFMC will forward their recommendations for federal waters (3 –200 miles from shore) to NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval.

The 2023/2024 coastwide quota represents a 59.4% reduction from the current fishing season’s coastwide quota of 29,559,580 pounds. The decreased quota is based on declining trends in several indicators including survey abundance, catch per unit of effort, pup production, and dogfish growth. A research track stock assessment was completed in late 2022, and management advice will be provided through the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s management track assessment that is scheduled for June.

For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Senior FMP Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Management Track Assessments Find Winter Flounder Stocks for the Gulf of Maine and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Not Experiencing Overfishing

February 1, 2023 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Winter Flounder Management Board reviewed the results of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s (NEFSC) management track stock assessments* for the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) winter flounder stocks. These assessments found GOM winter flounder is not experiencing overfishing while the SNE/MA winter flounder stock is not overfished nor experiencing overfishing. The overfished status for the GOM stock remains unknown. The management track assessments for both stocks include data through 2021.

SNE/MA winter flounder experienced a change in stock status from overfished to not overfished due to a change in the years of recruitment estimates used to estimate biological reference points. Instead of drawing upon the entire time series of recruitment estimates, the projections now only use recruitment estimates from the past 20 years (2002-2021). The SNE/MA winter flounder stock is most likely not capable of achieving the high levels of recruitment that were observed prior to 2000 due to changes in environmental conditions; therefore, using a truncated recruitment time series of only the past 20 years better reflects current stock condition. However, despite a change in stock status; trends in survey indices and model estimates all continue to indicate the SNE/MA stock is in poor condition.

The GOM stock uses a modeling method that incorporates survey indices of abundance to obtain area-swept biomass and exploitation estimates. There have been time series lows in fishery removals (harvest and discards) for GOM winter flounder in recent years. Overall, the indices of abundance have not responded positively to the large declines in commercial and recreational removals since the 1980s. However, there were increases in the fall 2021 and spring 2021 and 2022 area-swept biomass estimates, which, if they continue, could be the beginning of a response to continued low fishery removals. It should be noted, however, that no survey data is available for 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, which is a source of uncertainty in this area-swept assessment that relies on survey data.

Given this information, specifications recommended by New England Fishery Management Council, and recommendations from the Technical Committee and Advisory Panel, the Board maintained 2023 recreational and commercial measures for the GOM and SNE/MA winter flounder stocks for the 2024-2025 fishing years.

American Lobster Draft Addendum XXVII Approved for Public Comment Addendum Considers Measures to Increase Protection of Spawning Stock Biomass of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank Stock

February 1, 2023 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved Draft Addendum XXVII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster for public comment. The Draft Addendum considers implementing management measures – specifically gauge and escape vent sizes – to provide additional protection to the spawning stock biomass (SSB) in the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GBK) stock. The Draft Addendum also considers immediate action upon final approval to standardize some management measures within and across the Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMAs) that include the GOM/GBK stock.

The Board initiated the Addendum as a proactive measure to improve the resiliency of the GOM/GBK stock. Since the early 2000s, landings in the GOM/GBK stock have exponentially increased. In Maine alone, landings have increased from 57 million pounds in 2000 to a record high of 132.6 million pounds in 2016. Maine landings have declined slightly but were still high at 97.9 million and 108.9 million in 2020 and 2021, respectively. However, since 2012, lobster settlement surveys throughout the GOM have generally been below the time series averages in all areas. These surveys, which measure trends in the abundance of juvenile lobsters, can be used to track populations and potentially forecast future landings. Persistent lower densities of settlement could foreshadow decline in recruitment and landings. In the most recent years of the time series, declines in other recruitment indices have also been observed.

Given the economic importance of the lobster fishery to many coastal communities in New England, especially in Maine, potential reductions in landings could have vast socioeconomic impacts. In addition, the 2015 Stock Assessment combined the GOM and GBK stocks into a single biological unit due to evidence of migration between the two regions. As a result, there are now varying management measures within a single biological stock. In response to these two issues, Draft Addendum XXVII considers the standardization of management measures across LCMAs. The purpose of considering more consistency in measures is to resolve discrepancies between the regulations for state and federal permit-holders, to provide a consistent conservation strategy, and simplify enforcement across management areas and interstate commerce.

Draft Addendum XXVII considers two approaches for implementing changes to gauge and escape vent sizes to enhance protection of the GOM/GBK spawning stock. One approach would establish a trigger mechanism whereby pre-determined management changes would be implemented upon reaching a defined trigger level based on observed changes in recruitment abundance indices. The second approach would establish a schedule for implementing changes to the gauge and escape vent sizes. The proposed measures include an increase to the minimum gauge size and escape vent sizes in LCMA 1 (Gulf of Maine) and decreases to the maximum gauge size in LCMA 3 (offshore federal waters) and Outer Cape Cod. The proposed gauge and escape vent sizes are expected to increase the proportion of the population that is able to reproduce before being harvested by the fishery, and to enhance stock resiliency by protecting larger lobsters of both sexes.

The Draft Addendum will be posted to the website next week at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. A subsequent press release will provide the details on the public hearing schedule and how to submit written comments. The Board will meet to review submitted comment and consider final action on the addendum in May 2023 at the Commission’s Spring Meeting in Arlington, VA. For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, atcstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Final Supplemental Materials Now Available for ASMFC 2023 Winter Meeting

January 27, 2023 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Final supplemental materials for ASMFC’s 2023 Winter Meeting are now available. They include public comment for the Atlantic Herring and Atlantic Menhaden Management Boards and can be found in the below links or athttp://www.asmfc.org/home/2023-winter-meeting.

Atlantic Herring Management Board Supplemental2 – Public Comment

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board Supplemental2 – Public Comment

As a reminder, the Commission’s Public Comment Guidelines are:

For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide an opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs 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.