Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Archives - Page 101 of 127

ASMFC 2017 Summer Meeting Preliminary Agenda & Public Comment Guidelines

June 28, 2017 — 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 Summer Meeting, August 1-3, 2017 in Alexandria, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2017-summer-meeting. Also included in the attachment are the travel authorization form, travel reimbursement guidelines and directions to the hotel. Materials will be available on July 19, 2017 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2017-summer-meeting.

A block of rooms is being held at The Westin Alexandria, 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314. Cindy Robertson will make Commissioner/Proxy reservations and will contact you regarding the details of your accommodations. Please notify Cindy of any changes to your travel plans that will impact your hotel reservations, otherwise you will incur no-show penalties. We greatly appreciate your cooperation.

For all other attendees, please reserve online or call The Westin Alexandria at 866.837.4210 as soon as possible and mention the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to obtain the group room rate of $174.00 plus tax single/dbl. Please be aware that you must guarantee your room reservation with a major credit card or one night’s advance payment. Hotel reservations must be made by Wednesday, July 5, 2017. Room availability will not be guaranteed beyond this date. If you are being reimbursed by ASMFC for your travel, please make your reservation directly with the hotel. Reservations made through travel websites do not apply toward our minimum number of required reservations with the hotel. Cancellations at The Westin must be made prior to 48 hours of arrival to avoid penalty. If you have any problems at all regarding accommodations please contact Cindy at 703.842.0740 or at crobertson@asmfc.org. For those driving to the meeting, the Colonial Parking Garage, 551 John Carlyle St. near the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Open 24hrs). The $10 daily rate there is a substantial savings over parking at the Westin.

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

Summer Meeting

August 1-3, 2017

The Westin Alexandria

Alexandria, Virginia

Preliminary Agenda

The agenda is subject to change. Bulleted items represent the anticipated major issues to be discussed or acted upon at the meeting. The final agenda will include additional items and may revise the bulleted items provided below. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein.

Tuesday, August 1

8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Executive Committee

(A portion of this meeting may be a closed session for Committee members and Commissioners only)

Discuss Council/Commission Line in NOAA Budget
Discuss Executive Director’s Contract Renewal

9:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board

Review and Consider Cobia Draft Fishery Management Plan for Public Comment
Review and Consider Spot Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report for Management use
Technical Committee Update of Traffic Light Analysis for Atlantic Croaker and Exploratory Analyses for Incorporation of Shrimp Trawl Bycatch Index

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program Coordinating Council

Program Update
Review and Consider Approval of Marine Recreational Information Program Recreational Implementation Plan
Recreational Data Collection: Changes on the Horizon

3:00 – 6:00 p.m. American Lobster Management Board

Consider American Lobster Draft Addendum XXV for Final Approval
American Lobster Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank Subcommittee Report
Review Draft Addendum XXVI
Report on State and Federal Inconsistencies in Lobster Conservation Management Area 4 Season Closure
Law Enforcement Committee Report on American Lobster Chain of Custody

Wednesday, August 2

8:00 – 10:00 a.m. Shad and River Herring Management Board

Review River Herring Stock Assessment Update
Review and Consider Approval of Shad and River Herring Sustainable Fishery Management Plans (SFMP)
Technical Committee Report
- South Carolina: Updated River Herring SFMP
- Florida: Updated Shad SFMP
Consider Approval of 2017 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports

10:15 – 11:15 a.m. American Eel Management Board

Update on North Carolina Aquaculture Program in 2017
Consider Approval of 2016 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Atlantic Menhaden Management Board

Review 2017 Stock Assessment Update

1:30 – 5:45 p.m. Atlantic Menhaden Management Board (continued)

Biological Ecological Reference Point Work Group Review of Hilborn, et al (2017) Paper
Review and Consider Approval of Draft Amendment 3 for Public Comment
Set 2018 Atlantic Menhaden Fishery Specifications

Thursday, August 3

8:00 – 11:30 a.m. Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board

Executive Committee Report
State Director Meeting Overview
Consider New Jersey Appeal of Addendum XXVIII to the Summer Flounder FMP
Annual Report on the Performance of the Stocks
- Review 2017 Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment Update
Consider Standard Operating Policies and Procedures for Standard Meeting Practices
Discuss New England Fishery Management Council Participation on the Atlantic Herring Section
Review Reports from the Assessment Science Committee, Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership, Habitat Committee, Artificial Reef Committee, Law Enforcement Committee, and Northeast and Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Programs

11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council

Update on Summer Flounder Recreational Working Group
Review of 2017 Black Sea Bass Recreational Measures
Consider Approval of 2017 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports

2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Tautog Management Board

Consider Amendment 1 for Final Approval

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).

Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included in the briefing materials.
Comments received by 5:00 PM on the Tuesday immediately preceding the scheduled ASMFC Meeting (in this case, the Tuesday deadline will be July 25, 2017) will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.
Following the Tuesday, July 25, 2017 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.

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Trimester 2 Effort Controls and Meeting Notice

June 28, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission) Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts revised the effort control measures for the 2017 Area 1A Trimester 2 (June 1 – September 30) fishery as follows. The revised measures are underlined. Please note the time and passcode for the next Days Out Meeting on July 12^th have changed. The meeting will begin at 1:30 PM and the new passcode is 222918.

Days Out of the Fishery

Vessels with a herring Category A permit that have declared into the Trimester 2 Area 1A fishery may land herring four (4) consecutive days a week. One landing per 24 hour period. Vessels are prohibited from landing or possessing herring caught from Area 1A during a day out of the fishery.
- Landing days in New Hampshire and Massachusetts begin on Monday of each week at 12:01 a.m.
- Landings days in Maine begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m.
Small mesh bottom trawl vessels with a herring Category C or D permit that have declared into the Trimester 2 fishery may land herring seven (7) consecutive days a week.

Weekly Landing Limit

Vessels with a herring Category A permit may harvest up to 600,000 lbs (15 trucks) per harvester vessel, per week.
80,000 lbs out of the 600,000 lb weekly limit can be transferred to a carrier vessel (see below).

At-Sea Transfer and Carrier Restrictions (no changes were made)

The following applies to harvester vessels with a herring Category A permit and carrier vessels landing herring caught in Area 1A to a Maine, New Hampshire or Massachusetts port.

A harvester vessel cannot transfer herring at-sea to another catcher vessel.
A harvester vessel is limited to making at-sea transfers to only one carrier vessel per week.
Carrier vessels are limited to receiving at-sea transfers from one catcher vessel per week and can land once per 24 hour period. A carrier vessel may land up to 80,000 lbs
(2 trucks) per week. The carrier limit of 2 trucks is not in addition to the harvester weekly landing limit. Carrier vessel: a vessel with no gear on board capable of catching or processing fish. Harvester vessel: a vessel that is required to report the catch it has aboard as the harvesting vessel on the Federal Vessel Trip Report.

The initial Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) is 31,115 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for a carryover from 2015 and the research set-aside. The Section allocated 72.8% of the sub-ACL to Trimester 2 and 27.2% to Trimester 3. After incorporating the 295 mt fixed gear set-aside and the 8% buffer (Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL) the seasonal quotas are 20,625 mt for Trimester 2 and 7,706 mt for Trimester 3.

These effort controls are projected to extend the Trimester 2 fishery through mid-September. Landings will be monitored closely and the fishery will be adjusted to zero landing days when the trimester’s quota is projected to be reached.

The Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are scheduled to reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort the following days:

Wednesday, July 12 at 1:30 PM
Wednesday, July 26 at 10:00 AM
Wednesday, August 9 at 10:00 AM

To join the calls, please dial 888.394.8197 and enter passcode 222918 as prompted.

Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A until June 4 or 5, 2017, depending on the state. Please contact Ashton Harp, Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740 for more information.

LYNTON S. LAND: Bay fishery to keep deteriorating unless nutrients from land are addressed

June 28, 2017 — The March Bay Journal 2017 commentary, Don’t let menhaden become a case of could have, should have, would have, laments the decline in Bay menhaden populations and blames the reduced number of predatory “sport” fish on Omega Protein’s harvest.

The Atlantic States Marine fisheries Commission is quite clear this year that “Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing” (asmfc.org/species/atlantic-menhaden).

In Maryland, juvenile menhaden are sampled annually through the Estuarine Juvenile Finfish Survey. The index of juvenile menhaden has been low since 1992, and “environmental conditions seem to be a major factor driving recruitment.” (dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Documents/Section_4_Atlantic_Menhaden.pdf).

Something other than overfishing must contribute to, or even be responsible for, reduced Bay menhaden populations. I contend that the primary cause of depleted finfish stocks, including bottom-feeding fish like croaker that do not eat menhaden, and the menhaden themselves, is poor water quality, not overfishing.

As a child in the late 1940s, I recall visiting my uncle’s cottage on the water near Solomons Island, MD, where we caught large bluefish and rockfish. He would give me a quarter to pull up eelgrass from under his boat so the propeller wouldn’t chop it up and foul the engine’s water pump. Dense meadows of grass were obvious beneath the clear water. I doubt there is much eelgrass anywhere near Solomons Island today and Bernie Fowler’s “Wade-In” documents turbidity and the fact that there has been no recent improvement.

I moved to Virginia’s Northern Neck on the Little Wicomico River, near Smith Point, in 1998. At that time, I could exit the jetties and turn to the southeast into about 30 feet of water and easily catch large croaker, as well as spot, trout and flounder. I haven’t caught fish there, nor seen them on the depth sounder, in many years.

The pound nets nearby still catch menhaden for crab bait, although they are smaller than fish in the past. They no longer catch many “food fish.”

In about 2000, big Omega trawlers fishing for menhaden were common up to the Maryland-Virginia line. Now, I never see the trawlers and most of the plentiful menhaden are being caught outside the Bay, where the population is robust. In late summer, schools of Spanish mackerel and bluefish once chased bait on the bar west of Smith Point Light. Casting into the schools, as they were being worked by birds, or trolling beside them, was great fun and very productive. No more.

Spanish mackerel, my favorite fish, are no longer abundant and I rarely see birds actively working the water. Trolling for big rockfish was almost always successful a decade ago. Lately it is more often unsuccessful, although a few are still being caught.

Read the full opinion piece at the Bay Journal

ASMFC Releases Atlantic Menhaden Socioeconomic Report

June 28, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission releases the report, “Socioeconomic Analysis of the Atlantic Menhaden Commercial Bait and Reduction Fishery,” which characterizes coastwide commercial menhaden fisheries, including bait and reduction sectors and the fishing communities they support. The report’s findings will be used to inform the Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board as it considers potential management changes to menhaden commercial bait and reduction fisheries through Draft Amendment 3. Additionally, information from the report will be incorporated into the socioeconomic section of Draft Amendment 3, which is scheduled to be released for public comment in August.

In March 2016, the Commission awarded a grant to the research team of 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. Over the past year, the team has collected and analyzed data to describe the coastwide commercial fisheries. The team interviewed stakeholders and conducted industry surveys to characterize participation in the menhaden fishery, vessel and gear characteristics, as well as identify substitute products, subsidies, and other sources of employment. Interview and survey data also provided information on recent market changes, state-quota impacts, and fishing communities. In addition, a public opinion internet survey was conducted, involving over 2,000 respondents from Maine, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. A secondary data analysis was conducted using Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program data on pounds landed, ex-vessel revenues, and trips. An economic impact analysis was also performed to evaluate the effects of varying levels of quota on both the bait and reduction sectors.

Some of the report’s primary findings include:

Interviews and surveys of commercial fishermen and other industry members found many agreed demand for menhaden bait, oil, and meal had increased in recent years.
The public survey used hypothetical quota variations, with associated changes in fisheries revenue, jobs, and ecosystem services. Survey results indicated a willingness to trade-off some amounts of fisheries revenue in exchange for improvements in ecosystem services; however, willingness was influenced by the respondents’ attitudes and characteristics (i.e. perceptions about the importance of menhaden as bait for recreational/commercial fishing, as a contributor to their state’s economy, as a source of food for predators, etc.)
Analysis of historic landings data found prices for menhaden were negatively related to landings levels, but the relationship was small and insignificant in some instances. This suggests quota reductions might reduce commercial fishery revenues, as decreases in landings are not fully compensated by higher prices.
Analysis of the economic impacts of quota changes indicated increases and decreases in total allowable catch corresponded to income and employment increases and decreases, and these effects were concentrated in New Jersey and Virginia.

The full report can be found on the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Atlantic%20Menhaden/ASMFC_MenhadenSocioeconomicReport_June2017.pdf. For more information, please contact Shanna Madsen, Fisheries Science Coordinator, at smadsen@asmfc.orgor 703.842.0740.

MAINE: Fishermen, regulators disagree over cause of Brunswick fish kill

June 26, 2017 — As a massive vacuum truck from Clean Harbors traveled along the shoreline near Simpsons Point midweek to clean up rotting pogies, local fishermen were battling what they say was a raft of misinformation put forth by the state about how and why those pogies were dumped from a local fishing vessel on June 6.

On Tuesday, a day after residents of the Simpsons Point area asked town councilors to help pay for a professional cleanup of the fish, local lobsterman Steve Anderson posted a 10-minute video on YouTube, taking local media to task for only reporting part of the story and excoriating the Maine Department of Marine Resources for a quota system Anderson said simply doesn’t work.

Anderson declined requests to speak to the Bangor Daily News this week.

But Jeff Nichols, spokesman for the DMR, said Friday that Anderson “got a lot of things wrong,” including that DMR imposes the quota system. According to Nichols, while fishermen are still held to a quota,they can transfer their catch to another vessel, to act as a carrier vessel.

Quotas for Atlantic Menhaden, or pogies, are imposed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and implemented by state marine resources regulators. This year’s quota allowed Maine fishermen to catch 161,000 pounds per year, then to reapply to catch more if there is still stock, as there is this year but not every year.

“We hit that [quota] at the end of May, and then we could apply for an ‘episodic event fishery’ quota triggered when there are still fish in the water,” Nichols said.

This year, fishermen were granted additional quotas of 120,000 pounds per day per boat, Nichols said.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment Data Workshop Scheduled for September 26-29, 2017 in Arlington, VA

June 21, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment Data Workshop will be conducted September 26-29, 2017 at the Westin Crystal City, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA. The Data Workshop is the first in a series of workshops to develop the next striped bass benchmark stock assessment. The assessment will evaluate the condition of Atlantic striped bass stocks from Maine to North Carolina and inform management of those stocks. The workshop will review all available data sources for Atlantic striped bass and identify data sets that will be incorporated in the stock assessment. The Workshop is open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room.

For data sets to be considered at the workshop, data must be sent in with accompanying methods description to Dr. Katie Drew (kdrew@asmfc.org) by September 1, 2017. Data sources include, but are not limited to, data on recreational and commercial landings and discards, catch per unit effort, biological samples (age, length, and/or sex), and life history information (growth, maturity, fecundity, spawning stock biomass weights, natural mortality). All available data will be reviewed and vetted by members of the Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment Subcommittee for possible use in the assessment.

It is anticipated that there will be two Stock Assessment Workshops – one in late 2017 and another in the summer of 2018. The benchmark stock assessment will be peer reviewed in the winter of 2018. The details of the assessment workshops and peer review will be released as they become available.

For more information on submitting data, including the appropriate format, and/or attending the Data Workshop (space is limited), please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Federal Managers Continue to Address Red Snapper and Cobia Management

June 16, 2017 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council gathered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida this week, where red snapper and cobia fisheries continued to dominate discussions. The harvest of red snapper is currently prohibited in federal waters ranging from three to 200 miles off the South Atlantic coast as the stock continues to rebuild. The recreational fishery for Atlantic cobia (Georgia to New York) closed in federal waters earlier this year as a result of harvest estimates from NOAA Fisheries showing the annual catch limit was exceeded in 2016.

The Council received a presentation by NOAA Fisheries during this week’s meeting showing that the estimated number of red snapper removed (landings plus dead discards) exceeded the acceptable biological catch in 2016, a situation that has kept the fishery closed for the past two years under the current management plan. The removals are primarily associated with the recreational fishery where red snapper are captured and released while fishermen target other co-occurring species. Approximately 28% of the fish released by recreational anglers are estimated to die primarily due to barotrauma, the physical damage to body tissues caused by differences in pressure as the fish is being retrieved.

Meanwhile, Council members, with representatives from both commercial and recreational fisheries, focused on how to allow limited harvest of red snapper beginning in 2018. “Council members and members of the public have repeatedly expressed their frustration at the increasing numbers of red snapper that are being released as this stock recovers,” said Council Chair Dr. Michelle Duval. “While we explore measures to allow limited harvest we must also be cautionary in our approach to not allow overfishing to occur should the fishery reopen next year.”

After lengthy discussion, the Council approved modifying draft Amendment 43 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan to include a single action to revise annual catch limits for red snapper. The draft amendment would remove the current process and equation used to specify the annual catch limit and includes alternatives for establishing an annual catch limit for 2018 ranging from approximately 23,600 to 76,000 fish. The intent is to expedite the amendment by holding public hearings via webinar in August, in-person hearings at the Council’s September meeting, and approving the amendment for Secretarial review at that time. The new measures could be in place in time to allow limited harvest beginning in July of 2018.

Earlier in the week, the Council hosted a workshop on “Improving the Survival of Released Fish”. Eight speakers presented on best practices for reducing discard mortality, including the use of various descending devices, minimizing handling, and other practices. “These best fishing practices show the cumulative positive affects recreational anglers can have in reducing mortality of fish that are released,” stated Council member Chester Brewer, a recreational representative from West Palm Beach, Florida. “It is imperative that anglers learn about these tools and put them to good use.” Workshop information and the presentations are available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/briefing-books/2017-june-council-meeting-briefing-book/.

Cobia

Council members continued to address management of Atlantic cobia including a request from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that the Council consider transferring management authority to the Commission. The move would allow additional flexibility between the states for management of the fishery, which primarily occurs in state waters off the northeastern coast of North Carolina and Virginia. The Council decided to move forward to develop an amendment with options for transferring management authority as well as complementary management with the ASMFC.

The Council decided not to pursue taking emergency action to change the management boundary and annual catch limits for Atlantic cobia but did request that NOAA Fisheries recalculate the recreational harvest estimates for 2015 and 2016 as reported through the Marine Recreational Information Program. Fishermen and others have expressed considerable doubt in the estimates, especially for landings off the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia. The Council plans to hold a workshop in collaboration with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council in November of this year to address recreational data collection and estimates. A stock assessment for cobia is scheduled to begin in 2018.

Other Business

The Council approved measures that will allow increases in the harvest of spiny lobster in both the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico following a recent stock assessment. Spiny Lobster Regulatory Amendment 4 would increase the acceptable biological catch from 7.32 million pounds to 9.6 million pounds. The amendment would also prohibit the use of traps for recreational harvest of spiny lobster. The amendment will be submitted to the Secretary of Commerce for formal review and approval.

After reviewing a white paper, recommendations from its advisory panel, and public comment, the Council voted to move forward with development of an amendment to consider a moratorium on the issuance of federal for-hire snapper grouper permits, using the established control date of June 15, 2016.

The next meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be held September 11-15, 2017 in Charleston, SC. Additional information about this week’s meeting, including an interactive story map, meeting report and summary reports from each committee are available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/2017-june-council-meeting/.

Hearing on new shrimp rules draws tiny crowd

June 15, 2017 — Fishermen barely outnumbered representatives of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission last Thursday at a public hearing in City Hall on proposed rule changes that would reshape shrimp fishing in the Gulf of Maine.

Three fishermen — John Williams and Ricky Trundy, both of Stonington, and James West of Sorrento — offered comments on a proposed amendment to the ASMFC fisheries management plan for northern shrimp. Department of Marine Resources External Affairs Director Terry Stockwell and Resource Management Coordinator Trisha Cheney dutifully recorded those comments on behalf of the ASMFC.

Stockwell serves as DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher’s representative on the multi-state fisheries management group. He plans to retire at the end of the month after 21 years at DMR and Cheney will assume his role.

Although a somewhat larger crowd was on hand for a hearing the previous evening in Augusta, the sparse audience reflected the state of the fishery from Downeast waters. It also is a reflection of the fact that there has been no commercial shrimp fishery in the Gulf of Maine since ASMFC shortened the season in 2013 and imposed a complete fishing moratorium before the 2014 season.

For more than a decade, ASMFC managed the fishery by establishing a total allowable catch (TAC) for the entire fishery based on assessments of the size and reproductive success of the shrimp resource that was adjusted annually. As the shrimp resource declined, so did the TAC — and the fishery.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

NOAA Fisheries Announces Reimbursement Rate of 60 Percent for 2017 At-Sea Monitoring Costs in Groundfish Fishery

June 16, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA:

Effective at-sea monitoring (ASM) programs are essential to the success and sustainability of Greater Atlantic Region fisheries. Groundfish vessels in the Greater Atlantic Region that participate in the sector program are required to carry a fisheries observer or an at-sea monitor for a portion of their trips. Fisheries observers are provided and typically paid for by the Federal government in the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) program and at-sea monitors are partially paid for by industry in the at-sea monitoring program.

In 2016, industry began paying their portion of at-sea monitoring costs and NOAA Fisheries was able to reimburse 85 percent of industry’s expenses for July 2016-April 2017. We used these funds to offset a portion of industry’s costs of the groundfish ASM program through a grant administered by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). For fishing year 2017, there are remaining funds in the grant, and therefore we will continue the reimbursement program.

We estimate there is funding to reimburse 60 percent of ASM costs for the 2017 fishing year.

Any sector trip beginning on or after May 1 is now eligible for reimbursement.

We are committed to providing as much stability to sectors as possible, so we have based our reimbursement rate on one that we anticipate will be consistent through the entire fishing year.

More information about our region’s observer program.

Elver season ends

June 8, 2017 — Maine’s elver season ended Wednesday. By most accounts it was successful.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission limited Maine harvesters to a landings quota of 9,616 pounds for this year. According to the Department of Marine Resources, as of 6 p.m. Monday, Maine dealers reported buying 9,281.269 pounds of elvers and paying harvesters a total of $12,088,884 — an average price of $1,303 per pound.

The total quota is allocated among harvesters licensed by the state and the four federally recognized Indian tribes.

As of Monday evening, DMR-licensed harvesters had landed just over 7,315 pounds out of a total quota of 7,566.3 pounds.

Harvesters of the Houlton Band of Maliseet had landed about 87 pounds from their approximately 107-pound quota.

Micmac Nation harvesters landed their entire 38.8-pound quota and Penobscot Nation harvesters had landed all but one pound of their 620-pound quota.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American