Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: Meeting could lead to truce over menhaden

July 26, 2015 — Decades of animosity don’t disappear overnight. But a conversation is a good place to start.

Officials from Omega Protein met with recreational charter captains Tuesday night to discuss the conflict between two groups that depend on the same waters to earn a living.

Reedville-based Omega is the East Coast’s only menhaden reduction fishery. Recreational anglers often have blamed the company for harming certain fisheries. Omega reduces the small, oily fish to produce Omega 3 fish oil supplements and pet food.

There also are small fleets that catch menhaden to sell as bait for commercial and recreational fishermen. In Virginia, Omega often gets blamed for just about any problem caused by the bait industry.

The menhaden fishery is highly regulated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and must report its catches and mishaps. Omega even employs a Norfolk-based company to take care of spillages or beachings of spilled fish.

Menhaden also are a vital food source for a vast majority of game fish targeted by anglers. And they are considered a filter feeder that is vital to the health of the environment.

Read the full story at the The Virginian-Pilot

 

 

ASMFC 2015 Summer Meeting Final Agenda and Meeting Materials Now Available

July 22, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC):

The final agenda and meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2015 Summer Meeting can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-summer-meeting; click on the relevant Board/Committee name to access the documents for that Board/Committee. Please note due to file size (496 pages) the American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report can be obtained through a separate link –https://asmfc.egnyte.com/dl/FlHpq2hcUn. To access, click on the link, allow time to load (may take a couple of minutes) and press the DOWNLOAD button (upper right) to download the full report. Bookmarks have been set up in the PDF document to allow for easy navigation within the document.

 
The agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of meetings. Interested parties should anticipate meetings starting earlier or later than indicated herein.
 
For ease of access, all Board and Section materials have been combined into one PDF (http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/Summer2015/CombinedFiles.pdf). The combined file does not include the Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review of American Lobster, and the ACCSP Coordinating Council and ACCSP Executive Committee meeting materials. Some documents may be large, so please be patient downloading. Supplemental materials will be posted to the website next Wednesday, July 29th.
 
Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 10:15 a.m. on August 4th and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:15 p.m.) on August 6th. 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/453851280130891265.
 
As a reminder, the guidelines for 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) are as follows: 

1.   Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included with the main meeting 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 July 28, 2015) 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, July 28, 2015 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.