Saving Seafood

American Lobster Assessment Yields Mixed Stock Status Results

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — August 5, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC):

The 2015 American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report indicates the American lobster resource presents a mixed picture of stock status, with record high stock abundance and recruitment in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and Georges Bank (GBK), and record low abundance and recruitment in Southern New England (SNE). The GOM/GBK stock is not overfished and not experiencing overfishing. GOM and GBK were previously assessed as separate stock units and are now combined into one stock unit due to evidence of seasonal migratory patterns and connectivity between the two areas.  Conversely, the SNE stock is severely depleted with poor prospects of recovery, necessitating protection.

Stock Status

Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank

GOM/GBK stock abundance has increased since 1979 and at an accelerated pace since 2007. Recruitment and spawning stock abundance have remained high between 2008 and 2013. Current stock abundance is at all-time highs. Exploitation (fishing mortality) declined after 1979 until the mid-1990s and then remained stable with higher exploitation on males than females. Current exploitation rates remain on par with the 2008-2013 average.

Southern New England

SNE stock abundance increased from the early 1980s, peaked during the late 1990s, then declined steeply through the early 2000s to a record low in 2013. Both the assessment and peer review support the finding that the SNE stock is severely depleted. Declines in population abundance are most pronounced in the inshore portion of the stock where environmental conditions have remained unfavorable to lobsters since the late 1990s. The stock has collapsed and is undergoing recruitment failure. Despite attrition among the fleet and fewer traps fished for lobster, declines have continued. These declines are largely in response to adverse environmental conditions including increasing water temperatures over the last 15 years combined with sustained fishing mortality.

Declines in catch and fishery-independent survey indices in the offshore portion are evident as well; however they are not as severe.  It is believed the offshore area of SNE depends on nearshore larval settlement and offshore migration as the source of recruits (e.g., young of the year lobsters). Therefore, unless fishing effort is curtailed, the offshore component will be in jeopardy in the future when the poor year classes fail to materialize offshore. The Peer Review Panel noted while the SNE stock is not experiencing overfishing based on the current reference points, these reference points were established “without considering the possibility that the stock could be at the lowest abundance level ever and the production of recruits in the inshore area (on which the offshore area depends) could be brought to an extremely low level. It is noted that pre-recruits are not measured in the offshore surveys, so the effects of recruitment failure in the inshore would not be seen in the offshore until years later when the lobsters become available to the fishery and surveys. Hence, by any reasonable standard, it is necessary to protect the offshore component of the stock until increased recruitment can be observed.”

Peer Review Panel Recommendations

For SNE, the Panel recommends close monitoring of stock status along with implementing measures to protect the remaining lobster resource in order to promote stock rebuilding. Stock indicators should be updated annually and reported to the Management Board for appropriate action. Given the good condition of the GOM/GBK stock, the Panel recommended stock indicators be monitored prior to the next benchmark assessment to detect signs of changing recruitment or other conditions.

Landings

Total U.S. landings in the fishery have steadily increased in the past 35 years. Up until the late 1970s, landings were relatively constant at about 30.87 million pounds. However by 2000, landings almost tripled to roughly 86 million pounds and by 2006 grew to 92.61 million pounds. Landings in 2013 were roughly 149.94 million pounds. These landings are primarily comprised of catch from inshore waters (0 to 12 nautical miles). GOM supports the largest fishery, constituting approximately 76% of the U.S. landings between 1981 and 2007 and accounting for approximately 87% of landings since 2002. Landings in the GOM were stable between 1981 and 1989, averaging 32.13 million pounds, and then increased dramatically from 42.34 million pounds (1990) to 141.12 million pounds (2013). Landings averaged 112.46 million pounds from 2008-2013. GBK constitutes a smaller portion of the U.S. fishery, with landings averaging 4.93 million pounds between 2008 and 2013. Like the GOM, landings were stable in the 1980s and then quickly doubled in the early 2000s to a high of 5.29 million pounds in 2005. Before 2011, SNE was the second largest fishery, accounting for 19% of the U.S. landings between 1981 and 2007; however, a sharp decline in the population has significantly reduced catch. Landings peaked in the 1990s, reaching a high of 21.91 million pounds in 1997. Since this time, landings have precipitously dropped to a low of 3.31 million pounds in 2013.

The Board accepted both the stock assessment and peer review report for management use. In response to the findings regarding the status of the SNE stock, the Board established a working group of Board and Technical Committee members to review the assessment and peer review findings and develop recommendations for Board consideration. The final report will be available by mid-August via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org on the American Lobster page under Stock Assessment Reports.  For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator for Management, at 703.842.0740 or mware@asmfc.org.

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Rule to Modify Lobster Area 4 Seasonal Closure

August 5, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is proposing a modification to the Lobster Conservation Management Area 4 seasonal closure at the recommendation of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which leads the management for American lobster.

Under the proposed rule, the Area 4 closure would be changed from February 1-March 31 to April 30-May 31.

This measure is designed to better reduce fishing effort on the Southern New England lobster stock, which is in poor condition. This area closure shift has already been implemented by states adjacent to Area 4.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register.

The comment period is open through September 4. Submit your comments online through Regulations.gov or by mailing your comments to:

John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator
NMFS,Greater Atlantic Regional Office
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930

Please mark the outside of the envelope: Comments on American Lobster Proposed Rule.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175 or Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.

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.