Saving Seafood

American Lobster Board Initiates Draft Addendum XXX to Clarify Addendum XXVII Impacts on Foreign Imports

January 26, 2024 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board initiated Draft Addendum XXX to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Draft Addendum is being considered to clarify how the measures of Addendum XXVII, approved in May 2023, will apply to foreign imports of American lobster.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act prohibits imports of whole live lobster smaller than the minimum possession size in effect at the time under the Commission’s American lobster management program. This provision, referred to as the Mitchell Provision, was passed to prevent imports of lobster smaller than what the US industry can harvest. The current minimum gauge size for Lobster Conservation Management Area (LCMA) 1 of 3 ¼” is the smallest minimum size in effect for the US lobster fishery.
 
Under Addendum XXVII, changes to the current gauge and escape vent sizes in LCMA 1 (inshore Gulf of Maine) are triggered when a 35% decline in recruit abundance for the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank stock is observed. As of October 2023, the trigger index had declined by 39% with the inclusion of 2022 survey data in the index. Therefore, a series of gradual changes to gauge and vent size will begin January 1, 2025, starting with an increase to the minimum gauge size in LCMA 1 from 3 ¼” to 3 5/16”. Starting in January 2025, this 3 5/16” gauge size will be the smallest minimum gauge size in effect. Draft Addendum XXX aims to clarify that Addendum XXVII shall include compliance with the Mitchell Provision, meaning the smallest minimum size for foreign imports would match the smallest minimum size in effect for the US industry.
 
The Board will meet in late February/early March to consider approving Draft Addendum XXX for public comment. There are currently no regulations in place to restrict the maximum size of imported lobster, though the Board expressed interest in exploring this possibility further through a separate action. For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, atcstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Approves Addendum II Establishes Measures to Continue Progress Towards Stock Rebuilding

January 25, 2024 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Addendum II to Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Addendum modifies recreational and commercial measures to reduce fishing mortality in 2024, establishes an expedited response process to upcoming stock assessments, and addresses requirements for recreational filleting. Addendum II builds upon the 2023 emergency action by changing the measures in the FMP to reduce fishing mortality and support stock rebuilding. Addendum II measures will replace the emergency action measures upon its implementation by the states by May 1, 2024.

“First and foremost, thank you to the 2,000 members of the public who submitted public comments. The Board had difficult issues to discuss, and public comments were a crucial part of the deliberations,” said Board Chair Megan Ware from Maine. “The Board remains focused on rebuilding the stock by 2029. The upcoming 2024 stock assessment will be an important checkpoint on progress toward rebuilding.”

For the ocean recreational fishery, the Addendum implements a 28” to 31” slot limit, 1-fish bag limit, and maintains 2022 season dates for all fishery participants; this maintains the same ocean recreational measures adopted under the recent emergency action. For the Chesapeake Bay recreational fishery, the Addendum implements a 19” to 24” slot limit, 1-fish bag limit, and maintains 2022 season dates for all fishery participants. For the commercial fishery, the Addendum reduces commercial quotas by 7% in both the ocean and Chesapeake Bay.

To address concerns about recreational filleting allowances and compliance with recreational size limits, the Addendum establishes two requirements for states that authorize at-sea/shore-side filleting of striped bass: racks must be retained and possession limited to no more than two fillets per legal fish.

To enable an expedited management response to upcoming stock assessments prior to the 2029 rebuilding deadline, the Addendum establishes a mechanism allowing the Board to respond to a stock assessment via Board action if the stock is not projected to rebuild by 2029.

States must submit implementation plans by March 1, 2024 for Board review and approval, which will take place at a special Board meeting to be scheduled for later in March. All Addendum II measures must be implemented by May 1, 2024.

Addendum II will be available in February on the Commission website athttp://www.asmfc.org/species/atlantic-striped-bass under Management Plans and FMP Reviews. For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, atefranke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC 2024 Winter Meeting Final Agenda and Materials Now Available

January 10, 2024 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Winter Meeting will be January 23-25, 2024 at The Westin Crystal City. This will be a hybrid meeting (both in-person and remote) to allow for participation by Commissioners and interested stakeholders. The room block is now closed; if you need assistance reserving a room, please contact Lisa Carty at lcarty@asmfc.org. The final agenda and meeting materials for the Winter Meeting are now available athttps://www.asmfc.org/home/2024-winter-meeting. For ease of access, all materials, with the exception of the Atlantic Striped Bass Board, have been combined into one document – 2024 Winter Meeting Materials Combined.

Webinar Information
Meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Tuesday, January 23rd at 12:30 PM and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 11 AM) on Thursday, January 25th.  To register for the webinar, please go to:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8556735274724277084 (Webinar ID 795-025-635).

If you are joining the webinar but will not be using voice over internet protocol (VoIP) via your computer, you can also call in at +1.631.992.3221, access code 426-309-773. 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 to the audio portion only, press the # key when asked for a PIN.

Meeting Process
Board chairs will ask both in-person and virtual board members if they wish to speak. In-person members can simply raise their hands at the meeting without logging on to the webinar, while virtual members will raise their hands on the webinar. The chair will work with staff to compile the list of speakers, balancing the flow of questions/comments between in-person and virtual attendees. The same process will be used for public comment. 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.

Each day, the webinar will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the first 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), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.

Public Comment Guidelines
To provide 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).

1.   Comments received three weeks prior to the start of a meeting week (January 2) have been included in the briefing materials.

2.   Comments received by 5 PM on Tuesday, January 16 will be included in supplemental materials.

3.   Comments received by 10 AM on Friday, January 19 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.

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.

We look forward to seeing you at the Winter Meeting!

Maine lobstermen sue state over requirement to track boats

January 4, 2024 — Five lobstermen are suing the Maine Department of Marine Resources over a new regulation that requires tracking devices on boats that fish in federal waters, saying the devices violate their privacy rights.

The trackers had to be installed by Dec. 15 under a new regulation from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. According to the department, the trackers periodically monitor the locations of a lobstering or crabbing vessel to help identify fishing patterns, which are then used to help grow the fishing stock and better protect the endangered North American right whale population – a contentious issue in the fishing community.

But the lobstermen and other fishing groups believe the trackers violate multiple amendments of the U.S. Constitution and threaten the fishermen’s personal and commercial interests.

“The plaintiffs contend that minute-by-minute surveillance of Maine’s federally licensed lobster fleet is unconstitutional, unwarranted and unfair to Maine lobstermen, who have proven through the actions of generations of lobstering families that they are good stewards of the ocean ecosystems essential to their livelihoods,” Portland attorney Thimi Mina, who is representing the lobstermen, said in a statement.

Read the full article at the Press Herald

ASMFC Seeks Feedback from Permit Holders for Lobster Conservation and Management Areas 2 and 3

January 4, 2024 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) is seeking input from American lobster permit holders on NOAA Fisheries’ rulemaking to implement aggregate ownership caps in Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMA) 2 (Southern New England) and 3 (offshore federal waters) and a maximum trap cap reduction in Area 3. LCMA 2 and 3 permit holders are invited to participate in a public webinar meeting on Wednesday, January 10, from 4:00 – 6:00 PM.

The federal rulemaking responds to the Commission’s 2013 recommendations to NOAA to adopt the measures in Addenda XXI and XXII in federal waters. The Commission’ s 2013 approval of the Addenda was to scale the capacity of the Southern New England (SNE) fishery to the diminished size of the SNE resource. These Addenda addressed latent effort in the fishery and, by reducing trap limits to reduce harvest, allowed for potential stock rebuilding. However, over a decade has passed since the date when the Commission intended for these federal measures to be implemented. In that time, there have been significant changes in the fishery. Therefore, the American Lobster Management Board is seeking input from LCMA 2 and 3 permit holders to better understand the impacts of these measures within the context of the current fishery.
In LCMA 2, NOAA is implementing an ownership cap that would restrict an entity to 800 Area 2 traps. In LCMA 3, NOAA’s action reduces the maximum number of traps that could be allocated to a permit in Area 3 from 1,945 traps to 1,548 traps over the course of three years, and implements an aggregate ownership cap at the entity level equal to five times the maximum trap cap. These measures are scheduled to become effective on May 1, 2025.

New England’s decades-old shrimp fishery, a victim of climate change, to remain closed indefinitely

December 4, 2023 — New England’s long-shuttered shrimp business, which fell victim to warming waters, will remain in a fishing moratorium indefinitely, fishery regulators ruled on Friday.

The shrimping business was based mostly in Maine and produced small, pink shrimp that were a winter delicacy in New England and across the country. The industry has been in a moratorium since 2013 in large part because environmental conditions off New England are unfavorable for the cold water-loving shrimp.

That moratorium will remain in effect with no firm end date, a board of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Friday. The board stopped short of calling the move a permanent moratorium because it included a provision to continue monitoring the shrimp population and consider reopening the fishery if the crustaceans approach a healthy level.

But it was clear board members saw little chance of a future for a fishery that once provided a beloved seafood item that appeared on restaurant menus and in seafood markets every year around Christmas.

Read the full story at News Center Maine

States Schedule Public Hearings on Atlantic Striped Bass Draft Addendum II

November 21, 2023 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic coastal states of Maine through Virginia have scheduled hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass, which considers management measures designed to support stock rebuilding by reducing fishing mortality to the target in 2024. Some hearings will be conducted in-person, and some hearings will be conducted via webinar, or in a hybrid format. If you are unable to participate in your state’s scheduled hearing, you are welcome to participate in any of the virtual or hybrid hearings. New Jersey is in the process of scheduling a second hearing; the details of this hearing will be released when they become available. Additional details on participating in the webinars can be found later in this release.

Meeting Materials for the ASMFC Northern Shrimp Advisory Panel & Section Meetings Now Available

November 18, 2023 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The agendas and materials for the November 30th meeting of the Northern Shrimp Advisory Panel and December 1st meeting Northern Shrimp Section are now available athttp://asmfc.org/files/Meetings/NShrimpSection_AP_NovDec2023/NShrimpAP_MtgMaterials_Dec2023.pdf and http://asmfc.org/files/Meetings/NShrimpSectionMtgMaterials_Dec2023.pdf, respectively.

 
Both meetings will be held at the Westin Portland Harborview, Portland, Maine. The Advisory Panel will meet November 30 (1 – 4 p.m.) to review the 2022 traffic light analysis for northern shrimp, the ongoing fishery moratorium set to expire in 2024, Management Strategy Evaluation Work Group discussions, and the Technical Committee’s wake-up index proposal for the Section’s consideration. The wake-up index was developed to serve as a trigger to indicate when the northern shrimp stock approaches a healthy population level that may be able to support a viable fishery. Under the wake-up index, the fishery would remain in a permanent moratorium until the index is triggered.
 
The Section will meet December 1 (9 a.m. – Noon) to review the 2022 traffic light analysis and consider initiating action to implement the wake-up index.
 
For more information, please contact Chelsea Tuohy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, atctuoy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Advisory Panel & Section to Meet to Review 2022 Traffic Light Analysis & Discuss the Future of Northern Shrimp Management

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

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Advisory Panel (AP) and Section (Section) will meet on November 30 and December 1, 2023, respectively, at the Westin Portland Harborview, Portland, Maine. The AP will meet November 30 (1 – 4 p.m.) to review the 2022 traffic light analysis for northern shrimp, the ongoing fishery moratorium set to expire in 2024, Management Strategy Evaluation Work Group discussions, and the Technical Committee’s wake-up index proposal for the Section’s consideration. The wake-up index was developed to serve as a trigger to indicate when the northern shrimp stock approaches a healthy population level that may be able to support a viable fishery. Under the wake-up index, the fishery would remain in a permanent moratorium until the index is triggered.

The Section will meet December 1 (9 a.m. – Noon) to review the 2022 traffic light analysis and consider initiating action to implement the wake-up index. Meeting materials will be available athttp://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive by November 17th.

Directed Atlantic Herring Fishery Closure for Management Area 1A: Effective November 6 at 6 PM

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

NOAA Fisheries and the states of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts project the Atlantic herring fishery will catch 92% of the Area 1A sub-annual catch limit by November 6, 2023. The Area 1A directed fishery will close effective 6:00 p.m. on November 6, 2023 and remain closed until further notice. Vessels that have entered port before 6:00 p.m. on November 6, 2023 may land and sell, from that trip, greater than 2,000 pounds of herring from Area 1A.

 
During a closure, vessels participating in other fisheries may retain and land an incidental catch of herring that does not exceed 2,000 pounds per trip or calendar day. In addition, directed herring vessels traveling through Area 1A must have all fishing gear stowed.
 
In accordance with the Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring, the fixed gear set-aside of 30 metric tons will continue to be available to fixed gear fishermen operating in Area 1A west of Cutler, Maine through December 31, 2023.
 
For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0716 or efranke@asmfc.org.