Saving Seafood

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.
 

States Schedule Public Hearings on Atlantic Striped Bass Draft Addendum II

November 3, 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. Additional details on participating in the webinars can be found later in this release.

The public hearing details follow:

Date and Hearing Format State/Agency Contact
Wednesday, November 15

Webinar Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection & Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

The webinar registration link is available here, and additional webinar instructions are below. 

 Joe Cimino (NJ)
609.748.2063

 

Kris Kuhn (PA)

814.359.5115
Thursday, November 16

In-person Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 Connecticut Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection

 

Hearing Location:

CT DEEP Marine Headquarters

Boating Education Center (“Back Building”)

333 Ferry Road, Old Lyme CT 06371

 Justin Davis

860.447.4322
Tuesday, November 28

Hybrid Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 

 Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife 

 

Note: This is a hybrid meeting (both in-person and virtual). The webinar registration link is available here, and additional webinar instructions are below. 

 

Hearing Location:

Kent County Conservation District

1679 S. Dupont Hwy, Dover, DE 19901

 John Clark302.739.9108
Thursday, November 30

In-person Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 Rhode Island Dept. of Environmental Management

 

Hearing Location:

University of Rhode Island Bay Campus

Corless Auditorium

215 South Ferry Road, Narraganset, RI 02882

 

 Jason McNamee401.222.4700
x2772414
Monday, December 4

In-person Hearing

6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

 New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

 

Hearing Location:

NYSDEC Division of Marine Resources

123 Kings Park Blvd (inside Nissequogue River State Park), Kings Park, NY 11754

 

Note: NYSDEC will provide a listen-only livestream link to be posted on the NYSDEC calendar.

 

 John Maniscalco631.444.0437
Tuesday, December 5

In-person Hearing

6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

 Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

 

Hearing Location:

Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Admiral’s Hall

101 Academy Dr., Buzzards Bay, MA 02532

 Michael Armstrong978.619.0012
Wednesday, December 6

In-person Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources 

 

Hearing Location:

Calvary United Methodist Church, Basement Room

301 Rowe Blvd, Annapolis, MD 21401

 Michael Luisi443.758.6547

 

 

 
Thursday, December 7

In-person Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 

 Virginia Marine Resources Commission

 

Hearing Location:

Virginia Marine Resources Commission

380 Fenwick Rd, Building 96

Fort Monroe, VA, 23651

 Pat Geer

757.247.2236

 
Monday, December 11

Hybrid Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 New Hampshire Fish and Game Dept.

 

Note: This is a hybrid meeting (both in-person and virtual). The webinar registration link is available here, and additional webinar instructions are below. 

 

Hearing Location:

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road, Portsmouth, NH 03801

 Cheri Patterson603.868.1095
Tuesday, December 12

Webinar Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 Potomac River Fisheries Commission & 

District of Columbia Dept. of Energy and Environment

 

The webinar registration link is available here, and additional webinar details are below. 

 

 Ingrid Braun-Ricks(PRFC) 804.750.3824

 

Daniel Ryan (DC) 202.597.1244
Thursday, December 14

Hybrid Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 

 Maine Dept. of Marine Resources

 

Note: This is a hybrid meeting (both in-person and virtual). The virtual Microsoft Teams link is here, and additional instructions are below. 

 

Hearing Location:

Maine DMR Office – Augusta

Room 118, Marquardt Building

32 Blossom Lane, Augusta, ME 04330

 Megan Ware

207.446.0932

 
Monday, December 18

In-person Hearing

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

 New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

 

Hearing Location:

NYSDEC Region 3 Headquarters

21 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, NY 12561

 

Note: NYSDEC will provide a listen-only livestream link to be posted on the NYSDEC calendar.

 Jessica Best
845.256.3009

 

The Board initiated Draft Addendum II in May 2023 in response to the low probability of meeting the 2029 stock rebuilding deadline if the unexpectedly high 2022 fishing mortality rate continues. The Draft Addendum builds upon the 2023 emergency action by considering management measures intended to reduce fishing mortality to the target level in 2024. For the recreational fishery, the Draft Addendum proposes recreational bag and size limit options for the ocean and Chesapeake Bay regions, including options with different limits for the for-hire modes. To address concerns about recreational filleting allowances and compliance with recreational size limits, the Draft Addendum includes an option that could establish minimum requirements for states that authorize at-sea/shore-side filleting of striped bass. For the commercial fishery, the Draft Addendum proposes a quota reduction option. The Draft Addendum also proposes an option that would enable the Board to respond to the results of the stock assessment updates more quickly, via Board action, if the stock is not projected to rebuild by 2029.

 

Webinar Instructions

For all virtual or hybrid hearings (except for Maine), please note that in order to comment during virtual 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 your 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 631.992.3221 and enter access code 895-407-507.

 

For all virtual or hybrid hearings (except for Maine), 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 protocol (VoIP) so you can ask questions and provide input at the hearing.

 

For virtual participation at the hybrid Maine public hearing, the Microsoft teams meeting link is available here. The Meeting ID is 249 648 735 389 and the Passcode is UXEtrQ. For audio only, you can call 207.209.4724 with conference ID 397 100 101.

 

For the listen-only livestream of the New York public hearings, the livestream links will be posted to the NYSDEC calendar at https://www.dec.ny.gov/calendar/.

 

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 YouTube page so that stakeholders may watch the presentation and submit comment at any time during the comment process. This recording will be available by mid-November.

Submitting Comments

The Draft Addendum is available at https://asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AtlStripedBassDraftAddendumII_PublicComment_Oct2023.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. All those interested in the management of Atlantic striped bass 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 December 22, 2023 and should be sent to Emilie Franke, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; or atcomments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Draft Addendum II).

 

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

ASMFC Begins Preparations for American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment

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

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has initiated a benchmark stock assessment for American lobster (Homarus americanus) to be completed in the summer of 2025. The goals of the assessment are to evaluate the health of stocks along the US Atlantic coast and inform management of this species. The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data*, when any meetings will be closed to the public.

 
The Commission welcomes the submission of data sets that will contribute to the goals of the assessment. This includes, but is not limited to, data on abundance (young of year, recruits, adults), biological samples (sex, maturity, weight, carapace length), life history information (growth, natural mortality, shell disease, tagging data), catch (harvest, discards, fishing effort) and information regarding the environmental influence on lobster population dynamics. For data sets to be considered, the data must be sent in the required format, with accompanying description of methods, to the Commission by January 8, 2024. 
 
The Data Workshop will be conducted in February 2024 (dates and location to be determined). This workshop will review available data sources for American lobster and identify data sets to be incorporated in the stock assessment. For those interested in submitting data, please contact Jeff Kipp, Senior Stock Assessment Scientist, at jkipp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740. 
 
* Each state and federal agency is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of its data and deciding who has access to its confidential data. In the case of our stock assessments and peer reviews, all analysts and, if necessary, reviewers, have been granted permission by the appropriate agency to use and view confidential data. When the assessment team needs to show and discuss these data, observers to our stock assessment process are asked to leave the room to preserve confidentiality.