Saving Seafood

Shad recovery efforts not paying off, study shows

September 21, 2020 — The American shad’s Atlantic population remains at a historic low, despite longstanding commercial fishing bans in several states and millions of dollars invested in restoring the fish’s habitat.

That sober news comes from the most comprehensive survey yet of the species’ status on the East Coast and the first of any kind in 13 years. The sprawling assessment by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission designates the shad population as “depleted” from Maine to Florida.

“There should be a lot more shad than there are out there,” said Michael Bailey, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientist and one of the assessment’s authors.

In the Chesapeake Bay region, the study suggests that the rate of death among adult shad — a key measure of a population’s health — is “unsustainable” in the Potomac River but “sustainable” in the Rappahannock and York.

Once one of the largest commercial fisheries along the coast and around the Bay, shad catches have bottomed out at about 1% of their late-1800s levels. Although the shad fishery has all but disappeared in the Chesapeake, scientists contend that the species serves a critical ecological role in the estuary as a vital link in its food chain.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Days Out Measures for Season 2 – Call Scheduled for October 16; Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire Spawning Closure in Effect Starting September 23 through November 3, 2020; and CORRECTION to the Eastern Maine Spawning

September 18, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The following announcement includes information on (1) days out measures for the 2020 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) Atlantic herring fishery for Season 2 (October 1 – December 31); (2) closure dates for the Western Maine and New Hampshire/Massachusetts spawning area; and (3) a correction to the closure dates for Eastern Maine spawning area.

Landings Day for the 2020 Area 1A Fishery for Season 2

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts met September 17 via conference call to set effort control measures for the 2020 Area 1A fishery for Season 2. The Season 2 quota is 914 metric tons (mt), which is 27.2% of the Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) after adjusting for the research set-aside, the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside, a slight underage from Season 1, and the fact that the Area 1A fishery closes at 92% of the sub-ACL.

  • Landings days will be set at zero (0) from October 1 until the start of the fishery on October 11 in Maine and October 12 in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
  • The fishery will move to three (3) consecutive landings days per week starting October 11 in Maine and October 12 in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
  • The fishery will move to two (2) consecutive landings days per week starting October 18 in Maine and October 19 in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
  • Landings days in Maine begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m.; landing days in New Hampshire and Massachusetts begin on Monday of each week at 12:01 a.m.

Harvesters are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A until October 11 or 12, depending on the state. Landings will be closely monitored and the fishery will close when 92% of Area 1A sub-ACL is projected to be reached.

The Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts will reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort on:

  • Friday, October 16, at 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
  • You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone at the following link:https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/947666941. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. The meeting will be using the computer audio (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (571) 317-3112 and enter access code 947-666-941 when prompted. The webinar will start at 9:00 a.m., 30 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.
Spawning Area Closures

The Atlantic herring Area 1A fishery regulations include seasonal spawning closures for portions of state and federal waters in Eastern Maine, Western Maine, and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. The Atlantic Herring Management Board approved a forecasting method that relies upon at least three samples, each containing at least 25 female herring in gonadal stages III-V, to trigger a spawning closure. However, closures will begin on predetermined dates if sufficient samples are not available.

Vessels in the directed Atlantic herring fishery cannot take, land, or possess Atlantic herring caught in a spawning area during a closure and must have all fishing gear stowed when transiting through the area. An incidental bycatch allowance of up to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip/calendar day applies to vessels in non-directed fisheries that are fishing within the Western Maine or Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning areas.

Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire Spawning Closure

There are currently insufficient samples from the Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning areas to determine spawning condition. Therefore, per Addendum II default closure dates, these spawning areas will be closed starting at 12:01 a.m. on September 23, 2020 extending through 11:59 p.m. on November 3, 2020. Western Maine spawning area includes all waters bounded by the following coordinates:

43° 30’ N     Maine coast
43° 30’ N      68° 54.5’ W
43° 48’ N         68° 20’ W
North to Maine coast at 68° 20’ W

The Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area includes all waters bounded by the Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine coasts, and 43° 30’ N and 70° 00’ W.

CORRECTION: Eastern Maine Spawning Area Closed through 11:59 p.m. October 8, 2020

The Eastern Maine Spawning Area closure extends through 11:59 p.m. on October 8, 2020. Directed herring vessels may begin fishing in the Eastern Maine spawning area starting at 12:01 a.m. on October 9, but may not land herring caught from this spawning area until the Season 2 fishery opens on October 11 or 12, depending on the state of landing. Eastern Maine spawning area includes all waters bounded by the following coordinates:

Maine coast     68° 20’ W
43° 48’ N          68° 20’ W
44° 25’ N         67° 03’ W
North along the US/Canada border

For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or mappelman@asmfc.org.

The announcement including motions from the September 17th Atlantic Herring Days Out Meeting can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5f64fc77AtlHerringSeason2DaysOutMeasures_WM_MANH_Closures_Sept2020.pdf

ASMFC 79th Annual Meeting Webinar Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

September 18, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Usually, this time of year we are in the final stages of preparing for our Annual Meeting, which is hosted by one of our 15 member states. It is a special meeting, where our Commissioners and federal partners come together to not only conduct important fisheries management business, but also celebrate our collective and, in the case of the Captain David H. Hart Award recipient, individual contributions to the sustainable and cooperative management of Atlantic coastal fisheries. This year, the Annual Meeting was scheduled to be held in New Jersey but continuing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and prohibitions on large gatherings resulted in us making the difficult choice of postponing the in-person meeting until next year and shifting to a virtual meeting this year.  Notably, this is the first time since 1942 that the Commission will not meet in-person for an Annual Meeting.

In light of this, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Annual Meeting Webinar will be held October 19-22, 2020. The preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines, which follow, are also available on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2020-annual-meeting-webinar. The final agenda, meeting materials and webinar details will be available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2020-annual-meeting-webinar by October 7th.

We look forward to meeting with you at the 79th Annual Meeting Webinar.

ASMFC Awards Grants to Four Aquaculture Pilot Projects

September 16, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, with the support of $575,000 from NOAA Fisheries, has selected four aquaculture pilot projects along the Atlantic coast to receive funding. NOAA Fisheries provided the funds as part of its efforts to foster responsible aquaculture and seafood security in the U.S. After rigorous reviews, which included an evaluation of the technical aspects of the proposals as well as their compliance with environmental laws, the following projects were selected.  All four projects explore promising, but less commercially-developed, technologies for finfish and shellfish aquaculture, with projects ranging from flounder to seaweed aquaculture. The projects started in July and are scheduled for completion in 2021.

For more information, please contact Dr. Louis Daniel, at ldaniel@asmfc.org or 252.342.1478.

Read the full release here

NORTH CAROLINA: DMF’s CARES Act Spending Plan Approved

September 15, 2020 — National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries has approved the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries’ spending plan for federal coronavirus fisheries assistance.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act is a more than $2 trillion economic relief package. The  next step is for the state to be notified by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that the $5.4 million has been awarded.

The Marine Fisheries spending plan details how the funding will be disbursed through direct payments to eligible commercial fishermen, charter businesses, seafood dealers and processors and qualified marine aquaculture operations.

The division was notified May 7 that NOAA Fisheries had allocated $5.4 million in CARES Act fisheries assistance to North Carolina. Receipt of the funding, which passes through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, was contingent on federal approval of the spending plan, which was received Sept. 9.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

ASMFC and MAFMC Schedule Public Hearings on Draft Addendum XXXIII/Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment

September 9, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) have scheduled a series of public hearings to gather public input on the Commission’s Draft Addendum XXXIII and the Council’s Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment. The Commission initiated the Draft Addendum in October 2019 to consider adjusting the commercial black sea bass allocations based on current distribution and abundance of the stock. In December 2019, the Council initiated an amendment, which will consider including the allocations in the Council fishery management plan (FMP), modifying the state-specific allocations, and other changes to federal regulations.

Overview of Proposed Action

The draft amendment and addendum propose alternative approaches for allocating the coastwide black sea bass commercial quota among the states. The following options are proposed: A) status quo; B) increasing Connecticut’s allocation to 5%; C) dynamic allocations partially based on regional stock distribution and partially on historic allocations; D) a trigger-based approach where only coastwide quota above a certain level would be distributed according to a different allocation scheme; E) another trigger-based approach where quota above the trigger would first be used to increase Connecticut and New York’s allocations to 5% and 9%, respectively; and F) distributing a percentage of coastwide quota using initial allocations and the remaining proportion differently. A variety of sub-options are included to set the scale and pace of the allocation changes. Several options incorporate information on regional stock biomass; therefore, options are also proposed to define regions.

This action also considers changes to federal regulations and Council management of state allocations. These options address whether the state allocations should be added to the Council’s FMP or remain only in the Commission’s FMP, whether changes should be made to the regulations regarding paybacks of state quota overages if added to the Council’s FMP, and whether to modify regulations regarding federal in-season closures.

Read the full release here

ASMFC and MAFMC Schedule Public Hearings on Draft Addendum XXXIII/Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment

September 8, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) have scheduled a series of public hearings to gather public input on the Commission’s Draft Addendum XXXIII and the Council’s Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment. The Commission initiated the Draft Addendum in October 2019 to consider adjusting the commercial black sea bass allocations based on current distribution and abundance of the stock. In December 2019, the Council initiated an amendment, which will consider including the allocations in the Council fishery management plan (FMP), modifying the state-specific allocations, and other changes to federal regulations.

Overview of Proposed Action

Draft Addendum XXXIII proposes alternative approaches for allocating the coastwide black sea bass commercial quota among the states. The following options are proposed: A) status quo; B) increasing Connecticut’s allocation to 5%; C) dynamic allocations partially based on regional stock distribution and partially on historic allocations; D) a trigger-based approach where only coastwide quota above a certain level would be distributed according to a different allocation scheme; E) another trigger-based approach where quota above the trigger would first be used to increase Connecticut and New York’s allocations to 5% and 9%, respectively; and F) distributing a percentage of coastwide quota using initial allocations and the remaining proportion differently. A variety of sub-options are included to set the scale and pace of the allocation changes. Several options incorporate information on regional stock biomass; therefore, options are also proposed to define regions.

The Draft Addendum and Council Amendment also propose options to consider changes to federal regulations and Council management of state allocations. These options address whether the state allocations should be added to the Council’s FMP or remain only in the Commission’s FMP, whether changes should be made to the regulations regarding paybacks of state quota overages if added to the Council’s FMP, and whether to modify regulations regarding federal in-season closures.

Hearing Schedule

The Commission and Council have scheduled seven public hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addendum and Council Amendment. Members of the commercial fishing industry and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input either by participating in the public hearing webinars or providing written comment. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all hearings will be conducted via webinar, with designated hearings for individual states and regions. You are encouraged to participate in the hearing for your state or region; however, all hearings are open to all individuals. Please note that in order to comment during the hearings you will need to use GoToWebinar. If you call in without using GoToWebinar, you will be in listen only mode and will not be able to provide input. Webinar registration links and call-in information are provided in the Webinar Instructions below.

Webinar Instructions

You can access GoToWebinar through your computer, tablet, or smartphone. If you are new to GoToWebinar, you can download the software (click here) or via the App store under GoToWebinar. We recommend you register for the hearing well in advance. 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 (VoIP) so you can ask questions and provide input at the hearing. 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, mail, or fax at any time during the public comment period.

To register for a public hearing please click here: Public Hearing Registration 

As part of the registration process, you must select the date and time of the hearing you wish to attend (see Table above). To attend the webinar in listen only mode, you may dial this number: 562.247.8422; Access Code: 412-241-258. Please note that 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, mail, or fax at any time during the public comment period.

Learn More

Draft Addendum XXXIII is available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/BSB_DraftAddendumXXXIII_PublicComment.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. A recording of the hearing presentation will be posted on the Commission’s YouTube channel in late September. A subsequent press release will announce the availability of the recording.

Submit Written Comments

In addition to providing comments at any of the scheduled hearings, written comments will be accepted until 11:59 PM (EST) on November 13, 2020 and should be sent to Caitlin Starks, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Black Sea Bass Addendum XXXIII).  All comments will be made available to both the Commission and Council for consideration; duplicate comments do not need to be submitted to both bodies.

For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, ASMFC FMP Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC South Atlantic Board Releases Atlantic Cobia Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

September 4, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s South Atlantic States/Federal Fisheries Management Board has approved for public comment Draft Addendum I to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Migratory Group Cobia. The Draft Addendum was initiated in response to the 2020 quota, which is based on the results of the 2020 Atlantic cobia benchmark stock assessment. The benchmark assessment incorporated new recreational catch estimates, which were about two times higher than those previously used. The Draft Addendum considers options to change the allocation between commercial and recreational sectors, taking into consideration the change in recreational estimates. Currently 92% of the total quota is allocated to the recreational fishery, and 8% is allocated to the commercial fishery under Amendment 1.

The Commission and its member states from Maryland to Georgia will be conducting a series of public hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum I. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all hearings will be conducted via webinar, with some hearings state-specific and others regionally-focused. Webinar links and call-in information are below. Please note that in order to comment during the hearings you will need to use your computer or download the GoToWebinar app for your phone (the phone numbers provided below are for listening only). Additional details on participating in the webinar can be found later in this release; this information is particularly important for those that have not used the GoToWebinar platform before.

Virginia Maine Resources Commission

Regional Hearing 1 – Delaware Department of Natural and Environmental Control,
Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Potomac River Fisheries Commission

Regional Hearing 2 – South Carolina and Georgia Departments of Natural Resources
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries 

* Please note: Those joining by phone only, will be limited to listening to the presentation but will not be able to provide input during the hearing. In those cases, you can send your comments to staff via email, US mail, or fax at any time during the public comment period.

The Draft Addendum proposes strategies that could reduce commercial percent allocations, without reducing the commercial quota below its 2019 level (50,000 pounds). Options for lower commercial allocations were proposed because of a large increase in the 2020-2022 total quota, which resulted in a larger commercial quota (as 8% of the total). The higher overall quota is due, in part, to the increase in recreational catch estimates that resulted from the 2018 calibration of recreational data to the new, mail-based Fishing Effort Survey conducted by the Marine Recreational Information Program. The updated recreational data were incorporated into the 2020 assessment, which estimated a greater abundance of fish than the previous assessment and provided the basis for the 2020-2022 total quota.

The Draft Addendum additionally proposes changes to the calculation of the commercial trigger (determines whether an in-season coastwide commercial closure occurs) and de minimis measures (applied to states with relatively small commercial or recreational harvest). The current trigger calculation method is dependent on recent harvests meeting the current or upcoming quota. Proposed changes to the commercial trigger would allow this trigger to be calculated based on harvests in the most recent 5 years, regardless of the size of the harvests relative to a quota. Proposed changes to de minimis measures include consideration of a cap on the amount of the commercial quota that can be set aside to account for harvest in commercial de minimis states as well as increasing the alternative recreational minimum size limit, which can be adopted by recreational de minimis states that choose not to adopt the measures of a neighboring or nearest non-de minimis state.

Webinar Instructions

You can join the webinar from your computer, tablet or smartphone. If you are new to GoToWebinar, you can download the software (click 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 (VoIP)so you can ask questions and provide input at the hearing. Those joining by phone only, will be limited to listening to the presentation but will not be able to provide input during the hearing. In those cases, you can send your comments to staff via email, US mail, or fax at any time during the public comment period.

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 mid-September; a subsequent press release will announce the availability of the recording.

Draft Addendum I is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/CobiaDraftAddI_PublicComment_September2020.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. Recreational anglers, members of the commercial fishing industry, and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum I either by participating in the public hearing webinars or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on October 6, 2020 and should be sent to Savannah Lewis, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Cobia Draft Addendum I). For more information, please contact Toni Kerns at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Meeting Summary, Motions, Presentations and Audio Recording of the September 1 Tautog Management Board Now Available

September 3, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The meeting summary and motions from the September 1 webinar of the ASMFC Tautog Management Board is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/TautogBoardSept2020/TautogBoard_Sept2020.pdf. The document, as well as the presentations and audio of the Board’s proceedings, can also be obtained on the Commission website on the Meeting Archives page at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive.

Reminder: Atlantic Herring Fishery Restrictions in Management Area 1A

September 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries reminds participants in the Atlantic herring fishery that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts implement fishery restrictions, including landing limits, landing days, and spawning closures, on herring landed from herring management area 1A.

Details of these fishery restrictions can be found on the Commission’s Atlantic herring webpage.