Saving Seafood

REVISED: States Schedule Hearings on Atlantic Herring Draft Addendum III (NEFMC hearing added to schedule)

February 11, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic coastal states of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum III. The details of those hearings and the public hearing webinar follow:

Maine Department of Marine Resources

  • March 9, 2020 at 6 PM
  • ME DMR Augusta Office 32 Blossom Lane, Room 118 Augusta,
  • Maine Contact: Megan Ware at 207.624.6563

New Hampshire Fish and Game

  • March 3, 2020 at 6 PM
  • Urban Forestry Center 45 Elwyn Road Portsmouth, New Hampshire
  • Contact: Cheri Patterson at 603.868.1095

Read the full release here

Atlantic Cobia Benchmark Stock Assessment Finds Resource Not Overfished Nor Experiencing Overfishing: South Atlantic Board Sets Harvest Specifications & Initiates Addendum

February 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board accepted the Atlantic Cobia Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report, including new reference points, for management use. The assessment, which was conducted through the Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) process, evaluated the Atlantic stock of cobia, which extends from the Georgia/Florida border north. Assessment results indicate the stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring.

Spawning stock biomass (SSB) has been above the overfished threshold throughout the timeframe (1986-2017), indicating the coastwide stock is not overfished. SSB has shown several large increases following years of high recruitment, the most recent following the 2011 recruitment peak, with the largest SSB in the time series occurring in 2013. These peaks in SSB have been followed by declines when recruitment moves back towards its average. While SSB has undergone a steep decline since the 2013 peak, SSB remains above the overfished threshold.

This assessment used recalibrated recreational catch data from the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). Landings of Atlantic cobia have generally increased since the 1980s, primarily driven by the recreational fishery, which accounts for about 96% of the total landings. Fishing mortality showed some increase in the most recent years, but did not approach the overfishing threshold, indicating the coastwide stock has not undergone overfishing during the assessment timeframe.

Read the full release here

ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Board Prepares to Move Forward with Menhaden Ecological Reference Points

February 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board accepted the results of the SingleSpecies and Ecological Reference Points (ERPs) Assessments and Peer Review Reports for management use. The single-species assessment indicates the stock is not overfished nor experiencing overfishing relative to the single-species reference points established in Amendment 3. However, the ERP assessment indicates that the fishing mortality reference points for menhaden should be lower to account for menhaden’s role as a forage fish. In order to consider moving forward with the use of ERPs for management, the Board tasked the ERP Workgroup with producing several scenarios to explore how different fishing mortality assumptions for the other predator and prey species in the ERP model (i.e., bluefish, weakfish, spiny dogfish, and Atlantic herring) might affect the menhaden ERP fishing mortality target and threshold. The Board will review these analyses and take up the issue of formally adopting ERPs in May at the Commission’s Spring Meeting.

“On behalf of the Menhaden Board, I commend the ERP Workgroup and the dozens of state, federal, academic, and ASMFC scientists for their countless hours of dedication to this formidable task,” stated Board Chair Nichola Meserve. “The Board has long recognized the importance of Atlantic menhaden as a forage fish for a variety of predators as reflected in its setting of conservative harvest limits for menhaden and its emphasis on the development of ERPs as one of its highest priorities for managing the species. The ERP assessment is an impressive body of work and a huge step towards fully realized ecosystem-based fishery management. Although there is still much more work to be done, the ERP assessment provides managers with a critical tool in setting harvest targets for menhaden in an ecosystem-context.”

Under the traditional single-species reference points, Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. Population fecundity, a measure of reproductive capacity (i.e., number of mature eggs in the population), has been above the single-species threshold since 1991 and above the single-species target in 20 of the 27 years since then, including 2017. Fishing mortality (F) has remained below the single-species overfishing threshold (0.6) since the mid-1970s, and below the single-species overfishing target (0.22) since the mid-1990s. Fishing mortality was estimated to be 0.11 in 2017. Although the ERP assessment indicates that the F reference points should be lower than the single-species reference points, it also showed that the conservative total allowable catch set for the 2018 to 2020 fishing seasons is consistent with the ERP F target in the example management scenario presented to the Board.

Read the full release here

ASMFC South Atlantic Board Approves Atlantic Croaker and Spot Addenda

February 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board approved Addendum III to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Croaker and Addendum III to the Omnibus Amendment to the Interstate FMPs for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout. These Addenda adjust management of Atlantic croaker and spot through their respective Traffic Light Approaches (TLA).

Through the annual analysis of the TLA, which assigns a color (red, yellow, or green) to characterize relative levels of indicators that reflect the condition of the fish population (abundance characteristic) or fishery (harvest characteristic). If the amount of red, indicating low abundance or low harvest, in both characteristics exceeds threshold levels (30% and 60%) for too many years, management action is triggered. In 2018, the Atlantic Croaker Technical Committee and Spot Plan Review Team recommended updates to their respective TLAs that would incorporate additional fishery-independent indices, age information, use of regional characteristics, and changes to the management-triggering mechanism.

These Addenda change the management-triggering mechanisms to enact coastwide management if the amounts of red for both the harvest and abundance characteristics within a region (Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic) exceed threshold levels for 3 of the 4 most recent years for Atlantic croaker and 2 of the 3 most recent years for spot. The Addenda also define commercial and recreational management responses to triggers at each threshold level (see table below). Finally, the Addenda define the processes for evaluating the fisheries while triggered measures are in place and determining when triggered measures may be removed.

Read the full release here

Striped bass fishing cuts to hit Bay anglers harder than watermen

February 6, 2020 — Anglers in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries will be limited to landing just one striped bass a day under new rules approved this week by East Coast fishery managers.

The only exception is in Maryland, where state officials plan to let those who can afford to pay for charter fishing trips bring home two of the highly prized rockfish, as they are known in the Bay.

And there’s still more controversy about Maryland’s plan to stem the slide of the East Coast’s most popular finfish. The state has shortened but not closed its spring “trophy season,” when anglers can go after the biggest of the species, even though those happen to be the most productive spawners. And the state is planning to crack down on anglers who “target” rockfish for catch-and-release during times when it’s illegal to keep them.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Board Approves Draft Addendum III for Public Comment

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

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board approved Draft Addendum III to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes options to better manage the Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) sub-annual catch limit (ACL) under low quota scenarios. This action responds to the challenges encountered in managing the reduced sub-ACL based on the 2018 benchmark stock assessment, which highlighted declining trends in recruitment and spawning stock biomass.

Currently, the Board can allocate the sub-ACL throughout the fishing season using bi-monthly, trimester, or seasonal quota periods to meet the needs of the fishery. For the 2019 fishing season, the Board implemented a bimonthly quota period approach to maximize use of the reduced sub-ACL when demand for bait is high. Due to the low quota, the 2019 fishery experienced frequent closures to avoid an overage. The 2020 sub-ACL (3,344 mt) is lower than in 2019, creating further challenges in distributing the quota throughout the fishing season. The Draft Addendum considers additional tools to provide the Board more flexibility in specifying the allocation under low quota scenarios and meet the needs of the herring fishery moving forward. 
 
Additionally, the Draft Addendum considers expanding landing provisions across different permit categories within the days out program. The Board utilizes days out of the fishery and weekly landing limits to adjust the rate of Area 1A catch. The Draft Addendum includes options that apply weekly landing limits to all vessel categories landing herring in Area 1A throughout the entire fishing season.
 
Interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input by February 12, 2020. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM on March 25, 2020 and should be forward to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Atlantic Herring Draft Addendum III). It is anticipated some states will conduct public hearings on the Draft Addendum; the details of which will be released via a press release once they are finalized.
 
For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Maryland, Virginia weigh cutting striped bass catches in 2020 as species declines

January 29, 2020 — Anglers who live for hooking a feisty striped bass are going to have fewer chances to do it in 2020 — and probably for at least a year or two afterward.

Prompted by a scientific finding that the East Coast’s most prized finfish are in trouble, Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River are all moving to adopt new catch restrictions aimed at stemming the species’ decline.

But many anglers are complaining about the complexity, fairness and even the adequacy of the cutbacks under consideration, which range from a quota tuck of less than 2% for commercial fishermen in Maryland to a 24% reduction in fish removed by recreational anglers in Virginia.

The two states are taking somewhat different tacks to comply with a directive from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates fishing for migratory species from Maine to Florida.

Read the full story at Delmarva Now

Menhaden, the most political fish in the Chesapeake Bay, might not be regulated by Virginia legislature anymore

January 29, 2020 — Virginia moved to keep fishing for menhaden in Chesapeake Bay, but a legislative compromise that got its first nods this week means the big boats from Reedville won’t catch quite as much.

The reason is that the most political fish of all would no longer be regulated by the General Assembly, where state Senate and House of Delegates panels say the legislature should turn the job over to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the panel that oversees every other fish.

Virginia faced a moratorium on the Bay menhaden fishery because Reedville-based Omega Proteins exceeded a cap on the Bay catch imposed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2017.

That cap, of 51,000 metric tons, is 41.5% below the old limit, which is the one written into the Code of Virginia.

Read the full story at The Daily Press

ASMFC 2020 Winter Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

January 29, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2020 Winter Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2020-winter-meeting for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2020WinterMeeting/2020WinterMeetingSupplementalMaterials.pdf.

Atlantic Herring Management Board – Draft Addendum III for Public Comment and Proposed Rule on Framework Adjustment 6 2020-2021 Specifications

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Technical Review of Addendum VI State Implementation Plans and Conservation Equivalency Proposals; Law Enforcement Committee Recommendations on the Enforceability of Measures in the Bluefish and Striped Bass Conservation Equivalency Proposals; Advisory Panel Nominations and Resignation Letter from Arnold Leo; Public Comment

Bluefish Management Board – Bluefish Conservation Equivalency Criteria and Proposal Template; Technical Committee Review of Conservation Equivalency Proposals for the 2020 Recreational Bluefish Fishery; Regional and State Proposals; Law Enforcement Committee Recommendations on the Enforceability of Measures in the Bluefish and Striped Bass Conservation Equivalency Proposals

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Public Comment (please review before printing due to file size)

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Technical Committee Recommendations for Atlantic Cobia Harvest Quota; Public Comment Summary on Spot and Croaker Draft Addenda; South Atlantic Species Advisory Panel Meeting Summary; Atlantic Croaker Technical Committee and Spot Plan Review Team Meeting Summary; Stock Assessment Subcommittee Memo on Red Drum Stock Assessment Road Map

Executive Committee – Revised Agenda

Business Session – Revised Agenda

As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 4th and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:30 p.m.) on Thursday, February 6th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board 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, please go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3853611638258510347.

MAINE: Elver license lottery: Big prize for a lucky few

January 23, 2020 — Want to get rich quick, or at least have a chance to earn a nice piece of change?

Last Thursday, the Department of Marine Resources opened a lottery that will give nine lucky winners the chance to apply for elver fishing licenses for the upcoming season. The lottery runs until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21. The 10-week elver season starts March 22 and runs through June 7.

An elver fishing license isn’t worth its weight in gold. It’s worth a lot more.

In 2018, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission set a total landings quota for Maine elver harvesters of 9,688 pounds. Of that, just under 2,070 pounds are allocated among Maine’s four federally recognized tribes, which issue their own fishing licenses to tribal members. DMR allocates the balance, some 7,566 pounds, among harvesters licensed by the state.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American