Saving Seafood

South Atlantic Council Delays Changes to Atlantic Cobia Management

Fishery managers to wait for Stock ID Workshop preliminary results available in June

March 12, 2018 — JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

After reviewing public comment and considering various management alternatives and timing, members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council decided to delay approval of an amendment to remove Atlantic cobia from the current federal management plan. The amendment is designed to reduce complicated regulations and improve flexibility in the management of Atlantic cobia from Georgia to New York.  If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the move would allow for the fishery to be managed solely by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

The decision came after Council members discussed the need to wait for preliminary results from a Cobia Stock ID Workshop scheduled for April. The current management boundary between Florida and Georgia was established following a 2013 stock assessment. Fishermen and others have expressed concerns about the boundary change since that time. The Council decided to wait until their June 11-15, 2018 meeting, when preliminary results from the Stock ID workshop and Advisory Panel recommendations would be available for consideration before moving forward. Council members also heard concerns from legal counsel that the document should further specify what will happen to regulations in federal waters before the amendment’s approval.

Prized for their delicious taste and relatively large size, the recreational harvest of Atlantic cobia has increased in recent years. The recreational fishery closed in federal waters in June 2016 after landings estimates exceeded the annual catch limit the previous year and closed again in January 2017, as state landings were expected to exceed the federal catch limits. The recreational fishery is currently open in federal waters, but subject to closure by NOAA Fisheries should catch estimates exceed the annual catch limit currently in place. Fish harvested in state waters count against the annual catch limit.

The majority of Atlantic cobia are harvested in state waters, within 3 miles of shore in North Carolina and Virginia. They can also be found offshore and occur more readily in federal waters off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina as they migrate northward to spawn. Cobia harvested along the east coast of Florida are considered part of the Gulf of Mexico stock and are managed separately.

At the request of the Council, the ASMFC began developing an interstate management plan for Atlantic cobia last year. That plan will become effective in state waters from Georgia to New York in April 2018 and aligns with current federal regulations for Atlantic cobia. Under the ASMFC Interstate Plan, state-specific allocations are established based on the current federal annual catch limit of 620,000 pounds, with North Carolina and Virginia receiving the majority of the allocation based on previous landings.

Individual states have submitted plans for Atlantic cobia (including regulations for a minimum size limit, vessel limit, and season) to the ASMFC based on those allocations. The state regulations are designed to keep harvest levels below the allocated state-specific pounds of Atlantic cobia. Under federal law, the states may also request that state regulations for Atlantic cobia be extended into federal waters.

Comments from fishermen and others received during public hearings held in January and as part of the March Council meeting primarily supported removing Atlantic cobia from the federal management plan and providing the states more latitude in setting regulations based on the ASMFC Interstate Plan.

Once fully removed from the federal management plan, Atlantic Group Cobia would beregulated in both state and federal waters under ASMFC. The Cobia Stock ID Workshop is scheduled for April 10-12, 2018 in Charleston, SC and a benchmark stock assessment will be conducted in 2019. For additional information, visit: http://sedarweb.org/sedar-58.

Other Business

The Council considered over 600 written comments and heard public testimony this week, before voting to send a letter to NOAA Fisheries expressing their concerns on an Exempted Fishery Permit request to conduct research and evaluate pelagic longline catch rates in a portion of an area off the east coast of Florida currently closed to longline fishing. The majority of the comments received, including those from recreational fishing organizations, were in opposition to the permit, citing concerns about discards of recreational and commercially important species, impacts to protected resources, increased landings of dolphin fish, and other concerns. The Council will submit its formal recommendations and a copy of all comments received on the Exempted Fishery Permit to NOAA Fisheries, the agency responsible for making the final decision on issuance of the permit.

The Council also continued work on Snapper Grouper Amendment 46 to improve recreational data collection. The amendment includes options for a private recreational snapper grouper permit designed to improve effort estimates that may eventually be used to improve landings estimates. The amendment also includes options for recreational reporting requirements.  A separate framework amendment will also be developed to address best fishing practices. The Council provided guidance on actions and alternatives.    Two amendments are being developed as part of the Council’s Vision Blueprint for the snapper grouper fishery, a long-term approach to management developed with stakeholder input. Vision Blueprint Regulatory Amendment 26 addresses recreational measures including modifications to aggregate species composition, removal of size limits, changes to bag limits and gear requirements for certain deepwater species, and modifications to shallow water species. Regulatory Amendment 26 would also reduce the recreational minimum size limit for gray triggerfish off the east coast of Florida for consistency with state regulations. Vision Blueprint Regulatory Amendment 27 addresses commercial measures, including alternatives for split seasons for blueline tilefish, snowy grouper, greater amberjack and red porgy. Changes to the trip limit for vermilion snapper, jacks, and modification to the seasonal prohibition on red grouper are also being considered. The Council approved both amendments for public hearings to be held later this spring.

Charter fishermen targeting snapper grouper species in federal waters off the South Atlantic are required to have a federal South Atlantic For-Hire Snapper Grouper permit. At the request of the Council’s Snapper Grouper Advisory Panel and considering public input, the Council reviewed an options paper for public scoping to get input on establishing a moratorium on the issuance of these permits. The moratorium is being considered to help improve logbook reporting compliance, recreational data quality, business planning, professionalize the for-hire fleet, address localized overcapacity, and other concerns. The Council provided recommendations for the scoping document and will review it again during its June 2018 meeting.

The Council bid an emotional farewell to Dr. Michelle Duval, the Council representative for the NC Division of Marine Fisheries and former Council Chair. Dr. Duval also served as Chair as the Council’s Snapper Grouper Committee for several years and was commended for her leadership and guidance during her service on the Council. She joins her husband Scott as they move to Pennsylvania.

Final Committee Reports, a meeting Story Map, Meeting Report and other materials from this week’s Council meeting are available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/safmc-meetings/council-meetings/. The next meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is scheduled for June 11-15, 2018 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

 

ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Benchmark Stock Assessment Scheduled for May 8-10, 2018, in Arlington, VA

March 8, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Stock Assessment Workshop will be conducted May 8-10, 2018, at the Commission’s office at 1050 N. Highland Street, Suite 200A-N, Arlington, VA 22201. The assessment will evaluate horseshoe crab population along the Atlantic coast and inform the management of this species.

All Commission assessment workshops are open for public attendance. Time may be allotted for public comment at the Stock Assessment Subcommittee (SAS) Chair’s discretion, but may also be limited to keep the workshop on schedule. Due to the use of confidential data in this assessment, some portions of the workshop may be “closed door,” for which only members of the SAS with clearance to view confidential data may be present. Additionally, to ensure adherence to confidentiality laws, there will be no remote public access via webinar or conference call for this meeting.

The benchmark stock assessment will be independently peer-reviewed through a Commission External Peer Review Workshop tentatively scheduled for fall 2018. Details on the dates and location of the Peer Review Workshop will be announced later this year.

For more information about the assessment or attending the Assessment Workshop, please contact Dr. Mike Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mschmidtke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

 

Virginia: Menhaden quota bill pulled in Va. House of Delegates

March 7, 2018 — A much-lobbied bill about an oily fish that nobody eats died in the House of Delegates — but with a promise by some proponents and stern opponents to work together to push for permission to catch more.

The bill, backed by the Northam Administration, was an effort to deal with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s sharp, 41.5 percent cut in a Chesapeake Bay quota for menhaden.

But the administration and Omega Protein, the owner of the Reedville plant that processes menhaden from the bay, agreed to stop fighting over the bill and work together to convince the Marine Fisheries Commission to increase the quota.

The regional commission last year approved a more than 36,000-metric-ton cut in bay quota for menhaden caught by drawing huge “seine” nets around schools of the fish and then hauling them up onto so-called “purse seine” fishing vessels.

Currently, the old marine fisheries commission quota of 87,216 metric tons for fish caught is written into state law.

Knight had proposed removing the reference in state law to the 87,216 tons and empowering the head of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to set a new quota after appealing, and hopefully winning, an increased quota from the regional body.

Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Matt Strickler had argued that keeping the old quota in the Code of Virginia risked sanctions that could include an outright ban on menhaden fishing in the bay.

Environmental groups — including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, League of Conservation Voters and Nature Conservancy, as well as sports fishermen — argued that the lower quota was necessary as a precautionary measure. They fear too many young menhaden are caught in the bay, a key nursery area for the migratory fish. This could put the menhaden population at risk, as well other species, including striped bass and ospreys.

Read the full story at the Daily Press

 

Governor’s bill on menhaden catch limits advances, barely

March 1, 2018 — Atlantic menhaden aren’t giant fish — generally measuring about a foot or less — but they are big business in Virginia, so much so that they are the only species not entrusted to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission for management.

“The General Assembly has decided to retain control over setting quotas for menhaden,” said Matt Strickler, Virginia’s new secretary of natural resources.

Strickler had just emerged from a bruising hearing Wednesday before the House’s Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee, which barely advanced a bill sent down by Gov. Ralph Northam to bring Virginia into compliance with a November decision by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that cut the quota for fish netted in the Chesapeake Bay.

The bill by Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, which made it out of the committee on an 11-10 vote, was fiercely opposed by Omega Protein. The company operates the only “reduction fishery” on the Atlantic coast, a fleet of boats and plant in Reedville that turn thousands of tons of the fish into oil and meal each year for a range of products each year, from dietary supplements to pet food.

“This bill does harm industry and it does risk jobs,” Monty Deihl, Omega’s vice president of operations, told the committee, adding that no one was more attuned to menhaden numbers than the company, which was founded in Virginia in 1913. “This stock is more important to us than probably anyone else.”

Environmental groups and recreational fishermen urged the committee to send it on to the House floor.

Chris Newsome, a charter fishing captain from Gloucester, said menhaden are a “shared resource owned by all constituents of the commonwealth.”

“Decisions regarding menhaden shouldn’t be influenced solely by one stakeholder,” he said.

Read the full story at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

 

ASMFC: Data Workshops Scheduled for Atlantic Menhaden Single-Species & Ecological-Based Benchmark Stock Assessments

February 28, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has begun work on two Atlantic menhaden-specific benchmark assessments: a single-species benchmark assessment and an ecological-based benchmark assessment. The assessments will be used to evaluate the health of the stock and inform the management of the species in an ecological context. The assessments will be peer-reviewed at the end of 2019.

A Data Workshop for both assessments will be conducted the week of April 23rd; details on the location will be released once they become available. The Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee will meet April 23-25 to discuss the single-species assessment and the Ecological Reference Point Workgroup will meet April 25-27 to discuss the ecological-based assessment.

A second Data and Modeling Workshop will be held in September; information on the dates and location will be provided once they are finalized. All Data and Modeling Workshops are open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room.

The Commission welcomes the submission of data sources and alternate models that will improve the accuracy of the assessments. This includes, but is not limited to, data on commercial landings and discards, catch per unit effort, biological samples (length or age frequency), and life history information (growth, maturity, fecundity, natural mortality, spawning stock biomass). For the ecological-based assessment, the Commission is also interested in predation information on Atlantic menhaden (i.e., predator diets, consumption rates) and predator stock size information (i.e., Atlantic striped bass, weakfish, bluefish and spiny dogfish). For data sets to be considered, the data must be sent in the required format with accompanying description of methods to Dr. Kristen Anstead, Stock Assessment Scientist, at kanstead@asmfc.org by Friday, April 6, 2018.

For alternate models to be considered, the model description, model input, and complete source code must be provided to Dr. Katie Drew, Stock Assessment Team Leader, at kdrew@asmfc.org by the model deadline. For alternate multispecies or ecosystem models, the deadline is Friday, June 1, 2018. For alternate single species models, the deadline is Thursday,November 1, 2018. Any models submitted without complete, editable source code and input files will not be considered.

View the release in its entirety here.

 

Maine: Lobstermen must report total catch

February 22, 2018 — New regulations passed February 6 by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requires 100 percent catch reporting by all Maine lobster and Jonah crab fishermen within five years. Developing an electronic reporting method for Maine fishermen is also under way.

“We argued against it heavily for quite a while,” Sen. Brian Langley (R-Ellsworth) said. “Stonington lands more than all of Southern New England.”

Langley, along with Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher and Stephen Train of Long Island, represent Maine on the commission.

“It’s like a game of Survivor down there,” Langley added. With the collapse of the lobster industry in Southern New England, “Maine sometimes is up against other states.”

Currently, only 10 percent of Maine lobstermen, selected randomly within specific categories, are required to file catch reports for each trip. Fishermen in the 14 other ASFMC member states report all their catch.

However, Maine has the largest lobster fishery of all member states, producing about four-fifths of the nation’s lobster harvest.

“It’s unfortunate states with a few hundred fishermen voted for Maine fishermen,” said Rep. Walter Kumiega (D-Deer Isle), House Chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources and 2018 candidate for state senator.

Keliher’s motion to maintain current harvester reporting efforts was amended to add that 100 percent harvester reporting be required within five years—better than the immediate adoption of the regulation that had been earlier presented. A further amendment, that if a commercial harvester landed less than 1,000 pounds of lobster or Jonah crab in the previous year a monthly summary could be submitted, was also successful. The amended motion unanimously passed, as did a provision to develop electronic reporting.

Read the full story at Island Ad-Vantages

 

ASMFC: Maryland Schedules Public Hearing on Black Drum Draft Addendum I

February 22, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. — Maryland has scheduled their hearing to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to the Black Drum Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The details of this hearing are as follows:

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

March 15, 2018 at 5:30 PM

Maryland DNR

580 Taylor Ave, Room C1

Annapolis, MD

Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285

Draft Addendum I responds to a proposal from the state of Maryland to reopen its commercial fishery for black drum in the Chesapeake Bay (Bay). In the late 1990s, Maryland closed the commercial black drum fishery in its Bay waters to conduct a tagging and migration study. The fishery was not reopened after the study. In 2013, the Black Drum FMP extended this closure by requiring states to maintain management measures in place at the time of the FMP’s approval.

Draft Addendum I presents a management option that would reopen Maryland’s commercial fishery for black drum in the Chesapeake Bay with a daily vessel limit of up to 10 fish and a 28 inch minimum total length size limit.

The Draft Addendum is available on the Commission’s black drum species webpage, http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5a8440a5BDRM_Draft_Addendum_I_for_Public_Comment.pdf, and on the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Fishermen and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending the public hearing or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on March 23, 2018, and should be forwarded to Dr. Michael Schmidtke, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Black Drum Draft Addendum I). Final action on the Draft Addendum is scheduled to occur in May 2018.

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

Virginia: Will Lawmakers Agree to Menhaden Catch Limits?

February 21, 2018 — A battle over menhaden is underway in the Virginia General Assembly right now.

The oily, stinky fish makes up the biggest commercial fishery by volume on the Atlantic Coast, and more than 70 percent of its harvest is caught in Virginia waters. Menhaden also play a key role in the Chesapeake Bay’s food chain, as prey for sea birds, and bigger fish like rockfish.

The menhaden fishery is the only one regulated by the legislature, instead of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission or the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Thus, lawmakers must rewrite current menhaden catch limits in order to stay in compliance with the newest fishery management plan.

The plan, drawn up by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) in November, increases the allowable catch for the entire menhaden fishery, but decreases Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay harvest cap to 51,000 metric tons, which is rounded up from the previous five-year average .  Read more about the new management plan here.

The bill first introduced in Virginia’s General Assembly this winter got stuck in committee, but Virginia State Delegate Barry Knight has introduced a new bill on behalf of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, to comply with the ASMFC plan.

In a letter to Delegate Danny Marshall (R-Danville), the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, Governor Northam writes, “Increases in stock abundance and relinquishment of quota from other states to Virginia have resulted in an increase of more than 4 million pounds of menhaden for the Commonwealth. Delegate Knight’s new bill reflects that, and does no harm to the menhaden industry.”

If the plan isn’t implemented, Virginia could fall out of compliance with the Interstate Fishery Management Plan, and the state could face a moratorium on all menhaden fishing.

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine 

 

ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board approves Option B

February 21, 2018 — On Feb. 7, the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission met to approve Option B in Maryland’s Conservation Equivalency Proposal for the summer/fall recreational striped bass fishery in the Chesapeake Bay.

The motion passed unanimously with one abstention.

The ASMFC acknowledges for stock assessment purposes that the mortality rate of fish that are released after being caught is about 9 percent, but many fishermen and scientists contend that the number is much higher in the summer months when hot temperatures affect survival.

At a fishing symposium I attended this past November, one Department of Natural Resources official said that while the accepted mortality rate is 9 out of every 100 released rockfish, the number could be as high as 30.

“We don’t really know,” said Mike Luisi, Estuarine and Marine Fisheries Division manager for DNR.

Both the Technical Committee and Law Enforcement Committee of the ASMFC did not endorse the mandatory use of circle hooks, but with pressure from stakeholders, the Advisory Panel decided that “the conservation benefits” outweigh any concerns and Maryland will be instituting the mandatory use of circle hooks with non-artificial bait and lures.

Back in 1999, Maryland’s DNR performed a study comparing the mortality of rockfish caught on conventional hooks versus circle hooks. The results are hard to argue with.

When air temperatures were below 95 degrees Fahrenheit, 0.8 percent of rockfish caught on non-offset circle hooks died compared to 9.1 percent of rockfish caught on standard J hooks.

Additionally, the minimum size for keepers will be reduced to 19 inches from May 16 to Dec. 15.

Read the full story at the Calvert Recorder

 

Maine lobster industry facing many challenges, changes

February 21, 2018 — Maine’s lobster industry is pushing back against new rules that they say are costly and put onerous requirements on them to record data.

Maine does not have the funds to pay for the new reporting requirements mandated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, according to Patrice McCarron, the executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. McCarron said the new rule, which requires 100 percent of Maine lobstermen to report certain catch data over the next five years, is cost-prohibitive.

“We have more than 4,000 lobstermen, so we have no way to collect trip-level data from all of them,” she told SeafoodSource.

Currently, data is collected from only 10 percent of the state’s lobstermen. The MLA opposed the ASMFC’s proposal on the reporting requirement, explaining that the state does not have the funds for data collection and that its current data system has a 95 to 98 percent confidence interval level.

“The question for Maine is how do we pay for it. We need electronic reporting technology that would make it simple and fast,” McCarron said.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association lobster analyst Peter Burns said the more thorough reporting requirements are necessary to give scientists a fuller picture of how the fishery is performing.

“We have a big black hole of reporting somewhere in the Gulf of Maine and into Georges Bank,” Burns told the commission, according to the Portland Press Herald.

As a compromise, ASMFC is phasing in the more stringent reporting requirements over five years, which it said would give Maine time to implement an electronic reporting requirement that may reduce the burden placed on fishermen to comply with the rules.

Read the full story at Seafood Source