Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed 2019 Recreational Rules for Summer Flounder

May 17, 2019 — The following was published by NOAA Fisheries: 

NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on proposed recreational fishery management measures for the 2019 summer flounder fishery.

We propose to continue the conservation equivalency approach for the summer flounder recreational fishery, in which states or regions develop minimum sizes, possession limits, and fishing seasons that will achieve the necessary level of conservation. Both the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recommended continuing conservation equivalency.

The proposed rule contains additional details on conservation equivalency, including what measures would be put in place if conservation equivalency is not ultimately recommended by the Commission.

Note that black sea bass and scup recreational measures for 2019 are unchanged from 2018.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register today.

Comments are due June 3, 2019.

Submit your comments through the e-rulemaking portal or by mailing: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Emily Gilbert, Regional Office, 978-281-9244

Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Fisheries Commission Looks to Manage Dropping Rockfish Population

May 6, 2019 — The goal is to save the striped bass population on the east coast.

But many watermen fear that further restrictions could affect their livelihoods.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Eastern Shore Director Alan Girard says the dropping rockfish population are in need of some regrowth.  The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is looking to manage that population through these regulations.

Read the full story at WBOC

Federal fisheries managers will reduce striped bass catches

May 1, 2019 — After years of listening to anglers begging for a fix, federal fisheries managers on Tuesday decided to tighten regulations to help the striped bass population rebound.

In its 2018 stock assessment, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission declared the species as overfished. Virginia anglers reporting less fish in the Chesapeake Bay and none in the ocean have known this for a decade.

Now the ASMFC is looking for ways that states from North Carolina to Maine can help reduce mortality. Solutions will affect the number of fish taken by both recreational anglers and commercial fishermen.

Last week Virginia fisheries managers decided to do away with the annual spring trophy season, allowing anglers to take only two fish a day that fit into a 20- to 28-inch slot limit. That season runs from May 16 to June 15.

Read the full story at The Virginian-Pilot 

Fisheries Managers Vote to Take Action on Rockfish Overfishing

May 1, 2019 — Changes are coming to the East Coast striped bass fishing rules in response to overfishing. But what changes, exactly? The public will have a chance to weigh in.

On Tuesday the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) unanimously approved a number of options to reduce striped bass fishing mortality along the Atlantic coast and in the Chesapeake Bay. The proposal, an addendum to the existing striper management plan, is necessary due to an alarming decline in the population of this iconic sport fish, as previously reported by Bay Bulletin’s Wild Chesapeake column.

Fisheries biologists have determined that rockfish are being over-fished, which triggers action to make coast-wide changes prior to the 2020 fishing season.

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine 

VIRGINIA: Striped bass spring trophy season cancelled in the Chesapeake Bay

Apil 26, 2019 — In an attempt to get ahead of pending changes to striped bass regulations, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to cancel the upcoming spring trophy season in the Chesapeake Bay.

Anglers will still be able to catch and keep two rockfish measuring between 20 and 28 inches long from May 16 through June 15. All catches must be reported to the VMRC.

Late last year, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission determined that the coastal striped bass population had been overfished and that overfishing was still taking place. The commission is expected to issue amendments to its regulations that will force states to cut back on their catches.

Read the full story at the Daily Press

ASMFC 2019 Spring Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

April 24, 2019 — The following was published by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spring Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-spring-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/2019SpringMeeting/2019SpringMtgMaterialsSupplemental.pdf.

American Lobster Management Board – Progress Report on Draft American Lobster Addendum XXVIII
 
Atlantic Herring Management Board – Advisory Panel Review of Draft Addendum II; Overview of 1A Management Tools
 
Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Technical Committee Report on Percent Reduction in Harvest to Achieve Fishing Mortality Threshold and Target in 2020, and Example Recreational Options to Achieve Those Reductions;  Correspondence Regarding Striped Bass Management; Public Comment
 
Law Enforcement Committee – MAFMC Letter on Law Enforcement/For-hire Workshop
 
Executive Committee – Revised Agenda & Draft Work Group Meeting SOPPS
 
Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Plan Development Team Report on Black Sea Bass Commercial Management
 
Business Session – Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment Summary
 
Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Task List; Public Comment; James Cooper Tribute to Board
 
Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board – Revised Draft Agenda and Meeting Overview
 
South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Committee Task List; MD DNR Memo: State-Gathered Public Input on Potential Management Measures for Atlantic Croaker and Spot
 
As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning April 29th at 1 p.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:15 p.m.) on Thursday, May 2nd. 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. Please go to – https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1041506190356646145 – to register.

Virginia Cancels Trophy Rockfish Season, Urges Other States to Follow

April 24, 2019 — It’s official- there won’t be a trophy rockfish season in Virginia this spring. Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) has voted unanimously to enact an emergency closure because of worrisome new research about the striped bass population on the Bay.

Bay Bulletin reported in early April that VMRC’s biologists called for the spring season to be canceled. And on Tuesday, the commission voted 7-0 to eliminate the spring striped bass trophy season in the Bay from May 1 through June 15, the Coast from May 1 through May 15, and the Virginia tributaries to the Potomac River from April 29 through May 15. Starting May 16 through June 15 fishermen will be able to catch and keep two striped bass from 20 to 28 inches.

The emergency action comes after recent scientific research showed the rockfish population “has been below the sustainable threshold for the past six years and overfishing has been occurring sine 2010.”

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine 

VIRGINIA: Quick action urged to end striped bass overfishing

April 22, 2019 — Virginia and two New England states are urging other East Coast fishery managers to move quickly to curb striped bass catches in the wake of a new assessment that found the prized species was being overfished.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission is poised to act as soon as Tuesday when it is scheduled to take up a staff recommendation for an emergency shutdown of the state’s spring striped bass trophy season, which targets the largest fish in the population.

Big striped bass, or rockfish, is a popular springtime catch for anglers. But the larger fish also happens to be the most productive egg bearers.

The action comes in the wake of a new stock assessment that found striped bass along the East Coast were in worse shape than previously thought and had been overfished for several years.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Regulations likely to stiffen after stock assessment determines striped bass are overfished

April 10, 2019 –Many angling old timers remember the days 30 years ago when keeping striped bass was off limits because of a moratorium on the species.

Even more will remember the benefits that later came from shutting down the fishery.

Striped bass action was spectacular for years.

Lately it’s been been anything but. Catches have been on the decline the last few years and blame can be dished out to anyone and everyone involved with the catching of striper.

So guess what? Change is coming and likely sooner rather than later.

The fisheries management staff at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission has recommended an emergency shut down of the spring trophy seasons that start in May. The VMRC will meet April 23 to discuss the possibility.

The move is being looked at as a way to proactively get ahead of reductions planned by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission for next year. In its 2018 stock assessment, the ASMFC determined that striped bass are overfished.

Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Striped Bass Rule Changes Aim to Conserve Stocks, Regulators Say

February 11, 2019 — State regulators are considering a series of rule changes for the striped bass fishery that could affect fishermen along the East Coast, including on the Vineyard.

The changes would open the commercial striped bass fishery two weeks earlier, require circle hooks for fishermen who use live bait and ban the use of gaffing to land fish.

Proposed by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), the changes are intended to help reduce striped bass mortality, especially among fish that are caught and released.

“We’re in a little bit of a down period,” said Mike Armstrong, assistant director for DMF, speaking to the Gazette by phone this week. “The only way to rebuild the stock is to lower fishing mortality. A good portion of fishing mortality is catch and release, mostly recreational.”

Read the full story at The Vineyard Gazette