November 27, 2024 — The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) has approved the use of ropeless fishing gear, also known as on-demand gear, in its black sea bass fishery, which spans the U.S. coastline from the state of North Carolina to Florida.
The new gear aims to reduce instances of right whale entanglements. The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most critically endangered species in the world, with an estimated 372 individuals remaining.
July 15, 2024 — A Montauk, N.Y., fisherman was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Thursday for his role in a conspiracy to harvest and sell thousands of pounds more fluke and black sea bass than limits allowed.
The man, Chris Winkler, 64, who helms a 45-foot trawler called the New Age, was convicted by a Long Island jury in October on federal charges of hauling too many fish from the sea. The jury also found him guilty of falsifying records and selling his illegal catch to partners at Gosman’s Dock, a waterfront mall and restaurant complex in Montauk, and to dealers at the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx.
Mr. Winkler was unanimously convicted on the five counts he faced, which included criminal conspiracy, mail fraud and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced on Thursday by Judge Joan M. Azrack of the Eastern District of New York and will surrender in December.
“I consider this a serious crime,” said Judge Azrack, who called the trial “illuminating, educational and disturbing.” Mr. Winkler, she said, “undermined the integrity of the whole fisheries management program.”
February 20, 2024 — The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) is mulling whether to include new regulations for on-demand or “ropeless” gear on black sea bass pots as a means of preventing adverse impacts on whales.
The black sea bass pot fishery uses pot traps that rest on the bottom and vertical line with a buoy attached for retrieval – similar to other pot fisheries like lobster or crab. The fishery has been experimentally using various types of on-demand gear since 2021, which can include a pot that releases a vertical line only when it gets a signal, or a pot that uses inflatables to rise to the surface for easy retrieval.
February 20, 2024 — The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) is mulling whether to include new regulations for on-demand or “ropeless” gear on black sea bass pots as a means of preventing adverse impacts on whales.
The black sea bass pot fishery uses pot traps that rest on the bottom and vertical line with a buoy attached for retrieval – similar to other pot fisheries like lobster or crab. The fishery has been experimentally using various types of on-demand gear since 2021, which can include a pot that releases a vertical line only when it gets a signal, or a pot that uses inflatables to rise to the surface for easy retrieval.
August 12, 2023 — Charlie Borden, a commercial fisherman from the Rhode Island town of Little Compton, got his start targeting lobster when he was just a kid. His dad taught him to fish.
“We used to fish together out of a skiff,” Borden said.
Now 44, Borden still targets lobster, but has since added black sea bass to his repertoire. He was one of the first to target black sea bass in the region. And, as their populations have grown, so has the size of his boat and his crew. He has graduated to his own 47-foot fishing vessel “Drake.”
One of his workers, Providence resident Rob Sherman, was beginning to mix up giant vats of clams —bait for black sea bass — at about 5:30 am one morning in late July.
“These are big surf clams. I’d say a little over 400 pounds,” he said.
The sun is hazy red with Canadian wildfire smoke and it’s just finished blooming over the eastern horizon. The still half-frozen clams smell sweet — for now.
“When it’s sitting in the sun gasses build up and it can be pretty damn nasty,” Sherman said.
July 31, 2023 — Black sea bass are common in mid-Atlantic waters. But as the climate warms, they’re increasingly found farther north.
“Fishermen see this change on the water before the management and science community can really adapt to that and react to that,” says David Bethoney of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation.
March 10, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The draft agenda and meeting materials for upcoming meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/SFlounderScupBSBBoardMarch2022/SFSBSB_BoardMaterials_March2022.pdf. The Board will meet via webinar on March 24th from 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM. The purpose of the meeting is to review regional proposals for summer flounder and black sea bass recreational measures for the 2022 fishing year.
To register for the webinar go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8045885664746620685(Webinar ID 228-241-235). If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can also call in at +1 (213) 929-4212. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar; see webinar instructionsfor details on how to receive the PIN as well as how to navigate the webinar. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, you can do so by dialing +1 (213) 929-4212, access code 462-622-410.
The webinar will allow registrants to listen to the Board’s deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. The Board will provide the public the opportunity to bring matters of concern to the Board’s attention at the start of the meeting. The Board Chair 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.
Public Comment Guidelines
With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in 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)
· Comments received by 5 PM on Wednesday, March 16 will be included in the supplemental materials.
Comments should be submitted to comments@asmfc.org.
For more information, please contact Dustin Colson Leaning, FMP Coordinator, at dleaning@asmfc.org.
March 2, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board (Policy Board) approved for public comment the Recreational Harvest Control Rule Draft Addenda to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and Bluefish FMP. The states of Maine through Virginia have scheduled webinar hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addenda between March 16 and April 13, and written comments will be accepted through April 22. Hearing details and comment instructions can be found below.
The Draft Addenda consider changes to the process used by the Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) to set recreational management measures (bag, size, and season limits) for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. The Council is considering an identical set of options through a framework action. These potential changes are intended to provide greater stability and predictability in recreational management measures from year to year and allow for more explicit consideration of stock status when setting the measures. The Draft Addenda proposes five possible approaches for setting recreational measures. Key differences between the options include the information considered when setting measures and the circumstances under which measures would change. These differences have implications for how often measures would change and the magnitude of those changes. Taking final action on these addenda will not implement any specific bag, size, or season limits but start a new specification process for setting management measures.
The Draft Addenda are available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/HCR_DraftAddenda_PublicComment_March2022.pdf or via the Commission’s public input webpage. A quick reference guide is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/HCR_FW_addenda_reference_guide_March2022.pdf to aid stakeholders in understanding the options contained in the Draft Addenda. All those interested in the management of the recreational summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries are encouraged to provide input by participating in the public hearings or by providing written comment.
February 28, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board will meet via webinar on March 24th from 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM. The purpose of the meeting is to review regional proposals for summer flounder and black sea bass recreational measures for the 2022 fishing year. The draft agenda and meeting materials will be posted to the Meeting Archives webpage by March 10th.
To register for the webinar go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8045885664746620685(Webinar ID 228-241-235). If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can also call in at +1 (213) 929-4212. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar; see webinar instructionsfor details on how to receive the PIN as well as how to navigate the webinar. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, you can do so by dialing +1 (213) 929-4212, access code 462-622-410.
The webinar will allow registrants to listen to the Board’s deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. The Board will provide the public the opportunity to bring matters of concern to the Board’s attention at the start of the meeting. The Board Chair 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.
February 4, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Good Afternoon Members of the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board and the ISFMP Policy Board – Following are the details of your upcoming meetings next week.
The Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board will meet on February 8th from 1 – 1:45 PM using the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (Council) webinar to discuss the 2022 black sea bass recreational fishery reduction. This is a board-only meeting. The Board Chair will give time to Council members, as public, to ask questions and comment. The Board will need keep its deliberations to 45 minutes in order to not disrupt the Council’s agenda for the rest of the day. The Board meeting will include a very short presentation on the Technical Committee memo and Board discussion and action on the motions made via email. Once the Board has conducted its business, it will adjourn and the Council will reconvene to consider action on the motion made by the Board. Meeting materials for the Board meeting can be found here. Any public received by noon on Monday February 7, 2022 will be distributed to the Board on Monday afternoon.
Following this, the ISFMP Policy Board will meet jointly with the Council to discuss the Recreational Harvest Control Rule Addenda/Framework. Meeting materials for that meeting can be found here.
Additional information on the Council’s meeting, including webinar instructions, can be found below.