Saving Seafood

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.

Fishermen’s Trust secures $250,000 grant

August 25, 2020 — The Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust was awarded a $250,000 grant to expand its Community Seafood Program.

The grant was awarded by Catch Together, a nonprofit organization that invests capital in support of fishermen, fishing communities, and ocean conservation throughout the country, according to a press release from the trust. The grant gives the trust the ability to purchase and process black sea bass and scup for fish chowder production, which will be donated to Island food organizations.

The program was established in April with the goal of linking fishermen to food support organizations. The program started with local sea scallops, and to date has donated 1,925 pounds of sea scallops to food organizations across the Island.

Read the full story at MV Times

Fishermen And Scientists Join Forces To Track Effects Of Climate Change

August 14, 2020 — Last October, lobstermen fishing off the coast of southern New England noticed the lobsters getting more active. That’s fairly common, says Mark Sweitzer, a commercial fisherman out of Port Judith, Rhode Island.

“It’s not unusual for there to be a big pop of lobster in September or October,” says Sweitzer. “Fall’s our best fishing.”

But along with the lobster came something more unusual: a temperature spike on the seafloor, about 150-200 feet down. The temperature jumped from about 50 degrees to 60 — “a big, big change,” says Sweitzer — and stayed there for 38 days, from October 10 to November 15.

Sea surface temperature can change rapidly, rising or falling with strong winds or a storm. But at the bottom, temperature changes much more slowly. “So to get a temperature change that big on the bottom, that is major,” says Sweitzer. “Something caused that to happen. That wasn’t a few warm nights.”

Read the full story at WBUR

Army-Navy freighter added to artificial reef off the Delaware coast.

August 14, 2020 — DNREC continued to bolster Delaware’s artificial reef system today by sinking the Reedville, originally a coastal freighter and supply ship, at a reef site 16 miles offshore.

The Reedville was converted to a commercial fishing vessel after military decommissioning and today found another new life as fish habitat and diving attract through DNREC’s artificial reef program.

The sinking of the 180-foot long Reedville was the reef program’s first deployment of a vessel since a retired Chesapeake Bay cruise ship was sunk late last year.

It came after the nationally-publicized and viral-videoed 2018 sinking of the retired Cape May-Lewes ferry Twin Capes onto the Del-Jersey-Land Reef, second only to Reef Site No. 11 as a popular fishing destination.

Because of the ship’s profile featuring a cavernous hold, the Reedville is expected to be a boon to two fish prominent in Delaware inshore waters, black sea bass and tautog. The area where vessels have been sunk does not have suitable habitat for some species.

Read the full story at Delaware Business Now

Meeting Summaries and Motions from the Joint ASMFC/MAFMC August Meeting Webinar

August 14. 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Meeting summaries and motions from the Joint meeting of the MAFMC and ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Boards are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/ASMFC_Bluefish_SFlounderScupBSBBoard_MAFMCMtgSummary_Aug2020.pdf. The document can also be obtained on the Commission website on the Meeting Archives page at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive.  Presentations and briefing materials are available on the MAFMC website at: https://www.mafmc.org/briefing/august-2020.

State Proposes Extending Commercial Fishing for Sea Bass, Striped Bass, Summer Flounder

August 11, 2020 — After a slow start to the summer, the state Division of Marine Fisheries has proposed extensions to the commercial striped bass, black sea bass and summer flounder seasons, hoping to add additional fishing days and adjust catch limits for fishermen as fall approaches.

The DMF is proposing to add Tuesdays and Thursdays to the commercial striped bass season starting Sept. 1. The agency is then planning to add Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting Oct. 2 — which would allow commercial striped bass fishing every day of the week.

A similar change has been proposed for the black sea bass fishery, with DMF planning to add Mondays and Wednesdays in September and expand the season to seven days per week in October. The DMF is also proposing to increase the commercial pot limit from 400 to 500 pounds per week.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

MAFMC: Upcoming Council Meetings: August 6, 2020 and August 10-13, 2020

July 21, 2020 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC or Council) has two upcoming meetings in August. Both meetings will be conducted by webinar.

August 6, 2020: ASMFC Summer 2020 Meeting

On Thursday, August 6, the Council will meet jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and Bluefish Management Board. This joint meeting will be held on the last day of the ASMFC’s Summer 2020 Meeting. Topics to be addressed include the Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment, Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment, Recreational Reform Initiative, and Massachusetts 2020 Black Sea Bass Recreational Proposal. An agenda and other details related to the joint portion of the meeting are available on the August 6, 2020 Joint MAFMC/ASMFC Meeting Page. Additional details and updates will be posted on the ASMFC Summer 2020 Meeting page.

August 10-13, 2020: MAFMC August 2020 Meeting

The Council will meet again via webinar on August 10-13, 2020. A portion of the meeting will be conducted jointly with the ASMFC’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and Bluefish Management Board. During this meeting, the Council (and Board, as applicable) will develop or review specifications for butterfish, longfin squid, Atlantic mackerel, bluefish, summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, surfclams, and ocean quahogs. Other agenda items include development of a river herring and shad cap for the Atlantic mackerel fishery, review of commercial scup discards, review of the range of alternatives for the Summer Flounder/Scup/Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment, swearing in of new and reappointed Council members, and election of officers. An agenda and webinar connection information is available on the August 2020 Council Meeting Page. Briefing materials will be posted as they become available.

Questions? Contact Mary Sabo, msabo@mafmc.org, (302) 518-1143.

Meeting Summaries and Motions from the Joint ASMFC/MAFMC June Meeting Webinar; NOAA Approves Conservation Equivalency for the 2020 Summer Flounder Recreational Season

June 19, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Meeting summaries and motions from the Joint meeting of the MAFMC and ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Boards are now available athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/ASMFC_MAFMCSFlounderScupBSB_Bluefish_June2020.pdf.  The document can also be obtained on the Commission website on the Meeting Archives page athttp://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive.  Presentations, briefing materials, and webinar recordings are available on the MAFMC website at: http://www.mafmc.org/briefing/june-2020

Additionally, for those interested summer flounder management, NOAA Fisheries has approved conservation equivalency for the 2020 summer flounder recreational fishing season. The federal recreational bag limit, minimum fish size, and fishing season are waived and anglers are subject to the regulations of the state where they land when fishing in federal waters. The state measures were approved by the Board following the Joint December Commission/Council meeting. The state measures can be found on the Commission’s website at the following link:http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5e6954df2020SummerFlounderRecreationalMeasures.pdf. NOAA Fisheries’ final rule became effective June 17, 2020. More information can be found at the following link:https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/recreational-management-measures-summer-flounder-fishery-fishing-year-2020

Reminder: Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment Scoping Comment Deadline

May 27, 2020 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The deadline to submit written scoping comments on the Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment is Sunday, May 31, 2020. This management action will consider potential modifications to the allocations of the black sea bass commercial quota among the states of Maine through North Carolina. All interested members of the public are encouraged to provide input on the range of management alternatives that should be considered in this action.

How to Submit Comments

Written comments should be submitted by 11:59 pm EDT on Sunday May 31, 2020 by any of the following methods:

  1. ONLINE: http://www.mafmc.org/comments/bsb-com-allocation-amendment
  2. EMAIL: jbeaty@mafmc.org
  3. MAIL: Dr. Christopher Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901
  4. FAX: 302.674.5399

Please include “Black Sea Bass Commercial Allocation Amendment” in the subject line if using email or fax, or on the outside of the envelope if submitting written comments.

Read the full release here

NJ’s Multibillion-dollar Fishing Industry has Reason to be Concerned About Turbines

May 19, 2020 — Scallops. Black sea bass. Squid. Oysters. New Jersey’s coastal fisheries harvest millions of dollars worth of seafood annually from the state’s bountiful coastal waters, but some in the industry fear an ill wind is blowing.

From Cape May to Sandy Hook, 313,990 acres of Atlantic Ocean have been leased to three energy companies, with plans to erect soaring wind turbines visible from the Jersey Shore. The worry from some in the New Jersey fishing industry is the green energy will limit access to fisheries, exacerbate the danger they face and hurt profits.

Read the full story at Seafood News