Draft Addendum II Archives

ASMFC 84th Annual Meeting Details, Final Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

October 28, 2026 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find below the meeting details and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 84^th Annual Meeting, which will be held November 9-12, 2026, at Hotel Viking, One Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island. This will be a hybrid meeting to allow for remote participation by Commissioners and interested stakeholders in all meetings. The room block is now closed; if you need assistance reserving a room, please contact Lisa Carty at lcarty@asmfc.org. Please also notify Lisa Carty of any changes to your travel plans that will impact your hotel reservations, otherwise you will incur no-show penalties. We greatly appreciate your cooperation.

The final agenda and meeting materials are now available at https://asmfc.org/events/2026-annual-meeting/; click on the relevant Board/Committee name to access the documents for that Board/Committee. Supplemental materials will be posted to the website on Wednesday, November 4. For ease of use, the majority of Board materials, with the exception of materials for the Atlantic Menhaden and Sciaenids Boards, have been combined into 1 document: Main Meeting Materials. The combined documents do not include materials for ACFHP Steering Committee, Law Enforcement Committee, and the Habitat Committee.

Additionally, the materials for the Atlantic Menhaden Board have been divided into 3 parts. Part 1 includes the agenda; draft proceedings; materials for specification setting and relevant public comment; and materials for commercial quota reallocation. Part 2 includes the Draft Addendum II; Public Comment & Hearing Summaries; and submitted comment from Government Bodies, Organizations and Form Letters. Part 1 & 2 are available now. Part 3 includes all submitted individual comments and will be posted tomorrow.

Supplemental materials will be posted to the website on Wednesday, November 4.

Be advised the agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein. At these meetings, action may be taken on any agenda item, including, but not limited to, reports from staff, technical committees, stock assessment committees, peer reviews, Law Enforcement Committee, advisory panels, plan review teams, and plan development teams.

Webinar Information

The Law Enforcement Committee, Habitat Committee and Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership Steering Committee have unique webinar links that are available as part of the individual committee materials.

Meeting proceedings for all other boards/committees will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, November 9 at 9:30 AM and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:15 PM) on Thursday, November 12. To register for the webinar, please go to:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4458443143765348954 (Webinar ID: 199-853-067)

If you are joining the webinar but will not be using voice over internet protocol (VoIP), you may also call in at +1 (213) 929-4212, access code 157-264-158. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, press the # key when asked for a PIN.

Each day, the webinar will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter. If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.

Meeting Process

Board chairs will ask both in-person and virtual board members if they wish to speak. In-person members can simply raise their hands at the meeting without logging on to the webinar, while virtual members will raise their hands on the webinar. The chair will work with staff to compile the list of speakers, balancing the flow of questions/comments between in-person and virtual attendees. The same process will be used for public comment. 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.

Getting to Newport
The Hotel Viking is accessible by automobile or airplane. T.F. Green International Airport in Providence and Boston Logan International Airport are the closest major airports. The closest Amtrak Station is located in Kingston, roughly 30-40 minutes from Hotel Viking located at 1 Railroad Avenue in West Kingston.

Fishing Tournament
Plans are well underway for the 33rd Annual Laura Leach Fishing Tournament. Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate. You will receive a T-shirt with your $20 entry fee; and 100% of the tournament proceeds will be donated to the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) Youth Fish Camp. The tournament runs from Sunday (11/8) through noon on Wednesday (11/11); the raffle drawing and tournament prizes will be awarded Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

Public Comment Guidelines

To provide 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 opportunities 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 that 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 comments 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, if any, to allow in these circumstances.

In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comments for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action).

Comments received three weeks prior to the start of a meeting week (October 19) will be included in the briefing materials.
Comments received by 5 PM on Tuesday, November 3 will be included in supplemental materials.
Comments received by 10 AM on Friday, November 6 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.

1,267 workers, community members push back on menhaden cuts

October 26, 2026 — The pushback against additional restrictions on Chesapeake Bay’s menhaden fishery is growing ahead of a key November vote, with more than 1,200 industry employees and community members urging fisheries managers to reject further cuts.

A total of 1,267 people submitted letters during the public comment period asking the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board to reject further reductions to the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap and mandatory seasonal allocations. The comments come as new juvenile menhaden survey data and concerns about the economic consequences of additional restrictions add to an already contentious management fight.

The signers included 386 industry employees and 881 community members. Three letters representing menhaden workers, residents of Virginia’s Northern Neck and people outside the region opposed options in Draft Addendum II that could cut the Bay Cap by as much as 50%, link it to the annual coastwide total allowable catch or divide the cap into seasonal quota periods.

The Atlantic Menhaden Management Board is expected to consider final action on Draft Addendum II during the ASMFC Annual Meeting in November.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

1,267 Workers and Community Members Urge Menhaden Board to Reject New Chesapeake Bay Restrictions

October 21, 2026 — The following was released by Ocean Harvesters:

A total of 1,267 menhaden industry employees and community members submitted letters during the public comment period asking the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board to reject further cuts to the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap and mandatory seasonal allocations.

The signers included 386 industry employees and 881 community members. They signed three letters representing menhaden workers, residents of Virginia’s Northern Neck, and people outside the region who recognize the fishery’s broader economic importance.

The three letters described a fishery whose economic reach extends well beyond the vessels and processing plant. The fishery supports workers and local businesses, contributes to the coastwide bait sector and supplies products used by other industries.

All three letters opposed the options in Draft Addendum II that would cut the Bay Cap by as much as 50%, tie it to the annual coastwide total allowable catch or divide it into seasonal quota periods.

The letters made six central points:

1. The proposal has not demonstrated the need for new restrictions

Draft Addendum II does not establish a demonstrated Bay-specific biological problem, show that the existing Bay Cap has failed, connect the reduction fishery to a Bay-specific biological problem or demonstrate that the proposed restrictions would produce a biological benefit. The addendum’s own statement of the problem acknowledges that there are not enough scientific data to fully describe menhaden abundance and distribution throughout the Bay or determine the influence of fishing pressure.

2. The Bay Cap was precautionary, not a scientifically calculated biological limit

The Bay Cap began in 2006 while managers pursued research into possible localized depletion. It was later reduced from 109,020 metric tons to 87,216 metric tons in Amendment 2 and then to 51,000 metric tons in Amendment 3. Amendment 2 states that the cap was not based on a scientifically quantified harvest threshold, fishery health index or population-level study.

3. The funded Bay-specific research should be completed first

Virginia has committed $2 million over two years for research needed to inform a scientifically defensible and ecologically meaningful Chesapeake Bay harvest cap. The federal government has committed another $2.5 million, while industry-supported projects are developing a research roadmap and testing tagging technology. The letters urged the Board to allow that work to produce the needed evidence before imposing another major restriction.

4. The evidence does not establish that the reduction fishery caused the reported problems

The 2026 Chesapeake Bay osprey study reported reproductive deficits and signs of food stress in higher-salinity areas, but it does not establish that commercial menhaden harvest caused the reduced prey availability or reproductive problems. The study states that there is no fishery-independent monitoring of adult menhaden in the Bay and that the data needed to evaluate the relationship between harvest and adult menhaden abundance are not available.

The ASMFC’s Maryland pound-net analysis likewise showed different catch-rate patterns in 2023 and 2024 and identified limits on what can be inferred from those data. Those results do not establish that the reduction fishery caused the changes.

5. Seasonal allocations could disrupt fishing, processing and jobs

Employees warned that seasonal allocations could leave vessels and the processing plant idle during productive summer weeks and push more work into less dependable fall conditions. The addendum’s economic analysisacknowledges potential harm if seasonal restrictions limit periods of high catch efficiency or interrupt steady processing.

Employees also explained why access to the Bay matters. Rough offshore weather can prevent crews from seeing the schools they locate by sight or catching enough fish to keep the plant operating. Fishing in the Bay is safer, uses less diesel and gets crews home sooner.

The ASMFC’s Committee on Economics and Social Sciences has also warned that the industry must maintain a minimum operating volume and that falling below it could potentially result in a complete facility shutdown. That would affect fishermen, processing and manufacturing employees, union families, suppliers, local businesses and the surrounding Northern Neck community. UFCW Local 400 describes a heavily unionized, multigenerational workforce that includes one of Northumberland County’s largest minority workforces.

6. The economic consequences would extend beyond the Northern Nec

The letters from outside the region emphasized that the industry supports businesses, workers and customers across Virginia and in other states. The fishery supplies bait used by commercial and recreational fishermen, while the reduction fishery produces fish meal, fish oil and fish solubles. NOAA Fisheriessays these products are used in aquaculture and that refined menhaden oil is used in nutritional supplements for people.

Together, the 1,267 signers asked the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board to reject further Bay Cap cuts and mandatory seasonal allocations. They urged the Board to complete the funded research, establish the problem and show that a proposed restriction will improve the outcome before putting additional jobs and communities at risk.

The Board is expected to consider final action on Draft Addendum II at the ASMFC Annual Meeting in November 2026

About Ocean Harvesters

Ocean Harvesters owns and operates a fleet of more than 30 fishing vessels in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of America. The company’s purse-seine fishing operation is exclusively engaged in the harvest of menhaden, a small, nutrient-dense fish used to produce fish meal, fish oil, and fish solubles. Both its Atlantic and Gulf Menhaden fisheries are certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. Committed to responsible fishing operations, Ocean Harvesters is proud to be heir to a fishing legacy that extends nearly 150 years.

ASMFC advances Atlantic menhaden proposal

August 6, 2026 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has voted to advance Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 of the Atlantic Menhaden Fishery Management Plan for public comment, reviving a proposal that had been delayed earlier this year as commissioners sought additional work on the document.

The Aug. 5 vote by the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board marks the next step in a management debate that has divided industry representatives, conservation organizations and fisheries managers over whether additional restrictions are needed in the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery.

The company cited comments made during the meeting by Virginia ASMFC Commissioner Adele McClure, who questioned whether the public comment process should move forward before additional research is completed.

“Without that complete picture, without the proper Bay-specific data, I feel like we are putting the cart before the horse instead of availing ourselves to the upcoming studies and data that could finally guide us,” McClure said during the meeting, according to Ocean Harvesters’ summary of the discussion.

McClure also pointed to ongoing research efforts that she said could provide managers with more complete scientific information before making future management decisions.

“We finally got that funded in Virginia at $4.5 million. We have three studies, and this could guide us in the context of good science, which is good for both the public, for union workers, and the fisheries,” she said

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Board Approves Draft Addendum II for Public Comment Draft Addendum Considers Changes to Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap

August 6, 2026 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board approved Draft Addendum II to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for public comment. The Draft Addendum considers options to reduce the Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap (Bay Cap) by up to 50% and distribute the cap more evenly throughout the fishing season. The options aim to alleviate a concentration of effort that may be affecting other fisheries within the Bay and other potential ecological impacts.

The Draft Addendum was initiated in response to concerns regarding declining pound net harvest and catch per unit effort in the Bay in recent years, coinciding with an increase in the concentration of reduction harvest in the summer months, and the possible downstream effects on menhaden predators.

The Draft Addendum also includes options that link the Bay Cap to the coastwide total allowable catch to maintain a more fixed proportion between the two, as well as options to distribute the Bay Cap into three quota periods to prevent a concentration of reduction harvest in the spring and summer of the fishing season.

A press release will follow with details on the availability of the document for public comment, the public hearing schedule, and how to submit written comments. This information will also be available on the Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II Action Tracker webpage. A public comment form will also be available as another option to submit input on the Draft Addendum’s specific options.

The Board will meet to review submitted comments and consider final action on the addendum in November 2026 at the Commission’s Annual Meeting in Newport, Rhode Island. For more information, please contact James Boyle, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at jboyle@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.