July 30, 2019 — One of the US state of North Carolina’s most valuable stocks has been deemed “overfished” and harvesters will likely face steep cuts to catch limits, Carolina Coast Online reported.
According to the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries, the most recent stock assessment for southern flounder shows that it is both “overfished” and undergoing “overfishing”, key designations that will trigger cuts.
July 2, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
For the summer flounder recreational fishery, we are continuing “conservation equivalency.” This means we waive the federal recreational bag limit, minimum fish size, and fishing season, and vessel owners are subject to regulations in the state where they land.
Please contact your state for information on summer flounder regulations that apply to you.
Note that black sea bass and scup recreational measures for 2019 are unchanged from 2018.
Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register today, and the permit holder bulletin available on our website.
June 27, 2019 — A 2019 stock assessment indicated summer flounder are in good shape — neither overfished nor subject to overfishing. Following the assessment, the commercial quota was increased to 10.98 million pounds for the season.
This is a relief for fleets and industry who recall when the stock had dipped to record lows in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then, things have started to look up. Now, regulators allocate 60 percent of the annual catch limit to the commercial fishery (divided among states) and 40 percent to the recreational fishery.
This year is unusual, says Kiley Dancy of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, “because summer flounder catch limits were just modified midseason.”
States will continue to receive allocations based on their historic landings, any beyond 9.55 million pounds will be divided equally among Mid-Atlantic and southern New England states. Another potential future regulatory change is revisiting the commercial/recreational allocation, but no specific plans have been made yet.
How the newly revised catch limits affect fleets and the industry is yet to be determined. With the commercial quota increasing from interim 2019 levels by 49 percent (before accounting for overage deductions) there could be an industrywide boost.
“It’s really too early in the year yet to see how the increase in fluke quota has affected the market, we’ll know better as we head into the fall and early winter,” says Mike Roderick, from The Town Dock, a large wholesaler in Narragansett, R.I. “The price of fluke is a bit soft right now because all the states are open at the same time, and as a result, causes the prices to dip with a flood of fish to the market. Hopefully, the states can work together to prevent this from happening next year.”
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
April 30, 2019 — If southern flounder live in warmer water during a critical window of early development, a higher percentage become male – more than 90 percent in some cases – research from North Carolina State University found. Having a high proportion of adult males over the long term could threaten both wild populations and the valuable commercial fishing industry, which depends on larger female flounder.
Field research and lab experiments showed that a four-degree Celsius difference in average water temperature during juvenile development shifted the male-female ratio from about 50-50 to as much as 94-6, says Jamie Honeycutt, an NC State postdoctoral researcher and lead author of an article about the research in Scientific Reports. That difference is within the range of expected ocean temperature increases under climate change models.
Environmental factors such as water temperature influence sex determination in southern flounder, as well as in other fish and reptiles, Honeycutt explains. Flounder stick to shallow waters that serve as nurseries until after they become male or a female, hanging around estuaries until reaching maturity before returning to the ocean to spawn at about age 2.
“We think that southern flounder have a genetic sex-determining system similar to humans, who have two X chromosomes for a female and an X and a Y for a male. In flounder, if an individual is a genetic male, it is destined to be male,” Honeycutt says. “However, if a genetic female is exposed to temperature extremes, then it can develop as a functioning male.”
April 25, 2019 — Federal fishing managers are looking to change some of the rules governing important species of food fish this year, and they’re seeking feedback from the industry and the public.
The fishing year in the Northeast begins on May 1, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is considering changes to catch limits for seven species of fish. They include species of cod, haddock and flounder that are important commercial species.
NOAA is taking comments about the changes until May 6. The proposal would increase quotas for some species of cod, haddock and flounder, but decrease quotas for halibut and some other species of flounder.
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/
December 18, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Please find attached and below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2019 Winter Meeting, February 5-7, 2019, in Arlington, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-winter-meeting. Materials will be available on January 23, 2019 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-winter-meeting.
A block of rooms is being held at The Westin Crystal City, 1800 S. Eads Street, Arlington, VA 22202. Meeting attendees can make reservations online via Star Group Website at http://www.starwoodhotels.com/ or call The Westin Crystal City at 703.486.1111 as soon as possible and mention the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to obtain the group room rate of $181.00 plus tax single/dbl. Please be aware you must guarantee your room reservation with a major credit card or one night’s advance payment. Hotel reservations must be made by Monday, January 7, 2019. Room availability will not be guaranteed beyond this date. If you are being reimbursed by ASMFC for your travel, please make your reservation directly with the hotel. Reservations made through travel websites do not apply toward our minimum number of required reservations with the hotel. Please note, cancellations at The Westin must be made by 4:00 p.m. two days prior to arrival to avoid penalty and an early departure fee of $100.00 will apply when checking out prior to the confirmed date. If you have any problems at all regarding accommodations please contact Cindy at 703.842.0740 or at crobertson@asmfc.org.
December 7, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council has approved Framework Adjustment 58 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The framework will be submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) for review and implementation. The target implementation date is May 1, which is the start of the 2019 groundfish fishing year. In short, the framework includes the following components:
November 19, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The October/November 2018 issue of Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5bef3628FishFocusOctNov2018.pdf. Wishing you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Upcoming Meetings
page 2
Report from the Chair
Reflections on Our Past and Future
page 3
Species Profile
Atlantic Herring
page 4
Fishery Management Actions
Coastal Sharks
Horseshoe Crab
Northern Shrimp
Spiny Dogfish
page 6
Proposed Management Actions
Summer Flounder
Scup
Black Sea Bass
page 8
Science Highlight
Living Shorelines
page 9
ACCSP
What Do You Do?
page 10
On the Legislative Front
page 11
Past issues of Fisheries Focus can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/search/%20/%20/Fishery-Focus