Saving Seafood

ASMFC 2016 Winter Meeting Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

December 9, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Winter Meeting, February 2-4, 2016 in Alexandria, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-winter-meeting. Materials will be available on January 21, 2016 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-winter-meeting.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

9:00 a.m. – Noon                    American Lobster Management Board

  • Technical Committee Report on the Southern New England (SNE) American Lobster Stock
  • Discuss Future Management of SNE American Lobster Stock
  • Consider Approval of Draft Addendum I to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Public Comment
  • Review and Discuss Catch and Landings Records from Jonah Crab-only Trap Fishermen and Jonah Crab Claw Fishermen
  • Discuss Action to Establish Effort Controls for Jonah Crab-only Trap Fishermen and Create a Standard for Claw Landings
  • Review Implementation Plans for the Jonah Crab FMP
  • Update on State/Federal American Lobster Observer Programs
  • Elect Vice Chair

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.                    Atlantic Herring Section

  • Consider Final Approval of Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Herring FMP Action

 

2:45 – 4:15 p.m.                 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board

  • Review 2016 Black Sea Bass Commercial Quotas
  • Consider Final Approval of Addendum XXVII
  • Update on Black Sea Bass and Summer Flounder Amendment Process
  • Elect Vice Chair

2:45 – 4:15 p.m.                Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) Executive Committee

  • Program Updates
  • Independent Program Review Update
    • Review/Approve Initial Program Standard Operating Procedures
  • Governance Recommendation

4:30 – 6:00 p.m.                 ACCSP Coordinating Council

  • Program Updates
  • Independent Program Review Update
  • Governance Recommendation

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

 

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.              Executive Committee

  • Overview of Commission Guidance Documents and Consider Recommendations to the ISFMP Policy Board for changes to the Guidance Documents
  • ACCSP Governance
  • Upcoming Annual Meetings

10:15 – 11:00 a.m.            Atlantic Menhaden Management Board

  • Update on Draft Amendment 3 Development
  • Discuss Timeline for Setting the 2017 Fishery Specifications

11:15 – 11:45 a.m.            Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board 

  • Update on Progress of 2017 Benchmark Stock Assessment

·         Consider 2016 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports for the 2013 and 2014 Fisheries

 

Noon – 12:30 p.m.           Spiny Dogfish Management Board

  • Review and Set 2016-2018 Fishery Specifications
  • Elect Vice Chair

 

1:30 – 2:15 p.m.                Coastal Sharks Management Board 

  • Discuss Differences in State and Federal Smoothhound Catch Composition Regulations for Processing at Sea

 

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.                Horseshoe Crab Management Board

  • Review Scope of Work for Revisiting the Adaptive Resource Management Framework Model in 2016
  • Discuss Benchmark Stock Assessment Schedule for Horseshoe Crab with Update on Biomedical Landings and Confidentiality
  • Review Alternative Bait Trial Results

3:45 – 4:30 p.m.                South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board                     

  • Update on the Progress of the Red Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment and Desk Review
  • Discuss Recommendation to the ISFMP Policy Board Regarding Spotted Sea Trout Management
  • Consider 2015 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports for Spot
  • Elect Vice Chair

4:45 – 5:45 p.m.                Tautog Management Board

  • Update on Draft Amendment 1 Development
  • Update on Progress of UConn Long Island Sound and New York/New Jersey Stock Assessments
  • Review Commercial Harvest Tagging Program Objectives

  

Thursday, February 4, 2016

8:00 – 9:00 a.m.                 Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board

  • Consider Tabled Motion from November 2015 Meeting Regarding Reconsideration of Addendum IV Management Options Based on the 2016 Stock Assessment Update Results
  • Update on 2016 Cooperative Winter Tagging Cruise
  • Elect Vice Chair 

9:15 – 10:15 a.m.              Winter Flounder Management Board

  • Review and Set 2016-2018 Fishery Specifications
  • Review and Discuss Technical Committee Report, Including an Analysis of Biomass Trends During Heightened Federal Restrictions (2009-2013)

 

10:30 – 11:30 a.m.            American Eel Management Board

  • Review and Consider North Carolina’s Aquaculture Plan

 

11:45 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board

                                            (includes a 30-minute working lunch) 

  • Consider Changes to Commission Guidance Documents
  • Review Results of the 2016 Commissioner Survey
  • Review and Consider the Stock Assessment Schedule

 

2:45 – 3:15 p.m.                Business Session

  • Consider Final Approval of Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Herring FMP
  • Consider Amending the Commission’s Rules and Regulations

 

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 use a speaker sign-up list in deciding 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).  

1.    Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included in the briefing materials.

2.    Comments received by 5:00 PM on the Tuesday immediately preceding the scheduled ASMFC Meeting (in this case, the Tuesday deadline will be January 26, 2016) will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.

3.    Following the Tuesday, January 26, 2016 5:00 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies). 

The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.  As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail, fax, and email.

Read a PDF of the ASMFC Agenda here

River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop

The Workshop, which is being supported with funding by NOAA Fisheries, will begin at 1 PM on November 18th and end at 3 PM on the 20th, and will be held at the Sheraton BWI, 1100 Old Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090. The Workshop is open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room.  Opportunities for public comment will be provided.

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

 

Canadian herring gillnet fishery first in the world to achieve MSC certification

November, 5, 2015 — Toronto, Canada — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council: 

The Gulf Nova Scotia Herring Federation and its member associations have achieved the globally-recognized Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for sustainable fishing. Fall herring from the fishery in Canada`s southern Gulf of St. Lawrence can now be sold with the blue MSC ecolabel indicating it comes from a sustainable, well-managed source. This is the first ever gillnet herring fishery to achieve MSC certification.

”We are delighted to see this important fishery independently assessed and certified as being well managed and environmentally sustainable,” said Federation Chairman and herring fisher Greg Egilsson. “To be the first herring fishery in the world with this gear type to achieve MSC certification is a huge accomplishment and endorsement of the conservation measures championed by the Federation over many years. The broad recognition of the MSC Standard in the seafood supply chain and among consumers in other markets will allow Canadian processors to make further inroads into new markets where herring products are highly sought after. We are also grateful to the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture for its important support of the assessment.”

”Nova Scotia has a proud history of supplying high quality fish to the world, ” said Nova Scotia’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Keith Colwell. ”Now, with the independent certification of the Marine Stewardship Council, we can enhance our global image with environmentally-conscious consumers and the marketability of our herring.”

While most Fall herring harvesters also engage in other seasonal fisheries like lobster and snow crab, herring plays a vital role in supporting close to 2,000 jobs in as many as 35 processing plants in the southern Gulf region.

Fall herring is one component of a coastal, multi-species fishery that opens for only a very limited period in September and October. In 2015, the 400 eligible fish harvesters landed 5,630 mt of herring worth almost $2.6 million.  It occurs in Herring Fishing Area 16 F situated within the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence specifically in waters off the eastern portion of the Northumberland Strait between the northern shore of Nova Scotia and southeastern shore of Prince Edward Island.

“The MSC is thrilled to welcome Canadian Fall herring into our program,” said Jay Lugar, Program Director for MSC in Canada. “The Gulf of St. Lawrence is home to a rich diversity of species of which many are commercially harvested and a large portion of volume is MSC certified. We are proud to see Fall herring join the ranks of fisheries that are working hard to protect our marine ecosystems and using the MSC certification to signal their accomplishments to the world.”

A staple in European and Asian diets for centuries, herring is a highly versatile  mild-tasting oily fish and can be found in many forms including fresh, frozen, cured, canned, smoked, herring roe, and oil. In Canada, herring roe is an important product and is mostly sold in Japan. Much of the Fall herring is also sold to processors for the smoked herring market in North America and the Caribbean.

Supplemental Materials Now Available for the ASMFC’s 74th Annual Meeting

October 27, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 74th Annual Meeting have been posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting for the following Boards/Sections (click on “Supplemental Material” following each relevant committee header to access information). 

American Lobster Management Board – Report for the Southern New England (SNE) Subcommittee’s October 2nd Meeting; Update on SNE Stock Projections Presented at the Subcommittee Meeting; Relationship Between Fishing Effort and Fishery Exploitation; Incidental Bycatch of Jonah Crab by Non-trap Gear; and Revised Advisory Panel Nominations

Atlantic Herring Section – Issues and Options Under Development and Consideration for Inclusion in Draft Amendment 3; Technical Report on Gonadal-Somatic Index-based Monitoring System for Atlantic Herring Closures; and Advisory Panel Meeting Summary

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Delaware Bay Summer Flounder White Paper; Black Sea Bass Commercial Quotas; and 2015 FMP Reviews for Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass

Executive Committee – Executive Committee Recommended Changes to Commission Documents and Additional Issues for Consideration on Commission Guidance Documents

American Eel Management Board – Public Comment

Winter Flounder Management Board – Northeast Fisheries Science Center Stock Assessment Update on 20 Northeast Groundfish Stocks Through 2014 (This report has been modified to include information on winter flounder stocks only).

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Ecological Reference Point Recommendations for Draft Amendment 3 Development; Socioeconomic Study of Menhaden Fisheries – Request for Proposals Update; and Public Comment

Law Enforcement Committee – Revised Agenda

Tautog Management Board – Summary of Submitted Public Comment; Individual/Organization Comments; and Law Enforcement Subcommittee Review on Illegal Tautog Harvest

Spiny Dogfish Management Board – Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Spiny Dogfish Motions and Selected Alternatives

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – 2015 FMP Review 

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – 2015 FMP Reviews for Spotted Seatrout and Spanish Mackerel

As a reminder, Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 8:00 a.m. on November 2nd, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:45 p.m.) on November 5th.  The webinar will allow registrants to listen to the proceedings of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s management boards/sections during the Commission’s 74th Annual Meeting, November 2-5, 2015. Registrants will also be able to view presentations and motions as they occur. For a detailed agenda and meeting materials, go to http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise during the streaming of the broadcast, the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. Board/Section summaries, presentations, and audio files will be available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting the week of November 9th.

View a PDF of the Supplemental meeting materials here

The next food revolution: fish farming?

October 25, 2015 — Sanggou Bay looks like a place where the pointillism movement has been unleashed on an ocean canvas. All across the harbor on China’s northeastern coast, thousands of tiny buoys – appearing as black dots – stretch across the briny landscape in unending rows and swirling patterns. They are broken only by small boats hauling an armada of rafts through the murky waters.

For centuries, Chinese fishermen have harvested this section of the Yellow Sea for its flounder, herring, and other species. Today the area is again producing a seafood bounty, though not from the end of a fisherman’s rod or the bottom of a trawler’s net. Instead, the maze of buoys marks thousands of underwater pens or polyurethane ropes that hold oysters, scallops, abalone, Japanese flounder, mussels, sea cucumbers, kelp, and garish orange sea squirts. They are all part of one of the world’s biggest and most productive aquaculture fields. Sanggou Bay is a seafood buffet on a colossal scale.

The buoys here extend for miles out to the horizon, offering, on an aluminum-gray day, the only clue to where the ocean stops and the sky begins. Hundreds of migrant workers – many from as far away as Myanmar (Burma) – pilot the fishing boats zigzagging around the floats, shuttling fish to shore, checking the lines for mussels and oysters, and voyaging farther out to sea to harvest seaweed.

Read the full story at The Christian Science Monitor

 

 

River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop Scheduled for November 18-20, 2015 in Linthicum, MD

ARLINGTON, VA – October 15, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will conduct a River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop on November 18-20, 2015 in Linthicum, MD. The Workshop will bring together researchers from state and federal marine fishery agencies, Tribal Nations, and Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans to evaluate current fishery-independent surveys for river herring and develop recommendations to standardize survey methodologies as well as data collected by these surveys for use in future stock assessments. Workshop participants will also consider some fishery-dependent sampling that collect river herring along the Atlantic coast.

Standardization of river herring data collection methods and datasets was identified as a priority for future stock assessments by the 2012 river herring benchmark stock assessment and peer review, the Commission’s River Herring Technical Committee, and NOAA Fisheries’ River Herring Technical Expert Working Group.  The Workshop, which is being supported with funding by NOAA Fisheries, will begin at 1 PM on November 18th and end at 3 PM on the 20th, and will be held at the Sheraton BWI, 1100 Old Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090. The Workshop is open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room.  Opportunities for public comment will be provided.

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

 

SHAUN GEHAN: No ‘localized depletion’ of Atlantic herring

October 6, 2015 – This week, the Sustainable Fisheries Coalition – a trade group representing herring fishermen and processors – submitted comments in response to the New England Fisheries Management Council’s supplemental scoping process on the issue of “localized depletion in near shore waters.”  “Localized depletion” is a theory that intensive localized harvest, in this case of Atlantic herring, can cause adverse impacts on various other marine species.

No such impacts or impacted species were identified by the New England Council, yet it has made a goal of Amendment 8 to Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan to “address” localized depletion.  SFC stated that “it puts the cart before the horse” to develop management measures to address a problem that likely does not exist.  The group also called for basing any actions taken in the amendment on scientific evidence, noting that none of the scientists advising the Council had identified any such problems.

As SFC noted in its letter, the real issue involves conflicts between various users of inshore waters, particularly around Cape Cod and the islands—a view shared by several Council members when this goal was debated at its June meeting.  In its letter, SFC urged the Council to address any spatial conflicts among various users groups – including herring vessels, recreational anglers, whale watching companies, environmentalists, and other fishermen – directly in a separate action.

In response to public pressure, the New England Council had long made defining and measuring localized depletion a research priority.  Previously it approved a project to define and measure localized depletion, funded through the herring research set-aside program.  Working with industry vessels, Gulf of Maine Research Institute researchers undertook a project to define and assess whether or not localized depletion was occurring.  Funding constraints allowed only for development of a technique to assess the issue.  To date, however, no follow-up research has been funded.

Amendment 8 is designed to develop management reference points to address herring’s role in the ecosystem and will take several years to complete.  The Atlantic herring resource is in strong shape, with populations more than twice long-term targets.

Read the letter from the Sustainable Fisheries Coalition submitted to the NEFMC

 

Atlantic Herring Area 1A’s Trimester 3 Landing Days

ARLINGTON, Va. — September 29, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, with input from industry, set a “days out” effort control measure to allow three (3) consecutive landing days per week in Area 1A during Trimester 3 (October 1 through December 31). Effective 12:01 AM, Monday, October 5, the Trimester 3 Atlantic herring fishery will move from zero landing days to three landings days. Vessels may fish and land Atlantic herring from 12:01 AM each Monday through midnight on Wednesday throughout Trimester 3. Thursday through Sunday are “no landing” days. Please note a state may implement different start and finish times for the three consecutive landing days.

Landings will be monitored closely and the directed fishery will be closed when 92% of the Area 1A quota is projected to be reached.  For the Trimester 3 Area 1A fishery that value is 6,971 metric tons (mt).

In addition, the spawning area in Massachusetts-New Hampshire is closed until October 18. Vessels participating in other fisheries may possess no more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip in a spawning closure area.

Please contact Ashton Harp at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740 for more information.

 

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for 9/7/15

September 9, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

NCFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MONDAY SEPT. 14

The NC Fisheries Association Board of Directors will meet Monday, Sept. 14 at the Washington Civic Center located at 110 Gladden St., Washington, N.C.  Meetings are open to all members.

ASMFC 74TH ANNUAL MEETING PRELIMINARY AGENDA

MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION SEA TURTLE COMMITTEE TO MEET

The Sea Turtle Advisory Committee to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington.  The committee is scheduled to review information from the division’s At-Sea Observer Program, including the number of large-mesh gill net fishing days in each management unit, and to give feedback on potential amendments to the state’s Sea Turtle and Atlantic Sturgeon incidental take permits.

For more information contact Chris Batsavage, Protected Resources Section chief, at 252-808-8009 or Chris.Batsavage@ncdenr.gov.

NMFS CUTS VERMILION SNAPPER COMMERCIAL DAILY TRIP LIMIT 

The daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of vermilion snapper in the South Atlantic is reduced from 1,000 pounds gutted weight to 500 pounds gutted weight, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time) Sept. 10, 2015. NOAA Fisheries has determined 75 percent of the July-December quota of 438,260 pounds whole weight will be landed by Sept. 10, 2015.  For more information see the news release.

PUBLIC INFORMATION DOCUMENT FOR AMENDMENT 1 TO THE INTERSTATE FMP FOR TAUTOG

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

-South Atlantic Vermilion Snapper Commercial Trip Limits Change Effective Sept. 10

-South Atlantic Gag and Wreckfish Catch Limits Change Effective Sept. 11

-Atlantic Mackerel Slippage Consequences Measures Effective Sept. 11

-USCG Mandatory Dockside Inspections Required Effective Oct. 15

DEADLINES:

Sept. 10 – NMFS Updated Draft Acoustic Guidelines Comments

Sept. 14 – NMFS Generic Amendment to Snapper-Grouper, Golden Crab and Dolphin-Wahoo FMPs Comments

Sept. 17 – 2016 Commercial Atlantic Shark Season Comments

Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. – 2016-2018 Atlantic Herring Research Set Aside Applications

Sept. 25 – MAFMC Cooperative Research Proposals

Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. – MFC Kingfish and Interjusdiction FMP Update Comments

Oct. 2 – MFC Proposed Rules Comments

Oct. 2 – MAFMC Unmanaged Forage Species Scoping Comments

MEETINGS:

If you are aware of ANY meetings that should be of interest to commercial fishing that is not on this list, please contact us so we can include it here.

 

Sept. 9-10 – Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel Meeting, Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel, 8777 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD and via webinar

Sept. 14 at 2 p.m. – NCFA Board of Directors Meeting, Washington Civic Center, 110 Gladden St., Washington

Sept. 14 at 6 p.m – Oyster and Hard Clam Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committee Meeting, DENR Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. – MAFMC Scoping Hearing for Unmanaged Forage Species,

DENR Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. – MFC Sea Turtle Advisory Committee Meeting, DENR Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington

PROCLAMATIONS: 

SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX – COMMERCIAL PURPOSES (GRAY TRIGGERFISH, VERMILION SNAPPER)

View a PDF of the release here

 

How Giant Oarfish Work

September 1, 2015 — Ah, Regalecus glesne — king of the herrings! Mistaken for sea monsters by centuries of sailors. Feared in legend and myth. What regal creature would have such a majestic history? R. glesne is what we call the giant oarfish, and it mostly resembles a colossal snake with a startlingly ugly mug. Stately this king is not.

To be fair, we haven’t seen giant oarfish in their prime in the past few years. In October 2013 alone, two specimens washed up separately on the California coast, dead and bloated. They made the news in part because of their enormous size: Giant oarfish have been known to grow up to 36 feet (11 meters) and weigh 600 pounds (272 kilograms) [source:Bester] Unconfirmed reports have claimed a length of 56 feet (17 meters) [source:Howard]. The ones that washed up were mere trifles at 14 and 18 feet (4 and 5 meters), but with their bulging eyes and the red rays sprouting off their dorsal fin, you can see how “monster” might spring to mind. (And why Palauans refer to it as a “rooster fish.”)

There are a few things to know about oarfish in general before we dive in to the nitty-gritty of our giant friend. One is that there are actually two different genuses of oarfish: Regalecus and Agrostichthys.Agrostichthys grows much smaller than Regalecus, and even the smaller Russelli species of Regalecus are reported to grow about 16 feet (5 meters) [source: Yamamoto]. But we’re sticking mainly to our giant friends, since they’re the most likely to haunt your dreams.

Read the full story at How Stuff Works