February 16, 2021 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The first two public hearing webinars for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment will be held this week, on Wednesday, February 17 and Thursday, February 18. Additional hearings will be held on February 24, March 1, and March 2. All hearings will begin at 6:00 p.m. Written comments may also be submitted through March 16, 2021.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) are developing this joint amendment to consider adjusting the allocations of catch or landings between the commercial and recreational fisheries for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. The amendment also considers options that would allow a portion of the allowable landings to be transferred between the commercial and recreational sectors each year.

Learn More

Complete details about the management alternatives being considered in this amendment are available in the Public Hearing Document. We have also developed a new Alternatives Quick Reference Guide which provides an overview of the alternatives under consideration in the amendment. This guide should be used in conjunction with the Public Hearing Document and is intended to help members of the public provide comments on specific alternatives.

Finally, we have posted a recording of the Public Hearing Presentation. If you are not planning to attend a public hearing, we encourage you to watch this video before submitting written comments.

Additional background information and related documents are available on the action page for this amendment.

Public Hearing Schedule

You are encouraged to attend any of the following five virtual public hearings and to provide oral or written comments at these hearings. While we encourage you to attend the hearing that is targeted toward your state, anyone is welcome to participate in any hearing.

1. Wednesday, February 17, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Massachusetts and Rhode Island
2. Thursday, February 18, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: New Jersey
3. Wednesday, February 24, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Delaware and Maryland
4. Monday, March 1, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Virginia and North Carolina
5. Tuesday, March 2, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Connecticut and New York

To register for a public hearing please click here: Public Hearing Registration and select the hearing(s) you plan to attend from the dropdown menu. Hearings will be held via GoToWebinar, which can be accessed using a computer, tablet, or smartphone. When connecting to audio, we strongly encourage participants to use computer voice over internet (VoIP) so you can ask questions and provide input. To attend the webinar in listen only mode, dial 1-877-309-2074 and enter access code 128-060-916. Those joining by phone only will be limited to listening to the presentation and will not be able to provide input. For technical assistance setting up and logging into GoToWebinar, contact Savannah Lewis at 703-842-0715.

If you are connected only by phone in listen only mode, you will not show up as a webinar attendee. In the event that there are no webinar attendees, the public hearing will be cancelled unless state staff request that the hearing content is presented.

Written Comments

Written comments may be submitted through March 16, 2021 by any of the following methods:

1. ONLINE at http://www.mafmc.org/comments/sfsbsb-allocation-amendment

2. EMAIL to kdancy@mafmc.org

3. MAIL or FAX to Dr. Christopher Moore, Executive Director

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council

800 North State Street, Suite 201

Dover, DE 19901

FAX: 302.674.5399

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

Tips for Providing Public Comment

We value your input. To be most effective, we request that your comment include specific details as to why you support or oppose a particular alternative. Specifically, please address the following:

• Which proposed alternative(s) do you support, and which do you oppose?
• Why do you support or oppose the alternative(s)?
• Is there any additional information you think should be considered?

Contacts

For additional information and updates, please visit: https://www.mafmc.org/actions/sfsbsb-allocation-amendment. If you have any questions, please contact:

• Kiley Dancy, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, kdancy@mafmc.org, 302-526-5257
• Dustin Colson Leaning, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, dleaning@asmfc.org, 703-842-0714

February 4, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) jointly approved several changes to the management program for black sea bass commercial fisheries. These changes include modifying the state allocations of the commercial black sea bass quota, adding the state allocations to the Council’s Fishery Management Plan (FMP), and modifying the regulations for federal in-season closures. The Board adopted the new allocations through Addendum XXXIII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass FMP, while the Council recommended these changes through an amendment to its FMP. These actions address significant changes in the distribution of black sea bass that have occurred since the original allocations were implemented under Amendment 13 in 2003 and also account for the historical dependence of the states on the black sea bass fishery.

Under the approved changes, Connecticut’s baseline allocation will increase from 1% to 3% of the coastwide quota to address its disproportionally low allocation compared to the increased availability of black sea bass in state waters. The state allocations will then be calculated by allocating 75% of the coastwide quota according to the new baseline allocations (historical allocations modified to account for Connecticut’s increase to 3%) and 25% to three regions based on the most recent regional biomass distribution information from the stock assessment (see Table 1). The three regions are: 1) Maine-New York, 2) New Jersey, and 3) Delaware-North Carolina. The regional allocations will be distributed among states within a region in proportion to their baseline allocations, except Maine and New Hampshire will each receive 1% of the northern region quota. Because the allocations are based in part on the regional biomass distribution from the stock assessment, they will be adjusted if a new assessment indicates a change to the biomass distribution. The Board and Council committed to reevaluating the approved state allocation system within 5 years.

The Council and Board agreed to add the state allocations to the Council’s FMP. As a result, future modifications to the allocations will require a joint action of the Board and Council. Additionally, they approved a change to the federal regulations such that the entire black sea bass commercial fishery will close in-season for all federally permitted vessels and dealers once landings are projected to exceed the coastwide quota plus an additional buffer of up to 5%. The buffer aims to minimize negative economic impacts of a coastwide closures on states that have not fully harvested their quotas. The Council and Board considered, but did not adopt, changes to the regulations for paybacks of state quota overages; states will only be required to pay back overages of their state quota if the coastwide quota is exceeded.

Read the full release here

January 19, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) are seeking public comment on the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment. Comments may be submitted at any of five virtual public hearings to be held between February 17 and March 2, 2021 or via written comment until March 16, 2021.

Amendment Overview

The Council and Commission are developing this joint amendment to consider adjusting the allocations of catch or landings between the commercial and recreational fisheries for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. The commercial and recreational allocations for all three species are currently based on historical proportions of landings (for summer flounder and black sea bass) or catch (for scup) from each sector. Recent changes in how recreational catch is estimated have resulted in a discrepancy between the current levels of estimated recreational harvest and the allocations of summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass to the recreational sector. Some changes have also been made to commercial catch data since the allocations were established. This amendment considers whether modifications to the allocations are needed in light of these and other changes in the fisheries. The amendment also considers options that would allow a portion of the allowable landings to be transferred between the commercial and recreational sectors each year, in either direction, based on the needs of each sector.

Read the full release here