Saving Seafood

Reminder: December 2020 MAFMC Meeting Next Week, December 14-17, 2020

December 9, 2020 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will meet by webinar next week, December 14-17, 2020. Portions of the meeting will be conducted jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board, Bluefish Management Board, and ISFMP Policy Board (please note that the agenda has been updated to reflect that the Council will meet jointly with the ISFMP Policy Board on Wednesday from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.).

Briefing documents are now available on the December 2020 Council Meeting Page. Any supplemental documents will be posted by Friday, December 11.

Agenda

A detailed agenda is available here. Topics to be discussed at this meeting include:

  • 2021 Implementation Plan
  • SSC Economic Work Group Report
  • Council Recusal Process
  • Habitat Updates
  • 2021 Recreational Specifications for Scup, Black Sea Bass, Summer Flounder, and Bluefish
  • Recreational Reform Initiative Updates
  • Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment – Public Hearing Document Approval
  • Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment and Draft Addendum XXXIII – Final Action
  • Atlantic Right Whale Update

Public Comments

Written comments may be submitted using the online comment form linked below. Comments submitted before 5:00 p.m. on December 10, 2020 will be posted as supplemental materials on the meeting page. After that date, comments may only be submitted using the form below and will be automatically added to a spreadsheet available from the meeting page.

Webinar Instructions

Join the webinar during the meeting at http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/december2020/. Please note that participants will be required to use the Adobe Connect application. The browser option will not be available. You can download the application for Windows here and for Mac here. We recommend checking your system in advance, as it may take a few minutes to download. More detailed instructions are available on the meeting page. For telephone-only access, dial 800-832-0736 and enter room number 7833942# when prompted.

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

MAFMC Webinar Meeting: December 14-17, 2020

November 19, 2020 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will meet by webinar December 14-17, 2020. Portions of the meeting will be conducted jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and Bluefish Management Board. Briefing documents and presentations will be posted on the December 2020 Council Meeting Page as they become available.

Agenda: A detailed agenda is available here. Topics to be discussed at this meeting include:

  • 2021 Implementation Plan
  • SSC Economic Work Group Report
  • Council Recusal Process
  • Habitat Updates
  • 2021 Recreational Specifications for Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Summer Flounder, and Bluefish
  • Recreational Reform Initiative Updates
  • Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment – Public Hearing Document Approval
  • Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment and Draft Addendum XXXIII – Final Action
  • Atlantic Right Whale Update

Public Comments: Written comments may be submitted using the online comment form linked below or via email, mail, or fax (see this page for details). Written comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 to be included in the briefing book. Comments submitted after this date but before 5:00 p.m. on December 10, 2020 will be posted as supplemental materials. After that date, comments may only be submitted using the form below.

Webinar: Join the webinar during the meeting at http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/december2020/. Please note that participants will be required to use the Adobe Connect application. The browser option will not be available. You can download the application for Windows here and for Mac here. If you do not have the application, you will be prompted to download and install it when you click the webinar link. We recommend checking your system in advance, as it may take a few minutes to download. More detailed instructions are available on the meeting page. For telephone-only access, dial 800-832-0736 and enter room number 7833942# when prompted.

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

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed 2021 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications

November 17, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are proposing the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s recommended 2021 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass specifications. The Council is proposing increases to the previously approved 2021 catch limits based on its new risk policy, which defines the acceptable risk of overfishing. The proposed catch limits still minimize the chance of overfishing, while providing more opportunities for fishermen. No other changes to the federal commercial management measures are proposed.

The final summer flounder commercial state quotas will be published in the final rule, including any necessary adjustments for overages. The state quotas will also depend on the status of the final rule implementing Amendment 21 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. Amendment 21 was approved on October 19, 2020, and we are currently working on a final rule to implement the revised state-by-state allocations. This proposed rule includes initial state quotas based on the current allocation formula, and what they would be when Amendment 21 is implemented.

Read the proposed rule  as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal.

The comment period is open through December 2, 2020.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Approves Electronic Reporting Requirements for Mid-Atlantic and New England Commercial Vessels

November 13, 2020 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries has approved a recommendation from the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils to require federally permitted commercial fishing vessels to submit vessel trip reports electronically as eVTRs within 48 hours of the end of a trip. This requirement will take effect November 10, 2021.

This action affects all commercial vessels holding federal permits for any species managed by the Mid-Atlantic or New England Fishery Management Councils (see this bulletin for a complete list of species). The requirement will also be extended to vessels issued for-hire (charter/party) permits for New England Council-managed fisheries (i.e., Northeast multispecies). Vessels issued a Mid-Atlantic Council for-hire permit have been required to submit vessel trip reports electronically since March 2018.

The effective date of this action is being delayed for 1 year, until November 10, 2021, to allow ample time for training on the various electronic reporting applications and to allow vessel owners and operators the time to find the appropriate application for their operations. Information on eVTR applications is available on the GARFO website. Additional information on training opportunities will be posted on the Mid-Atlantic Council’s Commercial eVTR page throughout the upcoming year.

Additional Information

Questions?

  • Fishermen: Contact Moira Kelly, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9218
  • Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed 2021 and 2022 Golden Tilefish Specifications and Emergency Action

November 13, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is proposing the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s recommended catch specifications for the 2021 Northeast/Mid-Atlantic golden tilefish fishery. These proposed catch limits are mostly status quo, with only a slight change in the final incidental quota to account for updated discard estimates. The quota for the individual fishing quota (IFQ) fishery would remain status quo. A summary of the Council’s recommended specifications is shown in the following table.

ABC=Acceptable Biological Catch, ACL=Annual Catch Limit, ACT=Annual Catch Target, TAL=Total Allowable Landings

Additionally, the Council requested NOAA Fisheries take emergency action to allow a one-time 5-percent carryover of unharvested IFQ quota into the 2021 fishing year to help mitigate the adverse impact of unprecedented regional closures of restaurants and fish markets during 2020.  This proposed rule includes temporary measures that would allow tilefish IFQ quota shareholders to carryover unharvested IFQ quota up to a maximum of 5 percent of their initial 2020 IFQ allocation.

All other management measures and requirements would remain unchanged. This includes the incidental landing limit of 500 lb (whole weight) or 50 percent (by weight) of all fish being landed, including tilefish, whichever is less. The recreational trip limit of eight fish per angler is also unchanged.

For more details on the proposed specifications, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. The comment period is open through November 30, 2020.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Adjustments to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Risk Policy

November 12, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comment on a proposed rule that would adjust the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s risk policy. This action would adjust the Council’s risk policy by accepting a higher level of risk for stocks that are at or above biomass targets, resulting in the ability for the Council to set higher catch limits for healthy fisheries. This action would also remove the typical/atypical species designation when applied to the current risk policy allowing the Council to better use improvements in stock assessment and modeling approaches that can more appropriately account for and address overfishing vulnerability.

For more details, please read the rule as published in the Federal Register. You can provide comments through our online portal. Comments are due by November 26, 2020.

Read the full release here

Reminder: Submit Comments on the Draft Addendum XXXIII/Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment by November 13

November 9, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

As a reminder, the deadline to submit public comments on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XXXIII and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment is this Friday, November 13, 2020, 11:59 p.m. (EST). The draft amendment and addendum propose alternative approaches for allocating the coastwide black sea bass commercial quota among the states. This action also considers changes to federal regulations and Council management of state allocations.

To learn more about this action and the proposed management alternatives, download the Council or Commission’s public hearing documents at the links below, or view the public hearing presentation on the ASMFC’s YouTube Channel.

Submit Written Comments

Written comments will be accepted until 11:59 PM (EST) on November 13, 2020 and may be sent by any of the following methods:

  1. MAIL to Caitlin Starks, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201
  2. FAX to 703.842.0741
  3. EMAIL to comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Black Sea Bass Addendum XXXIII)
  4. ONLINE at https://www.mafmc.org/comments/bsb-allocation

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.

Tips for Providing Public Comment

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

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

Contact

For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, ASMFC FMP Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Public Comment Deadline for ASMFC and MAFMC Draft Addendum XXXIII/Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment: November 13

November 9, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

As a reminder, the deadline to submit public comment on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XXXIII and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment is fast approaching – 11:59 PM (EST) on November 13, 2020. While all public hearings have been conducted, written comments on Draft Addendum XXXIII may be submitted 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) by the deadline of November 13th. 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.

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.

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.

Draft Addendum XXXIII is available at http://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 is also available at https://youtu.be/W5-HkotpcDg. For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, ASMFC FMP Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

NOAA Fisheries to Require Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting for Commercial and For-Hire Vessels

November 9, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective November 10, 2021

NOAA Fisheries is approving a recommendation from both the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils to require federally permitted commercial fishing vessels to submit vessel trip reports electronically within 48 hours of the end of a trip.

Upon request of the New England Council, we are also extending this requirement to vessels issued for-hire (charter/party) permits for New England Council-managed fisheries (i.e., Northeast multispecies). Vessels issued a Mid-Atlantic Council for-hire permit have been required to submit vessel trip reports electronically since March 2018. Note, reporting requirements for vessels issued only a federal lobster permit are being addressed in a separate rulemaking and this action does not affect those vessels.

The effective date of this action is being delayed for 1 year, until November 10, 2021, to allow ample time for training on the various electronic reporting applications and to allow vessel owners and operators the time to find the appropriate application for their operations. Information on eVTR applications is available on our website.  Additional information on training opportunities can be found on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s website.

For more details, please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register or the bulletin.

MARYLAND: Fisheries adapt to business during COVID-19

November 6, 2020 — Like other industries, Ocean City commercial fisheries have adapted to business during the covid-19 pandemic.

This is especially important as local fisheries have declined, even before the pandemic.

Sonny Gwin, a commercial fisherman and member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, said he normally makes 60 to 70 percent of his income in March. This March, he didn’t make anything close to that.

“That was when covid hit and all the restaurants closed down,” Gwin said. “Now all the restaurants still haven’t opened up to full capacity, which is causing the price of black sea bass, my main stay fishery, to be at a low economic value.”

Although he couldn’t sell nearly as much to restaurants, Gwin said he was lucky that his business was considered essential and avoided a shutdown.

Since he couldn’t sell to restaurants, Gwin sold directly to the public, which he said was good for those who were scared to go to grocery stores.

Read the full story at the Ocean City Freedom