Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Archives - Page 38 of 45

ASMFC & MAFMC Set Black Sea Bass Specifications for 2017 and 2018

February 21, 2017 — The following has been released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) approved revised specifications for the 2017 black sea bass fishing year as well as specifications for the 2018 fishing year for the northern black sea bass stock (Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to the US-Canadian border). The revised specifications are based on the results of the 2016 benchmark stock assessment, which found the stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. The approved limits are consistent with the recommendations of the Council’s Science and Statistical Committee. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore). The Council will forward its recommendations for federal waters (3 – 200 miles from shore) to NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval.

In considering 2017 recreational management measures, the Commission and Council maintained status quo measures in federal waters and in state waters from Delaware to North Carolina. These include a 12.5 inch TL minimum size, 15 fish possession limit, and open seasons from May 15 – September 21 and October 22 – December 31 (note: measures for federal waters are not final until approved by NOAA). Northern region states (Massachusetts through New Jersey) have the flexibility to continue 2016 management measures or develop new measures that will collectively constrain harvest to the 2017 RHL. Recognizing the favorable stock condition and the difficultly of precisely projecting the impacts of recreational management measures on overall harvest, the Commission and Council maintained status quo measures for 2017. Preliminary 2016 recreational harvest is estimated at 4.67 million pounds, roughly 380,000 pounds above the 2017 RHL. As additional 2016 harvest estimates become available, the Commission may review these data and consider the potential impacts to achieving the 2017 RHL.

For the first time, the black sea bass stock was modeled as two separate sub-units divided at approximately the Hudson Canyon. For modeling purposes, the data was divided into sub-units but the assessment and peer review noted that the sub-units are not separate stocks but comprise one single stock. As a result, the assessment combined the information from both sub-units to estimate stock-wide abundance and fishing mortality (F) as well as help minimize the effect of retrospective bias in the assessment (which can either overestimate spawning stock biomass and underestimate F, as seen in the southern sub-unit, or underestimate spawning stock biomass and overestimate F, as seen in the northern sub-unit). Spawning stock biomass (SSB) and F estimates for 2015 were adjusted for the retrospective bias (see accompanying graphs). The assessment used both fishery-dependent data (recreational catch and commercial landings/discards) and fishery-independent data from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center Winter and Spring Surveys, the Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program Surveys and state surveys from MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE, MD and VA.

With improved recruitment and declining fishing mortality rates since 2007, SSB has steadily increased. SSB in 2015 was estimated at 48.9 million pounds, 2.3 times the SSB target of 21.3 million pounds, and fishing mortality (F) was estimated at 0.27, well below the F target of 0.36. To account for the fact that black sea bass are a protogynous hermaphrodite, which change sex from female to male, the assessment defined SSB as the total of male and female mature biomass which accounts for changes in sex ratio. Recruitment at age 1 averaged 24.3 million fish from 1989 to 2015, with peaks in 2000 (1999 cohort) at 37.3 million and at 68.9 million in 2012 (2011 cohort). The large 2011 cohort, which is currently moving through the fishery, was dominant in the northern area and less so in the south. Since 2012, recruitment has been average with a 2014 cohort estimated at 24.9 million fish. The distribution of black sea bass continues to expand northward into the Gulf of Maine.

Commercial landings averaged 2.9 million pounds from the late 1980s through the 1990s. Since implementation of quotas in 1998, commercial landings have ranged between 2.9 and 3.5 million pounds until 2007. Commercial landings declined to 1.2 million pounds in 2009, then increased to 2.3 million pounds in 2013 and have since remained above 2.5 million pounds. Commercial fishery discards represent a relatively small fraction of the total fishery removals from the stock. Commercial discards were generally less than 0.4 million pounds per year, but increased to 0.9 and 0.7 million pounds in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The recreational fishery harvests a significant proportion of the total catch. Recreational landings averaged 3.7 million pounds annually until 1997. Recreational harvest limits were implemented in 1998 and landings have since ranged between 1.1 and 4.4 million pounds. Recreational landings in 2015 were 4.1 million pounds. Recreational discard losses, assuming 15% hook and release mortality, are similar, generally less than 0.4 million pounds per year. Estimated mortality from recreational discards was 0.8 million pounds in 2015.

For more information about summer flounder, scup, or black sea bass please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior FMP Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org.

A PDF version of the press release can be accessed at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/58a76e42pr10Mid-AtlanticMulityearSpecsBSB_Feb2017.pdf.

ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Regional Management for 2017 Recreational Summer Flounder Fisheries

February 3, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXVIII to the Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, maintaining regional management for the 2017 recreational summer flounder fishery. Specifically, the Addendum requires a one-inch increase in size limit and reduced possession limits to stay within the 2017 recreational harvest limit (RHL). These measures are broadly applied across all states to reduce harvest and provide for more coastwide consistency in regulations. The summer flounder regions, which are continued from 2016, are: Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Connecticut through New York; New Jersey; Delaware through Virginia; and North Carolina.

In August 2016, the Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved an approximate 30% reduction in catch limits for both the commercial and recreational fisheries in response to the 2016 stock assessment update, which indicated the resource is experiencing overfishing but is not overfished. In order to not exceed the reduced 2017 RHL, a 41% reduction relative to the 2016 preliminary harvest estimates is needed. To achieve the reduction, the Addendum implements a one-inch increase in size limit from 2016 measures for all regions with the exception of North Carolina. Additionally, all regions are required to constrain their possession limits to 4 fish or less and maintain 2016 season lengths. The approved management program also allows for the continuation of the Delaware Bay specific management measures for New Jersey anglers west of the COLREGS line. In 2016, New Jersey had separate management measures for anglers east and west of the Delaware Bay COLREGs line.

“The Board’s decision took into account the findings of the 2015 and 2016 stock assessment updates, both of which found summer flounder abundance is declining and is experiencing overfishing; the need to take harvest reductions to end overfishing immediately through our joint management process with the Mid-Atlantic Council and as prescribed by the Magnuson-Stevens Act; and with the recognition that the confidence intervals around the harvest estimates limit our ability to precisely project the impacts of differing management measures,” stated Mike Luisi, Board Chair. “By our action, we struck a balance between the need to reduce harvest, while taking into account the socioeconomic impacts to our stakeholders. “

In its report to the Board, the Technical Committee (TC) supported the 2013 summer flounder benchmark stock assessment and its updates through 2016 as the best available science. Further, it agreed with the findings of the recent stock assessments, indicating the resource is declining in abundance and that associated management changes are needed to address this issue; in this case, a reduction in the RHL. The TC recommended uniform adjustments from 2016 management measures (as were approved in the Addendum) to reduce harvest and fishing mortality in an equitable manner.

Once the states have selected final management measures, the Commission will submit a letter to NOAA Fisheries detailing how the measures will constrain fishing to the 2017 RHL. The Commission annually submits this letter as part of the conservation equivalency process that allows for federal coastwide management measures to be waived and for state management measures to be applied in both state and federal waters.

Addendum XXVIII will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC APPROVES FLUKE OPTION 5

February 2, 2017 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) on Thursday, February 2, voted 7-3 in favor of the so-called Option 5 of the Summer Flounder Draft Addendum XXVIII for 2017 recreational measures for fluke. The option would apply a “near coastwide 1-inch size limit increase and bag limit reduction to four fish or less” along the Atlantic Coast in 2017, with North Carolina exempt from the measures, and the tri-state region of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey getting a three-fish bag limit.

Because the measure is thought to achieve a roughly 30% coastwide reduction on recreational fluke harvest – less than the required reduction of 41% required by NOAA Fisheries – the approved measures are not certain to meet the ASMFC Technical Committee requirements and final approval by NOAA Fisheries. A motion made by New Jersey to postpone final action until later in February when ASMFC meets jointly with the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) in Kitty Hawk, NC in hopes of getting that final analysis and approval failed.

Spearheaded by the New York delegation, the vote was also approved by Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and the Potomac River Commission. Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey voted in opposition to the Option 5 compromise, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) both abstained.

Read the full story at The Fisherman

New rules could cripple flounder fishermen

January 29, 2017 — Ice fishermen and groundhogs are scarce today.

The weather will make more ice this week, and some groundhogs will pose on their day Thursday.

So much for good news. Summer flounder fishermen will have to wait until next month to see if their season will be crippled by size reductions this summer.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will vote then on options that could the increase minimum size to 19 inches and a shorter season.

Read the full story at MyCentralJersey.com

NEW JERSEY: DEP Commissioner Martin, Rep. Pallone to lead fish rally at Fishermen’s Supply

January 26, 2017 — A rally against the proposed cuts to the summer flounder harvest is planned for this Friday morning in the parking lot of Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach.

Along with members of the fishing community, the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection Bob Martin and U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) will lead the rally and speak in opposition to the harvest reduction.

Both Martin and Pallone have been critical of the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management for their proposed drastic cuts to the summer flounder harvest.

Pallone has been outspoken against the science used to count fish landings and stock biomass that has led those management bodies to conclude that anglers overfished their quota last year and the biomass of summer flounder is shrinking.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

New England Fishery Management Council Selects Industry-Funded Monitoring Alternatives for Omnibus Amendment, Atlantic Herring Category A and B Boats

January 25, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Managment Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council yesterday selected preferred alternatives for the region’s Industry-Funded Monitoring (IFM) Omnibus Amendment, which is being developed jointly with the Mid- Atlantic Council, along with considerable administrative help from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The Council also picked preferred alternatives for an IFM program for the Atlantic herring fishery but made clear that the measures – if approved and implemented – would apply only to Category A and B herring vessels.

The IFM Omnibus Amendment has two core components.

The first focuses on proposed alternatives to modify all New England and Mid-Atlantic Council fishery management plans (FMPs) so that both Councils have a standardized, streamlined process in place for developing future FMP-specific industry-funded monitoring programs.
The second part of the amendment contains alternatives that specifically would apply to the Atlantic Herring and Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish FMPs upon implementation of the IFM Omnibus Amendment.

Monitoring alternatives for other fisheries are not part of this amendment, and existing IFM programs for the Atlantic sea scallop and groundfish fisheries are not affected.

The Mid-Atlantic Council voted in mid-December to postpone further action on the Omnibus Amendment and the mackerel alternatives pending completion of an ongoing electronic monitoring (EM) pilot project. NMFS is currently conducting the project with 12 volunteer vessels in the Atlantic herring and mackerel midwater trawl fisheries to evaluate the utility of EM as a monitoring tool. The project will run through most of 2017.

The New England Council, however, opted to move ahead with its portion of the decision-making process here at its Portsmouth, NH meeting.

The Council selected Alternative 2 for the first half of the Omnibus Amendment – the part that establishes the basic foundation of the amendment to standardize cost responsibilities and administrative requirements for industry-funded monitoring service providers.

The Council made clear that any new IFM programs developed under this portion of the Omnibus would need to be crafted through a full amendment, which has an extensive public hearing process, rather than a framework adjustment. Once an IFM program is in place, the Council did agree that a framework could be used to establish a quota set-aside program to help fund IFM measures. The Council further supported using a “Council-led deliberative prioritization process,” which means the Council, possibly in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Council, would prepare analyses and set priorities for IFM issues rather than having NMFS take the lead. The Council also decided that any federal money used to fund administrative costs associated with IFM programs should be “equally weighted” among all the industry- funded monitoring programs that are in place for various fisheries.

Herring Alternatives: Next, the Council selected IFM alternatives for the Atlantic herring fishery – as allowed under the second half of the Omnibus Amendment – and reiterated that the measures apply only to Category A and B vessels using midwater trawl, purse seine, and small-mesh bottom trawl gear. The measures do not apply to “wing vessels” that don’t carry fish, and, to be clear, also do not apply to Category C and D boats.

Once the Council determines that electronic monitoring and portside sampling are an acceptable alternative to at-sea monitoring, then Category A and B vessels will be able to choose either:

At-sea monitoring with a “combined coverage” target of 50% between the IFM and Standardized Bycatch Reduction Methodology (SBRM) programs; or
A combination of EM and portside sampling with a coverage target of 50% in addition to SBRM.

The Council additionally supported: (1) the issuance of waivers if coverage is not available due to funding or logistical problems; (2) an exemption from IFM

Requirements for vessels that land less than 25 metric tons of herring; (3) applying 100% Northeast Fisheries Observer Program-level observer coverage for midwater trawl vessels fishing in groundfish closed areas; and (4) a reevaluation of the IFM herring requirements two years after implementation.

The New England Council will revisit the Omnibus Amendment in April, when it is expected to take final action to submit the document to NMFS. The Council also will discuss “next steps” with the Mid-Atlantic Council since action by both Councils is required before Omnibus alternatives can be implemented.

See the full release at the NEFMC

NEW JERSEY: Bill asks NOAA to rethink increased flounder restrictions

January 19, 2017 — A South Jersey lawmaker introduced a bill Tuesday that would urge the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to halt proposed reductions to this year’s summer flounder catch.

Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, D-Atlantic, introduced a resolution asking NOAA to conduct a new summer flounder assessment before implementing the proposed regulations, which would cut the flounder catch by 40 percent.

The reduction plan was advanced at a Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting last month but has been roundly condemned by recreational fishermen and prominent state leaders, including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd.

Federal officials say the cuts are necessary because a recent NOAA report concluded the flounder fishery is overfished.

Recreational fishermen at a hearing earlier this month in Galloway Township questioned NOAA’s methods for measuring flounder, and Mazzeo’s resolution, a draft of which was sent to The Press of Atlantic City, asks the agency to take another look at the stock.

Read the full story at Press of Atlantic City

Mid-Atlantic Council Seeking Applications for Interim Advisory Panel Members

January 18, 2017 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is soliciting applications from qualified individuals to serve on several advisory panels that currently have vacancies. Advisory panels provide information and recommendations to the Council during the development of fishery management actions. One of the chief responsibilities of advisory panels is the development of annual Fishery Performance Reports, which provide the Council and SSC with information on why catches may have fluctuated from year to year.

Advisory panels are composed of individuals with diverse experience and interest in Mid-Atlantic fisheries. Members include commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, for-hire operators, dealers, scientists, environmentalists, and other interested members of the public. Most advisory panels meet 1 – 2 times per year. Members are compensated for travel and per diem expenses for advisory panel meetings. Individuals appointed under this notice would serve on an interim basis and could re-apply during the next general application window in early 2018.

The Council is accepting applications for the following advisory panels:

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (1 vacancy)
Spiny Dogfish (2 vacancies)
Surfclam/Ocean Quahog (1 vacancy)

Anyone interested in serving on one of these advisory panels may apply online or download an application at www.mafmc.org/forms/advisory-panel-application. Applications can also be obtained by calling the Council office at (877) 446-2362 or emailing jsaunders@mafmc.org. Completed applications should be submitted using one of the following methods:

Online using the form at the web address above;
Mail to Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N. State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901;
Email to jsaunders@mafmc.org; or
Fax to (302) 674-5399.

Please include “ADVISORY PANEL” in the subject of your fax or email.

See the full release at the MAFMC

NOAA slashes recreational, commercial limits for flounder, black sea bass

December 27, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries is slashing 2017 and 2018 recreational and commercial catch limits for summer flounder and the 2017 commercial quota for black sea bass.

The sweeping cuts will impact both the commercial and recreational harvesting of the summer flounder. The cuts, based on the recommendations of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, will be most severe in 2017, when the commercial and recreational quota for the species is cut by 30 percent from current levels.

Those reductions will set the set the commercial quota at 5.66 million pounds and the recreational at 3.77 million pounds in 2017.

The 2018 reduction summer flounder catch limits is projected to be 16 percent below current levels, setting the commercial quota at 6.63 million pounds and the recreational catch limits at 4.42 million pounds.

The federal fishing regulator is cutting the commercial black sea bass quota by 31 percent in 2017 to 1.86 million pounds as “an automatic accountability measure” because the fishery exceeded its annual catch limit in 2015.

“In 2015, the commercial annual catch limit was exceeded due to both a 4 percent overage of the commercial quota and higher-than-anticipated estimated discards of black sea bass,” NOAA Fisheries said in announcing the cuts.

The agency, however, said it is possible that a final report on the black sea bass stock assessment, due in early 2017, might provide the impetus for increasing recreational and commercial catch limits in the midst of the next fishing season.

“It is possible that the next black sea bass assessment will provide justification for increasing the 2017 black sea bass catch limits for both the commercial and recreational fisheries,” NOAA Fisheries said. “If that is the case, we will work with the (Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council) to quickly implement revised catch limits mid-year. A final report for the assessment is expected in early 2017.”

The 2017 recreational harvest limit for black sea bass will hold steady at about 2.82 million pounds, according to NOAA Fisheries spokeswoman Jennifer Goebel.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Mid-Atlantic Council Initiates Action in Response to Overage of Black Sea Bass Catch Limit

December 21st, 2016 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

On December 15, 2016, at their meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council initiated a framework action to review and modify accountability measures (AMs) for the commercial black sea bass fishery. The Council initiated this action in response to new information from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) indicating that commercial catch in 2015 exceeded the annual catch limit due to higher than anticipated discards. On December 21, NMFS announced a rule which reduced the 2017 commercial quota by 34% in response to this overage, as required by the Council’s AMs.

AMs are measures that are implemented if annual catch targets are exceeded and are intended to mitigate the negative biological impacts of such overages. Commercial AMs for black sea bass currently require pound for pound paybacks through quota deductions in following years, regardless of the circumstances of the overages. The Council initiated a framework action to consider adding flexibility in the commercial AMs based on stock status. The Council intends to develop and implement this framework by mid-2017.

Black sea bass management measures for 2017 may also be modified as a result of a new benchmark stock assessment, which was peer-reviewed this month. According to this assessment, black sea bass are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. The Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet in January 2017 to review the assessment and determine if it can be used to inform the Council’s management decisions. If so, the SSC will recommend acceptable biological catch limits for black sea bass for 2017-2019. At their February 2017 meeting in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Council plans to recommend commercial and recreational black sea bass catch and landings limits for 2017-2019 based on this new information. These recommendations are expected to result in a revised 2017 commercial quota that could reduce the magnitude of the reduction needed to address the overage of the 2015 annual catch target.