Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Archives - Page 40 of 45

MAFMC & NOAA Fisheries Announce Frank R. Lautenberg Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area

December 14, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today, NOAA Fisheries and the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council announced publication of the final rule for the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s action to designate a large offshore protected area for deep sea corals in the Mid-Atlantic. The Council approved the Deep Sea Corals Amendment to the Mackerel, Squid, Butterfish Fishery Management Plan in 2015 in order to protect deep sea corals from the impacts of bottom-tending fishing gear.

Most deep sea corals are slow-growing and fragile, making them vulnerable to damage from certain types of fishing gear that contact the sea floor. This final rule designates a large “deep sea coral zone” in areas where corals have been observed or where they are likely to occur. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), regional fishery management councils have the disretionary authority to designate zones where fishing may be restricted to protect deep sea corals. Although corals have been protected as essential fish habitat, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is the first of the eight U.S. regional fishery management councils to use this discretionary authority.

The Council named the protected area in honor of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg, a five-term United States senator from New Jersey who was responsible for several important pieces of ocean conservation legislation, including the MSA provisions allowing for deep sea coral protections. The Frank R. Lautenberg Deep Sea Coral Protection Area encompasses areas of known or highly likely coral presence in underwater canyons or slope areas along the continental shelf edge, as well as deeper areas where the presence of corals is uncertain, but where little or no fishing effort currently occurs. In total, the coral zone encompasses more than 38,000 square miles of federal waters off the Mid-Atlantic coast, an area approximately the size of the state of Virginia.

Within the protected area, commercial fishermen are prohibited from using most types of bottom-tending fishing gear such as trawls, dredges, bottom longlines, and traps. The rule does not apply to recreational fishing, commercial gear types that do not contact the sea floor, or the American lobster trap fishery. An exemption is also provided for the deep sea red crab commercial trap fishery. Vessels may transit through the area if fishing gear is stowed and not available for immediate use.

Development of the deep sea coral protection area was informed by several recent scientific research efforts undertaken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, including several deep sea surveys and the development of a predictive deep sea coral habitat suitability model. Using this information, members of the Council’s advisory panels, deep sea coral experts, fishing industry members, and other stakeholders cooperatively reviewed this information to identify the landward boundaries for the protected area.

“This is a great story of regional collaboration among the fishing industry, the Mid-Atlantic Council, the research community, and environmental organizations to protect what we all agree is a valuable ecological resource,” said John Bullard, Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. “We owe a debt of gratitude to former Council Chair Rick Robins, who led the effort to establish this large protected area, which totals about 24 million acres, the size of state of Virginia. I’d also like to single out the contribution of current Vice Chairman Warren Elliot, who chaired the two-day workshop where all the stakeholders used the best available science to negotiate and agree upon the boundaries of the area to protect.”

“The Mid-Atlantic Council is extremely pleased that NOAA Fisheries has approved the Council’s recommended protection of deep sea corals in the Mid-Atlantic,” said Council chairman Michael Luisi. “We are proud of this achievement and want to thank and congratulate all those who contributed to this ground-breaking effort in the Atlantic.”

See the full release at NOAA

MAFMC Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland: December 12-15, 2016

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

The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s December 2016 meeting to be held December 12-15, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. The meeting will be held at the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court, 550 Light St., Baltimore, MD 21202, Telephone 410-234-0550.

Webinar: For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/december2016.

Meeting Materials: Briefing documents will be posted at http://ww.mafmc.org/briefing/december-2016 as they become available.

View the agenda at the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council

Monkfish Specifications Expected to Rise in FY 2017-2019

November 15, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Monkfish total allowable landing (TAL) limits for the 2017-2019 fishing years are on track to increase under Framework Adjustment 10 to the federal Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). So are: (1) days-at sea allocations and trip limits for the Southern Fishery Management Area; and (2) incidental catch limits for monkfish C and D permit holders working under groundfish days-at-sea in the Northern Management Area.

The New England Fishery Management Council approved the framework today at its meeting in Newport, RI. The Mid-Atlantic Council, which jointly manages monkfish, is scheduled to take action at its Dec. 12-15 meeting in Baltimore, MD. The National Marine Fisheries Service must approve the framework before the new days-at-sea allocations and trip limits can be implemented.

The New England Council adopted the following allocations for days-at-sea:

Northern Fishery Management Area: status quo, 45 monkfish days-at-sea; and
Southern Fishery Management Area: 37 monkfish days, a 15% increase from 32.

Monkfish days-at-sea allocations have not been restricting fishing effort in the northern area, where the majority of fishermen catch monkfish while groundfish fishing. Therefore, the Council decided to leave monkfish days-atsea at status quo in the north – 45 days – and instead raise the incidental landing limit for Category C and D monkfish permit holders working under a groundfish day-at-sea. The Council took this step to help northern area fishermen better utilize the available TAL. In 2015, for example, only 71% of the TAL was harvested in the north.

Read the full release as a PDF here

Mid-Atlantic Council to Hold Hearings on New Jersey Special Management Zones

October 31, 2016 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold three public hearings in November 2016 to gather public comments on a request by the State of New Jersey to designate 13 of its artificial reef sites located in federal waters as Special Management Zones (SMZ). The hearings will be held November 15-17, 2016. Written comments will be accepted until Friday, November 25, 2016, 11:59 p.m. EST.

Background

In November 2015, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) petitioned the Mid-Atlantic Council to designate 13 artificial reef sites as SMZs under provisions of Amendment 9 to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. The petition was based on the need to reduce gear conflicts between hook and line fishermen and fixed pot/trap gear at those sites. The SMZ designation could prohibit the use of any gear except hook and line and spear fishing (including the taking of fish by hand) within the 13 potential SMZ sites. The Council’s SMZ Monitoring Team (MT) evaluated the NJDEP request and recommended that the Council designate all 13 artificial reef sites as SMZs. The MT analysis indicated that commercial fishing vessels deploying pot/trap gear off the coast of New Jersey would likely face minimal to no losses in ex-vessel revenue if the artificial reefs are designated as SMZs. The Council is scheduled to review public comments and make a decision relative to NJ SMZ designation at its December 2016 meeting in Annapolis, MD.

Public Hearing Schedule

The dates and locations of the public hearings are as follows:

Tuesday November 15, 2016, 7:00-9:30 p.m., Kingsborough Community College, 2001 Oriental Blvd., Brooklyn NY 11235, Room M239 of the Marina and Academic Center (The Lighthouse).
Wednesday November 16, 2016, 7:00-10:00 p.m., Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, 815 Route 37 West, Toms River, NJ 08755.
Thursday November 17, 2016, 7:00-10:00 p.m., Congress Hall, 200 Congress Place, Cape May, NJ 08204.

These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aid should be directed to M. Jan Saunders, 302-526-5251, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

Written Comments

Written comments will be accepted until Friday, November 25, 2016, 11:59 p.m. and may be sent by any of the following methods:

Mail to Dr. Chris Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE, 19901 (include “NJ SMZ Request” on envelope);
Fax to Dr. Chris Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council at fax number 302-674-5399 (include “NJ SMZ Request” in the subject line); or
Email to Rich Seagraves at rseagraves@mafmc.org (include “NJ SMZ Request” in the subject line).

Contact

For more information, contact Rich Seagraves, Senior Scientist, at rseagraves@mafmc.org.

ASMFC Summer Flounder Board Initiates Draft Addendum for Alternative Management Options for 2017 Recreational Fishery

October 27, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

BAR HARBOR, Maine — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board initiated development of Draft Addendum XXVIII to the Summer Flounder Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to consider alternative management approaches, including regional options, for the 2017 recreational summer flounder fishery. The Draft Addendum will have options which are designed to achieve the 2017 recreational harvest limit (RHL).

Changes in summer flounder distribution, abundance and availability created problems under the static state-by-state allocations, with overages often occurring. In response, states would implement regulations to reduce harvest, resulting in differing regulations between neighboring states. In 2014, the Board shifted away from traditional state-by-state allocations to a regional approach for managing summer flounder recreational fisheries. A benefit of the regional approach is it provides the states the flexibility to temporarily share allocations. The intent is to set regulations that account for shifting distribution, abundance and availability while providing stability and greater regulatory consistency among neighboring states as well as individual states in achieving but not exceeding the coastwide RHL.

In August, the Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) approved a 30% reduction in the 2017 coastwide RHL relative to 2016. This was in response the 2016 Stock Assessment Update which found fishing mortality was higher in recent years and population estimates were lower than previously projected.

The Draft Addendum will be presented to the Board for its consideration and approval for public comment at its joint meeting with the Council in December in Baltimore, Maryland. At that meeting, the Board and Council will also consider extending ad-hoc regional approaches for 2017 black sea bass and scup recreational management in state waters. The Board and Council are scheduled to review the Black Sea Bass Stock Assessment Report and Peer Review Report and consider possible management responses at their joint meeting in February 2017 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

ASMFC Spiny Dogfish Board Approves 2017 Fishery Specifications

October 26th, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved a spiny dogfish commercial quota of 39,099,717 pounds for the 2017 fishing season (May 1, 2017 – April 30, 2018). The Board maintained a 6,000 pound commercial trip limit in state waters (0-3 miles from shore) in the northern region (Maine through Connecticut). States in the southern region (New York to North Carolina) have the ability to set state-specific trip limits based on the needs of their fisheries.

The quota and northern region trip limit are consistent with the measures recommended to NOAA Fisheries by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Although the spiny dogfish commercial quota represents a slight decrease from the previous year, the 2015 assessment update projects spawning stock biomass to increase starting in 2019. Therefore, the commercial quota is expected to increase in the next specifications cycle if the projection is supported by catches in the Northeast Fisheries Science Center spring survey.

The 2017 spiny dogfish commercial quota allocations (in pounds) for the northern region and the states of New York through North Carolina are described below. Any overages from the 2016 season will be deducted from that region’s or state’s 2017 quota allocation.

For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at m appelman@asmfc.orgor 703.842.0740.

NILS STOLPE: Why is the summer flounder quota being reduced 50 percent in two years (with another major reduction for the following year)?

October 20, 2016 — Summer flounder, also known as fluke, support recreational and commercial fisheries that are among the most important in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England. They have been a mainstay of recreational fishermen either from their own boats or on for-hire vessels, support a large directed commercial fishery, their incidental harvest is important in other fisheries and they are near the top of the list of must-have meals for summer visits to the shore. Hundreds of party and charter boats depend on them for all or for part of their annual incomes, thousands of private boats seek them out every summer, and much of the business bait and tackle shops do every year depends on the fishery. Hundreds of commercial fishing boats target them or take them incidentally in other fisheries.

To say that the summer flounder fishery is important to tens of thousands of people from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras would be an understatement. The fishery is more important to both recreational and commercial fishermen than any other in the Mid-Atlantic and southern New England.

“By 2010 the fishing mortality on summer flounder had declined to its lowest level in at least 30 years, and summer flounder stock biomass was the highest since the stock assessments began in the 1960s” (from The summer flounder chronicles II: new science, new controversy, 2001–2010, M. Terciero, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, Dec 2011).

But in a memo dated 25 July 2016, the Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), wrote “the revised understanding of the stock status produced by the assessment update indicates reductions in the estimates of SSB, and increases in the estimates of annual Fs.” So 5 years after declaring that the summer flounder stock was at its highest level in half a century the managers decided fishing mortality was greater that it had been thought to be and that there were fewer summer flounder than was previously estimated.

Following a quota cut for both recreational and commercial fishermen of 27% for the 2016 fishing year it was decided that a 31% cut was necessary in 2017. That’s a 50% reduction in landings in two years.

The NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA conducts annual bottom trawl surveys in the spring and the fall that have been continuous since 1963. They are designed to give a relative measure of the abundance of the various species caught. The chart on the right shows that there has been nothing particularly dramatic going on with the summer flounder in either the spring or autumn survey, seemingly nothing that would warrant such draconian quota cuts (note that beginning in 2009 a new survey vessel was employed, resulting in higher absolute catches).

With the quota reduction in 2017, commercial summer flounder landings are going to be at their lowest point since 1974. From 1950 to 2014 annual commercial landings averaged 7,200 metric tons. The 2017 quota will be one third of that. In the words of the head of NMFS in 2011 ”in 1976, federal management of marine fisheries was virtually non-existent. With the exception of state managed waters, federal activities were limited to supporting a patchwork of fishery specific treaties governing international waters, which at that time existed only 12 miles off our nation’s coasts.” In twenty-three of the twenty-six years between 1950 and 1976, pre-Magnuson years with no significant management of summer flounder, commercial landings were higher than they will be in 2017, which will be the fortieth year of intensive management of the fishery. This management has involved annual surveys, at least 100 meetings (usually involving at least a dozen people and usually held at coastal resorts or conference centers) and over 8,000 pages (either dealing with summer flounder alone or in combination with sea bass and scup, which are all included in the same management plan) of reports, calculations, charts and tables, memos, meeting notices and on and on.

Kind of makes you wonder what’s going on with summer flounder management, doesn’t it?

Rick Robins Recognized by White House as Champion of Change for Sustainable Seafood

October 14th, 2016 — The following was released by Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Last week former Council Chairman Rick Robins was recognized by the White House as one of twelve “Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood.” These individuals were selected by the White House for their leadership and contributions to the ongoing recovery of America’s fishing industry and our fishing communities.

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. A statement from the White House noted that “After decades of decline, we are witnessing the economic and ecological recovery of America’s fishing industry. Overfishing has hit an all-time low, and many stocks are returning to sustainable levels. The U.S. fishing industry contributed nearly $200 billion annually to the American economy in 2014 and supports 1.7 million jobs… President Obama and his Administration want to honor America’s fishers and our coastal communities for their efforts.”

Richard B. Robins, Jr. is the owner of Bernie’s Conchs Seafood Market and Ocean Perfect Seafoods, Inc. He served as Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council from 2008 through August of 2016, where he led the Council through a historic stakeholder-driven visioning and strategic planning process for the management of marine fisheries. Under his leadership, the Council completed an amendment to establish a nearly 38,000 square-mile area, named for the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, in which deep sea corals will be protected from the impacts of fishing gear. Robins also led the Council in the development of an amendment to protect unmanaged forage species and spearheaded the Council’s efforts to address the impacts of climate change on fisheries. In August 2016 Robins received the MAFMC Award of Excellence for his distinguished service to the Council and outstanding contribution to the conservation and management of our nation’s marine fisheries resources.

Robins was recognized along with eleven other honorees during a ceremony on Friday, October 7. Learn more about the White House Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood at https://www.whitehouse.gov/champions#section-sustainable-seafood.

Council Votes to Continue Collaborative Efforts on River Herring and Shad

October 12th, 2016 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Based on a comprehensive review of existing and planned conservation and management efforts, last week the Council determined that management of river herring and shad (RH/S) through a Council fishery management plan (FMP) is not warranted. However, the Council reaffirmed its commitment to participating with partners in the conservation and management of RH/S, noting that it will continue to protect RH/S stocks by proactively using the tools provided in the recently-approved Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries Management (EAFM) Guidance Document. The Council will also continue to use catch caps to incentivize harvesters to reduce river herring and shad bycatch.

The four species under consideration included two species of river herrings (blueback herring and alewife) and two species of shads (American shad and hickory shad). These stocks are currently managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

In the late 2000s concerns were brought to the Council that bycatch in high-volume fisheries such as Atlantic mackerel may be negatively impacting RH/S populations. These concerns led the Council to implement a limit on the catch of RH/S in the Atlantic mackerel fishery. The Council has also worked to improve data by increasing vessel and dealer reporting requirements and collaborating with NOAA Fisheries on an amendment to increase observer coverage in the Atlantic mackerel fishery. The New England Fishery Management Council has taken similar steps to address RH/S catch in the Atlantic herring fishery.

The Council has also worked to address RH/S conservation through participation on an interdisciplinary River Herring Technical Expert Working Group (TEWG). The TEWG has provided and compiled information used by NOAA Fisheries and the ASMFC in the development and execution of a proactive conservation plan focused on river herring. The TEWG has funded several important projects to enhance our understanding of RH/S bycatch and the species’ overall population health.

Prior to the meeting the Council received a large number of public comments on the issue, all of which supported the development of a Council FMP for RH/S. The Council considered these comments thoroughly but ultimately determined that the management of RH/S under a Council FMP is not appropriate at this time.

The Council’s decision not to add these stocks to the fishery management plan for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish was largely based on the fact that RH/S are already managed by the ASMFC and that the catch caps set by the Council have kept incidental catch very low compared to historic levels. There is no evidence that RH/S are targeted in Federal fisheries, and the Council concluded that an FMP would not substantially improve the condition of RH/S stocks.

Additional background information and documents about river herring and shad can be found at http://www.mafmc.org/rhs/.

Fishery council says no to river herring and shad plan

October 7, 2016 — A call to put river herring and shad in the same fishery management plan as mackerel, squid and butterfish was voted down by the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fisheries Council.

Incidental bycatches in ocean trawl fisheries was a main reason behind the consideration, but the council will stick with a plan already in place for dealing with it.

American shad, hickory shad, alewife and blueback herring — a quartet of anadromous fish that are at historic low population levels — often mix with mackerel in the ocean.

They get scooped up incidentally in commercial trawl nets meant for mackerel. The MAMFC said the amount may be substantial enough to negatively impact their populations.

The plan had the support of many sport fishermen, environmental and conservation groups on the Eastern seaboard who said the it would’ve led to more aggressive stewardship on the species.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press