Saving Seafood

Council Approves Changes to Scup Gear-Restricted Areas

The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

April 20, 2016 — During a meeting last week in Montauk, New York the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved a framework action to modify the boundary of one of the region’s two Scup Gear Restricted Areas (GRAs). The proposed change to the Southern Scup GRA boundary is expected to increase the availability of longfin squid to small-mesh fisheries.

The GRAs were implemented in 2000 and are intended to reduce discard mortality of juvenile scup. The current GRA regulations include a Northern GRA, which is effective from November 1 through December 31, and a Southern GRA, which is effective from January 1 through March 15. Trawl vessels which fish for or possess longfin squid, black sea bass, or silver hake (also known as whiting) are required to use mesh 5 inches or larger in the GRAs during those times of the year. The scup stock has expanded substantially since the GRAs were first implemented, and analysis conducted by scientists at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center indicate that the GRAs were partially responsible for this rebuilding.

The GRAs have been modified several times in response to requests from commercial fishermen. In recent years, advisors have recommended further modification of the GRAs to restore access to certain areas for longfin squid fishing, arguing that modifications to the GRA boundaries would not harm the scup stock

In response to an industry request, the Council initiated a framework action in 2014 to address potential changes to the scup GRAs. The framework considered a range of alternatives, including modifications to the GRA boundaries and elimination of one or both GRAs.

After a lengthy discussion of the impacts of the proposed alternatives, the Council voted to modify the boundary of the Southern Scup GRA. The proposed change, shown in Figure 1, is based on a proposal developed by members of the Council’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel.

“By increasing access to important fishing grounds, the Council balanced the concerns of the squid industry with the possible impacts on the scup stock,” said the Council’s Executive Director, Chris Moore. “If the modification is approved by NMFS, the Council will be working closely with NMFS to monitor scup discards to make sure that mortality of juvenile scup does not increase as a result.”

Councils to Hold Cobia Management Meetings in N.C.

April 19, 2016 — SAVE THE DATE – May 9, 2016!
Councils to Hold a Q&A Public Meeting on Cobia Management

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, will hold a Q&A Public Meeting in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to address cobia management issues.

DATE: May 9, 2016

TIME: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

LOCATION: The meeting is being held in Kitty Hawk, NC and is also being broadcast via webinar. Registration for the webinar only is required – see below for registration link.

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire

 

NOAA Seeks Comment on Atlantic Bluefish

April 8, 2016 — The following was released by the National Marine Fisheries Service:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comments on the proposed 2016-2018 annual catch limits for Atlantic bluefish for both recreational and commercial fisheries. The proposed limits are based on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s recommendations.

The total limits for the commercial and recreational fisheries combined would be 10 percent lower than the 2015 limit (from 18.19 million lbs to 16.46 million pounds).

Read the full release at The Fishing Wire

Mid-Atlantic Council Announces Funded Collaborative Research Projects

April 8, 2016 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council announces that four research projects have been selected to receive a total of approximately $610,000 in funding as part of the Council’s 2016-2017 Collaborative Fisheries Research Program. The four projects each address research priorities identified by the Mid-Atlantic Council in a Request for Proposals distributed in December 2015.

“Accurate information is the foundation of effective fisheries management,” said Council Chairman Rick Robins. “These research projects will help fill critical gaps in our understanding of Mid-Atlantic fisheries and ensure their continued sustainability.”

Below is an overview of the selected projects. Click here to view Executive Summaries for these projects.

Changes in Availability of Mid-Atlantic Fish Stocks To Fisheries-Independent Surveys 

Principal Investigators: Janet Nye, Michael Frisk, and Skyler Sagarese.  

This project will investigate how habitat modifies the availability of summer flounder, black sea bass, and spiny dogfish to the NEFSC trawl survey. The focus of this research is on the relationship between the NEFSC trawl survey index and actual abundance of these species.

Collaborative Development Of A Winter Habitat Model For Atlantic Mackerel, “Version 2.0”, For The Identification Of “Cryptic” Habitats And Estimation Of Population Availability To Assessment Surveys And The Fishery

Principal Investigator: Gregory DiDomenico; Co-Principal Investigators: William Bright; Peter Moore, Josh Kohut, Mitchell Roffer, and John Manderson. 

This project will synthesize existing information to develop and evaluate a quantitative model describing dynamic winter habitat distributions for Atlantic Mackerel. The goal of this study is to develop a model that can be used to accurately estimate the availability of the population to fishery independent surveys.

Estimating and Mitigating the Discard Mortality Rate of Black Sea Bass in Offshore Recreational Rod-And-Reel Fisheries 

Principal Investigator: Olaf Jensen; Co-Principal Investigators: Eleanor Bochenek and Jeffrey Kneebone. 

This objective of this project is to estimate the discard mortality rate of black sea bass captured by recreational anglers using rod-and-reel fishing gear in the deepwater offshore fishery during fall/winter in the Mid-Atlantic. In addition, this research will generate “best practice” capture and handling recommendations.

Determining Selectivity and Optimum Mesh Size to Harvest Three Commercially Important Mid-Atlantic Species 

Principal Investigator: Emerson Hasbrouck; Co-Principal Investigator: Jonathan Knight. 

This project will analyze the selectivity of multiple codend mesh sizes relative to summer flounder, black sea bass and scup retention in the commercial bottom trawl fishery in the Mid-Atlantic region.

New NOAA rules governing bycatch in Atlantic herring fishery start May 4

April 7, 2016 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has approved adjustments to its Atlantic herring fishery management plan that aim to minimize bycatch.

The new rules require vessels to report slippage – catch discarded prior to official sampling by an approved observer – to be reported in each ship’s daily herring catch report.

In addition, vessels must either return to port or move 15 nautical miles away from the location where the slippage occurred, depending on whether the event is deemed a precautionary measure performed for reasons of safety or whether it is considered an avoidable accident. If the latter is the case, the vessel at fault must return to port, and if the slippage is deemed accidental, the vessel still must move and may not fish in that area for the duration of its journey.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MAFMC: Meetings this Week

February 8, 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 February 2016 meeting to be held February 9-11, 2016 in New Bern, North Carolina. 

Tuesday, February 9, 2016 – Thursday, February 11, 2016

Double Tree by Hilton New Bern

100 Middle Street

New Bern, NC 28560

Telephone 252-638-3585

Webinar:  

For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/february2016/

Briefing Materials:

Briefing materials will be posted on the February 2016 Meeting page as they become available.

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

Public Hearing via Webinar  

Today, February 8, 2016, 6:00 p.m.  

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold the final in a series of public hearings tonight via webinar to solicit public input on management measures that may affect fishermen fishing in federal waters (greater than 3 miles offshore) along the entire Atlantic coast. Join Council staff at 6:00 p.m. as they review proposed measures in the two amendments listed below. Then provide your formal comments via the webinar for Council consideration. 

  • Electronic Reporting Requirements for Federally-Permitted Charterboats – The Council is considering mandatory reporting requirements for charterboats (6-pack) with federal for-hire permits including Atlantic Dolphin Wahoo For-Hire and Coastal Migratory Pelagic For-Hire permits. The amendment also modifies existing requirements for headboat electronic reporting.
  • Changes to King Mackerel Management Measures – Changes are proposed for king mackerel management along the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico including changes to management zones, annual catch limits, commercial trip limits, split seasons, and other measures. 

NOTE: Registration for the webinar is required.  Click below to register and join us later today to learn more and provide your comments!

Register Here

Additional information, including public hearing summaries, video presentations for each amendment, and additional resources are available from the Public Hearing and Scoping Meeting page of the Council’s website.  Written comments may be submitted until Wednesday, February 10, 2016.  Email comments to mike.collins@safmc.net with “For-Hire Amend” and/or “Mackerel Amend 26” in the Subject line of the email.  

MAFMC Meeting, February 9-11 in New Bern, North Carolina

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

 

Double Tree by Hilton New Bern

100 Middle Street

New Bern, NC 28560

Telephone 252-638-3585

Webinar:  

For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest at: http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/february2016/

Briefing Materials:

Briefing materials will be posted on the February 2016 Meeting page as they become available.

Agenda

Tuesday, February 9th

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Executive Committee – CLOSED SESSION

  • SSC membership and process

10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Collaborative Research Committee

  • Review and discuss preliminary alternatives for long-term collaborative research

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. Council convenes

1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Unmanaged Forage Fish

  • Consider comments from the Fishery Management Action Team, Ecosystems and Ocean Planning Advisory Panel, and Ecosystems and Ocean Planning Committee meetings on list of species, management alternatives, and other aspects of the amendment
  • Review and approve public hearing document

4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NROC Party/Charter Electronic Reporting Project

George Lapointe

Wednesday, February 10th

9:00 a.m. Council convenes

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management

  • Review Interactions White Paper Discuss EAFM Guidance Document (First Draft)

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Fisheries Dependent Data Project

Jen Anderson – GARFO

12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. Ricks E Savage Award

12:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Law Enforcement Report

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Scup Gear Restricted Areas – Framework Meeting 2

  • Review AP input
  • Review analysis of impacts
  • Select final alternative

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Omnibus Industry Funded Monitoring Amendment

  • Select preferred alternatives for standard cost responsibilities, framework provisions for IFM programs, service provider requirements, a prioritization process to allocate federal funding, and monitoring set-asides

Thursday, February 11th

9:00 a.m. Council Convenes

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Marine Recreational Information Program

  • Update on implementation activities

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Naming the Deep Sea Coral Protection Areas

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Business Session

  • Organization Reports 
  • Liaison Reports 
  • Executive Director’s Report
  • Science Report
  • Committee Reports
  • Continuing and New Business 

View a PDF of the Agenda 

Case for Shad & Herring Rules Circles the Drain

January 7, 2015 — (CN) – The D.C. Circuit cut the line on a case accusing the government of failing to protect ocean fish that feed New York and New Jersey eagles and striped bass.

Led by the New Jersey-based Anglers Conservation Network and its founder, Capt. Paul Eidman, the case centers on four dwindling stocks of fish – alewife, blueback herring, American shad and hickory shad – that school in the Atlantic Ocean from New York to North Carolina.

As those fish migrate up rivers during their annual spawning in the spring, they are prey for bald eagles, ospreys and other birds, like cormorants and gulls, as well as for other fish at sea and for striped bass making their annual spawning run into many of the same rivers.

The case at hand contends that there are even fewer river herrings and shads available for bigger species on the food chain, thanks to a 2013 inaction by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, one of eight established by the 1976 Fishery Conservation Act, or Magnuson-Stevens Act.

That year, the council was considering adopting Amendment 15 to add river herring and shad to the 1983 Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan.

Rather than approving the amendment, however, the council voted 10-9 to table the issue for three years while a working group studied the fish further.

The plaintiffs say this decision violated the Magnuson-Stevens Act, but U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler dismissed the complaint on Sept. 30, 2014.

A three-judge panel with the D.C. Circuit affirmed Tuesday.

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service

 

Agenda Released for NEFMC January 16 Meeting

January 6, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

 

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

9:00 a.m. Introductions and Announcements (Council Chairman Terry Stockwell)

9:05 Reports on Recent Activities Council Chairman and Executive Director, NOAA Regional Administrator (Greater Atlantic Region/GAR), NOAA General Counsel, Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council liaisons, and representatives of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, U.S. Coast Guard, and NOAA Enforcement

11:30 Sea Scallop Committee Report (Mary Beth Tooley)

Receive an update on the February sea scallop workshop being held to explore concerns about inshore scallop fishing in the Northeast

12:00 p.m. Open Period for Public Comments (Terry Stockwell)

Opportunity for the public to provide brief comments on issues relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda for formal discussion (speakers are asked to sign up beforehand and limit remarks to between 3-5 minutes)

12:15 Lunch Break

1:30 Risk Policy Working Group Update (Mary Beth Tooley)

Receive an update on finalizing a “roadmap” that contains guidance on implementation of the NEFMC’s approved risk policy

2:00 Atlantic Herring Committee Report (Peter Kendall)

  • Review the development of Amendment 8 — the focus of the action is to establish long-term harvest strategies for Atlantic herring, including an acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule that explicitly accounts for herring’s role in the ecosystem and the issue of localized depletion;
  • Discuss revising the Georges Bank haddock catch cap accountability measure through a framework adjustment to the Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP);
  • Discuss the use of portside data in river herring/shad catch cap monitoring

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

8:30 a.m. Overview of NOAA Fisheries Fishery Dependent Data Project (GAR staff)

Receive a report on the NOAA Fisheries data project prior to Council and public discussion on the topic

9:30 Observer Policy Committee Report (Terry Stockwell)

Select preferred alternatives among the omnibus elements in the Industry-Funded Monitoring (IFM) Amendment and approve the associated draft Environmental Assessment for purposes of public review; the action will address standard cost responsibilities, framework provisions for IFM programs, service provider requirements, a prioritization process to allocate federal funding, and a monitoring set-aside option; the Council is expected to select preferred alternatives for the herring and mackerel alternatives at its April 2016 meeting

12:00 p.m. Lunch Break

1:15 Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) Report (Dr. Jake Kritzer)

Review SSC recommendations, if any, for a revised overfishing limit and an acceptable biological catch for witch flounder for fishing years 2016-2018; receive an update on additional topics discussed by the SSC at their January 20 meeting, as appropriate

2:00 Groundfish Committee Report (Frank Blount)

Take final action on the 2016-2018 fishery specifications for witch flounder (preliminary values were selected at the December 2015 Council meeting); receive a committee update on the development of measures to address the 2016 groundfish priorities, including potential changes to the at-sea monitoring program and the management process for recreational fishing

3:30 Review NOAA’s Draft Guidance for Conducting Catch Share Program Reviews (Council staff)

Review NOAA’s Catch Share Guidance document and review/approve NEFMC comments on the draft

Thursday, January 28, 2016

8:30 a.m. Small Mesh Multispecies Committee Report (Mark Gibson)

Review scoping comments for Amendment 22 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP and approve the range of issues to be addressed in the action; the major topic under consideration is the development of a limited access program for the small mesh fishery comprised of whiting (silver and offshore hake) and red hake

9:30 Presentation on the Northeast Region’s Revised Stock Assessment Process (Dr. Bill Karp, Science Director, NEFSC)

Discuss Northeast Regional Coordinating Council-recommended changes to the Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee process

10:30 Other Business

View a PDF of the Meeting Agenda

MAFMC Revises 2016 Spiny Dogfish Specifications

December 16, 2015 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has revised the spiny dogfish specifications that were previously recommended for the 2016 fishing year. During the December 2015 Council Meeting last week in Annapolis, Maryland, the Council approved a revised acceptable biological catch (ABC) limit of about 52 million pounds and a commercial quota of 40 million pounds. The revised commercial quota represents an increase of nearly 60% relative to the quota originally recommended for 2016. In addition, the Council approved ABCs of 51 million pounds for 2017 and 50 million pounds for 2018. 

At a previous meeting in October, the Council had recommended substantial reductions in spiny dogfish catch limits for 2016, including a 50% cut in the commercial quota, in response to the findings of the 2015 spiny dogfish stock assessment update. Although the update concluded that the stock was neither overfished nor subject to overfishing, the new estimate of stock biomass had decreased markedly. The Council’s recommendations would have reduced the commercial quota for spiny dogfish by 50% next year. 

However, the Council expressed concern that the spiny dogfish assessment update did not include any data from 2014 – the result of mechanical issues with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) trawl survey vessel – and requested that the SSC work with the NEFSC to evaluate alternative ABC-setting methods that could address this data gap. Three different methods for calculating spiny dogfish biomass were evaluated, and the SSC identified a Kalman filter as the best available approach for overcoming the missing data. 

Using the alternative approach, the SSC recommended ABCs that resulted in commercial quotas of approximately 40 million pounds for 2016, 39 million pounds for 2017, and 38 million pounds for 2018. This represents a 20% reduction in quotas from 2015 to 2016. However, landings have been below 50% of the commercial quotas for the last two full fishing years, and the reduced quota is unlikely to be constraining. 

After considering additional public comment during last week’s meeting, the Council accepted the SSC’s revised ABC recommendation and associated management measures. The New England Fishery Management Council also approved similar specifications at its December meeting for this jointly-managed species, and if approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the new measures will go into effect May 1, 2016.