Saving Seafood

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel Meeting Materials Now Available

November 21, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: 

Meeting materials for the November 29, 2017 meetings of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel are available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/NShrimpSection_AP_MtgMaterials_Nov2017.pdf  or on the Commission’s website athttp://www.asmfc.org/calendar/11/2017/Northern-Shrimp-Section-and-Advisory-Panel/1136. For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Approves Public Hearing Document on Draft Amendment 3 for Public Comment New England States Schedule Public Hearings

May 12, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) releases Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Northern Shrimp for public consideration and input. The states of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Draft Amendment. The details of those hearings follow.

Maine Department of Marine Resources

Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at 6 PM

Maine Department of Marine Resources

Conference Room #118

32 Blossom Lane

Augusta, Maine

Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553

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Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 6 PM

Ellsworth City Hall Conference Room

1 City Hall Plaza

Ellsworth, Maine

Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553

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New Hampshire Fish and Game

Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 7 PM

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095

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Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries

Monday, June 5, 2017 at 6 PM

MA DMF Annisquam River Station

30 Emerson Avenue

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Contact: Kelly Whitmore at 978.282.0308

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The Section initiated Draft Amendment 3 with the intention of considering a limited entry program to address overcapacity in the fishery. In the 2010 and 2011 fishing seasons, increased fishing effort and untimely reporting resulted in early season closures and an overharvest of the total allowable catch (TAC). The 2012 fishing season was further restricted, resulting in a 21-day trawl season and a 17-day trap season. In the 2013 fishing season, despite the fact that only 55% of the TAC was harvested, the fishing mortality rate (0.53) was estimated above the target (0.38). In December 2013, the Section established a moratorium for the 2014 fishing season due to recruitment failure and a collapsed stock. The moratorium was maintained each year, through 2017, in response to the continued depleted condition of the stock.

Due to the uncertainty about if and when the resource would rebuild and the fishery reopen, the Section shifted the focus of Draft Amendment 3 to consider measures to improve management of the northern shrimp fishery and resource. Proposed options in the Draft Amendment include state-by-state allocations and accountability measures to better manage effort in the fishery. The Draft Amendment also explores the mandatory use of size sorting grate systems to minimize harvest of small (presumably male) shrimp, as well as reporting measures to ensure all harvested shrimp are being reported.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Amendment either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. The Draft Amendment can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/NShrimpDraftAmd3_PublicComment.pdf or via the Commission’s website,www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on June 21, 2017 and should be forwarded to Max Appelman, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mappelman@asmfc.org (Subject line: Northern Shrimp). For more information, please contact Max Appelman at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Gulf of Maine shrimp season likely to be canceled

October 28th, 2016 — The Gulf of Maine has been closed to shrimping for the past three seasons and it now appears regulators will continue the shutdown throughout the upcoming 2017 season.

When the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission’s shrimp section convenes Nov. 10 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, members will be greeted with a recommendation from its northern shrimp technical committee that the closure extend through a fourth consecutive season.

“Given the continued poor condition of the resource and poor prospects for the near future, the NSTC recommends that the Northern Shrimp Section extend the moratorium through 2017,” the technical committee wrote in the summary of its 2016 Gulf of Maine northern shrimp stock assessment.

 According to the assessment, not much has changed since the ASMFC closed the shrimp fishery following the 2013 season in which harvesters landed only 55 percent (346 metric tons) of the total allowable catch of 625 metric tons set by ASMFC for that season.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times 

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel to Meet November 10th to Set 2017 Fishery Specifications

October 27, 2016 — The following was released by the ASMFC:

Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) and Advisory Panel will meet on November 10, 2016 in Urban Forestry Center, 45 Elwyn Road, Portsmouth, New Hampshire; 603.431.6774. The Advisory Panel will meet in the morning (10-11:30 a.m.) to review the 2016 Stock Status Report and Technical Committee recommendations, and formulate recommendations to the Section for the 2017 fishing season. The Section will meet in the afternoon (1-3 p.m.) to set 2017 specifications after reviewing the 2016 Stock Status Report, as well as the recommendations from the Technical Committee and Advisory Panel.

For the past three fishing seasons (2014-2016), based on the status of the resource, which is considered at record low levels and experiencing poor recruitment since 2012, a moratorium has been in place for the Gulf of Maine northern shrimp fishery.

Both meetings are open to the public. The draft agendas for the meetings can be found athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/NoShrimp_Section_AP_Nov2016.pdf

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Resumes Development of Draft Amendment 3

June 7, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

PORTSMOUTH, NH – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section resumed development of Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp. The amendment was initiated in 2014 to address overcapacity in the fishery. Prior to closure of the fishery in 2014 due to a collapsed resource, overcapacity had been identified as an important issue to be addressed in order to effectively control harvest.

Draft Amendment 3 explores state-by-state allocations, seasonal- and area-based management to manage effort in the fishery, and the mandatory use of size sorting grate systems to minimize harvest of small shrimp and ensure resource sustainability. The draft amendment will also explore additional reporting measures to ensure all harvested shrimp are being reported.  The Section removed limited entry as an option for consideration in the draft amendment with the understanding that Maine would explore alternative options to reduce overcapacity in the state’s fishery.

The Section will meet in November to review the 2016 stock status report for northern shrimp and set fishery specifications for the 2017 fishing season. The draft amendment will be presented to the Section for its consideration this winter.

Future of Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery up for discussion

May 26, 2016 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Interstate fishing regulators will meet to discuss what New England’s shuttered coldwater shrimp industry should look like if it reopens.

The little pink shrimp, Pandalus borealis, were popular as a grocery store item and with restaurants until regulators shut the fishery down in 2013. Scientists say warming ocean temperatures have made New England waters inhospitable for shrimp.

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section will meet in Portsmouth on June 3 to discuss how much participation the fishery might be able to sustain if it reopens. The board will also consider the possibility of limiting entry into the fishery.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Northern Shrimp Section Meeting Scheduled for June 3 in Portsmouth, NH

May 20, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section will meet on June 3, 2016 from 9:30 – 11:30 AM at the Portsmouth Public Library, Levenson Community Meeting Room, 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. At the meeting, the Section will discuss resuming development of Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp, which had been initiated to address effort in the event the fishery reopens. As part of the discussion, the Section will review a summary of Maine’s industry meetings on addressing over-capacity in the fishery. The Section will also be presented an analysis by the Plan Development Team regarding limited entry.

The meeting is open to the public; limited public comment will be allowed at the discretion of the Section Chair. The draft agenda and meeting materials can be found here. For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org.

Moratorium on Northern Shrimp Commercial Fishing Maintained for 2016 Season

December 8, 2015 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

In response to the depleted condition of the northern shrimp resource, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section extended the moratorium on commercial fishing for the 2016 fishing season. The 2015 Stock Status Report for Gulf of Maine (GOM) Northern Shrimp indicates abundance and biomass indices for 2012-2015 were the lowest on record for the 32-year time series. The stock has experience failed recruitment for five consecutive years, including the three smallest year classes on record. As a result, the indices of fishable biomass from 2012-2015 are the lowest on record. 

Recruitment of northern shrimp is related to both spawning biomass and ocean temperatures, with higher spawning biomass and colder temperatures producing stronger recruitment. Ocean temperatures in western GOM shrimp habitat have increased over the past decade and reached unprecedented highs in 2011 and 2012. While 2014 and 2015 temperatures were cooler, temperatures are predicted to continue to rise as a result of climate change. This suggests an increasingly inhospitable environment for northern shrimp. The Northern Shrimp Technical Committee considers the stock to have collapsed with little prospect of recovery in the immediate future. The 2015 Stock Status Report is available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5666017a2015NorthernShrimpAssessment.pdf. 

To maintain the time series of data collected from northern shrimp commercial fishery catches, a cooperative winter sampling program was approved with a 22 metric ton research set aside quota. The goal of the program is to continue the winter time series of biological data (e.g. size composition, egg hatch timing) collected from GOM northern shrimp fishery catches in the absence of a fishery.  Four trawl vessels will be contracted to fish four regions with a maximum trip limit of 1,800 pounds, and two trappers with a weekly trap limit of 40 traps and a 600 pound per week limit. Participating trawlers and trappers will be able to sell their catch.  Trawlers will also be compensated $500/trip. 

“Considering survey indices are the lowest on record, with an unprecedented five consecutive years of weak recruitment and continuing unfavorable environmental conditions, the Section maintained the moratorium in 2016,” stated Northern Shrimp Section Chair Mike Armstrong of Massachusetts. “The Section is committed to protecting the remaining spawning biomass and allowing as much reproduction to take place as possible.”

For more information, please contact, Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.             

Regulators to decide whether to keep Maine shrimp ban

December 7, 2015 — PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire – Fishing regulators are ready to decide if a moratorium on fishing for Maine shrimp will be extended into next year.

Fishermen haven’t been able to catch the shrimp since 2013. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section is scheduled to meet on Monday in Portsmouth to decide if that will continue.

The commission’s Northern Shrimp Technical Committee says prospects for shrimp recovery are poor for the near future. It is asking the Northern Shrimp Section to extend the moratorium.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

Fate of New England shrimp fishery will be decided soon

November 23, 2015 — ELLSWORTH — Fishermen wondering whether there will be a shrimp season this winter won’t have long to wait for an answer.

On Monday, Dec. 7, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel will meet in Portsmouth, N.H., to decide whether boats from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts will be allowed to this winter. Last year, the regulators imposed a moratorium on fishing because scientists said the shrimp stock was on the verge of collapse.

Next month, the scientific advisory panel will meet to review the 2015 Stock Status Report and develop recommendations for the 2016 fishing season. The section will meet later in the day to set specifications for the 2016 fishing season, if there is to be one, after reviewing the 2015 Stock Status Report and the advisory panel recommendations.

Information from the ASMFC suggests that another moratorium is likely. According to surveys in the Gulf of Maine, between 2012 and 2014 the abundance of shrimp and the size of the shrimp biomass were at their lowest levels in the 31-year history of the survey. The 2014 fishable biomass was the lowest on record.”

The presence of juvenile shrimp in the survey was discouraging as well. Shrimp hatched during 2013 were not expected to reach fishable size until 2017 and the level of recruitment in 2014 was the ninth lowest since the surveys began.

In a document prepared to introduce the public to proposed changes to the Northern Shrimp Fishery Plan (which have been postponed), the ASMFC said that scientists believed that “the northern shrimp stock has collapsed with little prospect of recovery in the near future.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American