September 24, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Postpones Development of Draft Amendment 3

Portsmouth, NH – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section has postponed further development of Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp until next summer. The intent of the amendment was to address increased effort in the fishery through a variety of management options including limited entry.

“Given the collapsed status of the resource and the fact that the fishery is currently under a moratorium, the Section decided to postpone further action on the amendment until Maine can address over-capacity in its fishery,” stated Section Chair Michael Armstrong from Massachusetts. 

Maine has committed to develop a draft proposal to address over-capacity in the fishery. As it develops the proposal, Maine will seek the input of interested stakeholders, including fishery managers, state legislative representatives, and the fishing industry. The Section is scheduled to meet December 7th (location to be determined) to review the 2015 stock status update, receive Advisory Panel input, and set fishery specifications for the 2016 fishing season. Additionally, Maine will provide a preliminary update of its proposal at the December 7th meeting.

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