Saving Seafood

ASMFC 2016 Spring Meeting Preliminary Agenda and Public Comment Guidelines

March 16, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find attached and below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2016 Spring Meeting, May 2-5, 2016 in Alexandria, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-spring-meeting.  Materials will be available on April 20, 2016 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-spring-meeting. 

Monday, May 2, 2016

9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.              American Lobster Management Board

·         Discuss Future Management of Southern New England American Lobster Stock

o   Address Tabled Motion to Initiate an Addendum to Address the Declining Stock Conditions

o   Technical Committee Report

o   Plan Development Team Report

·         Discuss Future Management for Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank American Lobster Stock

·         Consider Final Action on Draft Addendum I to the Jonah Crab FMP

·         Discuss Possible Action to Create a Coastwide Standard for Claw Landings in the Jonah Crab Fishery

·         Update on Effort Control Measures for Jonah Crab Only Trap Fishermen in Rhode Island

·         Update on the New England Fishery Management Council Deep Sea Coral Habitat Amendment and ASMFC Survey to Area 3 Fishermen

·         American Lobster Law Enforcement Subcommittee Update on Offshore Enforcement and Trap Reduction Enforcement

 

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.                        Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) Executive Committee

·         Program Update

·         Update on the MRIP APAIS Transition

·         Review and Approve Standard Operating Procedures Written in Response to the Independent Program Review

·         Develop a Program Governance Recommendation

·         Review Request for Proposals for the Upcoming Funding Cycle

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.                         ACCSP Coordinating Council

·         Program Update

·         Update on the MRIP APAIS Transition

·         Consider Approval of Standard Operating Procedures

·         Review and Consider Approval of Governance Recommendations

·         Review and Consider Approval of Request for Proposals for the Upcoming Funding Cycle

 

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

 

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.                      Executive Committee

·         Report of the Administrative Oversight Committee

·         Presentation of the FY17 Budget

·         Discussion of ACCSP Governance

·         Discussion of Plan Development Team Membership

·         Future Annual Meetings Update

 

10:15 – 11:15 a.m.                    Horseshoe Crab Management Board

·         Discuss Biomedical Data Confidentiality and Stock Assessment Planning

·         Review of Alternative Bait Costs

·         Update on Adaptive Resource Management Framework Review

 

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.          Shad and River Herring Management Board

·         Report from Data Standardization Workshop

·         Update on Activities of the River Herring Technical Expert Work Group

·         Stock Assessment Planning and Timetable for American Shad and River Herring Benchmark Assessments

 

Noon – 5:00 p.m.                     Law Enforcement Committee (LEC)

·         Update on Maine Lobster Trap Tag Transferability Program

·         Discuss Lobster Offshore Enforcement Issues

·         Review Tautog  Tagging Program Options and Subcommittee Efforts

·         Discuss Aerial Enforcement Issues and Subcommittee Efforts

·         Review 2016 Action Plan Tasks for LEC

·         Discuss Ongoing Enforcement Activities (Closed Session)

·         Federal Agency Report Highlights

·         State Agency Report Highlights

·         Review and Discuss Additional ISFMP Species Issues (as needed)

1:15 – 3:45 p.m.                        Climate Change Workshop

 

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.                        American Eel Management Board

·         Discuss Potential Options for Revisiting Yellow Eel Commercial Quota

 

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.                        Annual Awards of Excellence Reception

  

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

 

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.                      Weakfish Management Board

·         Review and Consider Approval of the 2016 Weakfish Benchmark Stock Assessment for Management Use

·         Discuss Next Steps for Management in Response to Assessment Results

8:30 a.m. – Noon                       Law Enforcement Committee (continued)

                                                               

10:15 – 11:45 a.m.                    Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board

·         Executive Committee Report

·         Management & Science Committee Report

·         Assessment Science Committee Report and Approval of the Stock Assessment Schedule

·         Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership Report

·         Law Enforcement Committee Report

·         Consider Next Steps Relative to Climate Change and ASMFC Management

·         Report on Commissioner Survey Follow-up

·         Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Assessment Update

·         Overview of the Sturgeon Research and Recovery Workshop Scheduled for May 16-19, 2016 (Coordinated by NOAA Fisheries)

 

1:00 – 5:00 p.m.                        Commissioner Parliamentary Workshop

  

Thursday, May 5, 2016

 

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.                      Atlantic Menhaden Management Board

·         Consider Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

·         Provide Guidance to the Technical Committee Regarding Stock Projections

·         Consider 2015 FMP Review and State Compliance

10:15 – 11:00 a.m.                    Coastal Sharks Management Board

·         Review and Consider Approval of Draft Addendum IV (Smoothhound Dogfish) for Public Comment

11:15 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.            South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board

·         Review and Consider Approval of the 2016 Red Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment for Management Use

·         Discuss Next Steps for Red Drum Management in Response to the Assessment Results

·         Progress Update on Spot and Atlantic Croaker Benchmark Stock Assessments

·         Review North Carolina Report on Spanish Mackerel Pound Net Landings as Required by Addendum I to the Omnibus Amendment for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout

·         Elect Vice-Chair

 

2:00 – 2:30 p.m.                      Business Session (if necessary)

·         Review Noncompliance Findings (if necessary)

 

Public Comment Guidelines

With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:

For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will use a speaker sign-up list in deciding how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.

For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comment will not provide additional insight to the board.

For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.

In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action). 

1.    Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included in the briefing materials.

2.    Comments received by 5:00 PM on the Tuesday immediately preceding the scheduled ASMFC Meeting (in this case, the Tuesday deadline will be April 26, 2016) will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.

3.    Following the Tuesday, April 26, 2016 5:00 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies).

The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.  As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail, fax, and email.

View a PDF of the Agenda

Portside Sampling, Genetic Research Focus of 2016-2018 Atlantic Herring Research Set-Aside Awards

January 28, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center, in coordination with the New England Fishery Management Council, announces that two research projects have been selected for support through the 2016-2018 Atlantic Herring Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program.

Current research priorities for the program include reducing river herring bycatch in the Atlantic herring fishery, developing port side sampling in the fishery to better characterize catch, exploring ways to passively monitor net performance for a variety of purposes, and investigating video monitoring to document fishing and catch processing.

Find out more about the projects receiving the awards.

Questions? Contact Shelley Dawicki at 508-495-2378 or shelley.dawicki@noaa.gov.

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

 

December 7-10 MAFMC Meeting in Annapolis, Maryland

November 18, 2015 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Monday, December 7, 2015 – Thursday, December 10, 2015

The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s December 2015 meeting to be held in Annapolis, Maryland on December 7 – 10, 2015. 

  • On Monday, December 7, the meeting will be held at the O’Callaghan Annapolis Hotel (174 West St., Annapolis, MD: telephone 410-263-7700). 
  • On Tuesday, December 8 through Thursday, December 10, the meeting will be held at the Westin Annapolis (100 Westgate Circle, Annapolis, MD: telephone 410-972-4300). 

Briefing Materials: Additional details and briefing materials will be posted on the December 2015 Council Meeting page.

Webinar: For online access to the meeting, go to http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/december2015/

Agenda

Monday, December 7

O’Callaghan Annapolis Hotel

9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.  Executive Committee (CLOSED)

  • Ricks E Savage Award nominees and other awards

10:00 a.m.  Council Convenes

 

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  Comprehensive 5-year Research Priority Plan

  • Review and approve plan

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Non-Fishing Activities that Impact Fish Habitat

  • Review and approve policies

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Lunch

 

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.  Golden Tilefish Framework 2 – Meeting 1

 

2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Blueline Tilefish Alternatives

  • Review public hearing document

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.  Spiny Dogfish Committee Meeting as a Committee of the Whole

  • Review findings from SSC meeting
  • Adjust specification recommendations as appropriate

 

Tuesday, December 8

Westin Annapolis

 

8:30 a.m.  Council Convenes

 

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.  Unmanaged Forage – The Pacific Council Experience, Rich Lincoln

 

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  Unmanaged Forage Species Amendment

  • Review and approve list of species for inclusion in the public hearing document
  • Review and approve management alternatives for NEPA analysis and public hearing document

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.  Scup GRA Framework – Meeting 1

  • Discuss and adopt alternatives

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.  Lunch

 

1:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.  Summer Flounder Goals and Objectives Workshop, Fisheries Forum

  • Review feedback from Fisheries Forum project
  • Discuss priorities for revised FMP goals and objectives
  • Identify draft goals and objectives for Summer Flounder Amendment

Wednesday, December 9

Westin Annapolis

 

9:00 a.m.  Demersal Committee Meeting as a Committee of the Whole with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Boards

 

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  2016 Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass Commercial Management Measures

  • Review recommendations from the Monitoring and Technical Committees
  • Recommend changes to commercial management measures if appropriate

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Summer Flounder 2016 Recreational Management Measures

  • ASMFC Addendum for summer flounder (Board Action)
  • Review Monitoring Committee and Advisory Panel recommendations for 2016
  • Adopt recommendations for 2016 management measures

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Lunch

 

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.  Summer Flounder Recreational Management Measures (continued)

 

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.  Summer Flounder Amendment

  • Discuss timeline and update on progress

2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Black Sea Bass 2016 Recreational Management Measures

  • ASMFC Addendum for black sea bass (Board Action)
  • Review Monitoring Committee and Advisory Panel recommendations for 2016
  • Adopt recommendations for 2016 management measures

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.  Scup 2016 Recreational Management Measures

  • Review Monitoring Committee and Advisory Panel recommendations for 2016
  • Adopt recommendations for 2016 management measures

 

Thursday, December 10

Westin Annapolis

 

8:00 a.m.  Council Convenes

 

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.  GARFO Recreational Implementation Plan, Mike Pentony

 

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.  NEFSC Strategic Plan, Bill Karp

 

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.  2016 Implementation Plan

  • Review and approve Implementation Plan

10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Business Session

  • Organization Reports
    • NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Office
    • NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center
    • NOAA Office of General Counsel
    • NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
    • U.S. Coast Guard
    • Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
  • Liaison Reports
    • New England Council
    • South Atlantic Council
    • Regional Planning Body
  • Executive Director’s Report, Chris Moore
    • Review and approve change to SOPPs
  • Science Report, Rich Seagraves
  • Committee Reports
    • Executive Committee
    • Collaborative Research Committee
    • River Herring/Shad Committee
  • Continuing and New Business

View a PDF of the Agenda

 

River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop

The Workshop, which is being supported with funding by NOAA Fisheries, will begin at 1 PM on November 18th and end at 3 PM on the 20th, and will be held at the Sheraton BWI, 1100 Old Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090. The Workshop is open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room.  Opportunities for public comment will be provided.

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

 

ASMFC Presents Willard Cole Prestigious Captain David H. Hart Award

November 4, 2015 — ST. AUGUSTINE, Fl. – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented Willard “Bill” Cole, formerly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Captain David H. Hart Award, its highest annual award, at the Commission’s 74th Annual Meeting in St. Augustine, FL.  

Throughout his nearly 40-year career as a state, university, and federal fishery manager and scientist, Bill Cole worked to protect, restore, and conserve fisheries resources and their habitats along the Atlantic coast.  Bill graduated from North Carolina State University in 1966, and moved to Lake City, Florida, where he began his career with the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission.  Shortly after, he joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), where he stayed for the remainder of his career. At USFWS, Bill served in different capacities and numerous offices from North Carolina, to New York, DC, Texas and even New Mexico. In each place he left an indelible mark; serving on review teams for the first Everglades study, developing the Navigable Waters Handbook; protecting riverine, wetland, and coastal habitats in Long Island Sound, the Hudson River and St. Lawrence Seaway; and establishing what ultimately would become the USFWS South Atlantic Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office. While with the South Atlantic Office, he worked closely with the State of North Carolina to restore anadromous fishery resources throughout the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, once the site of the largest commercial American shad and river herring fisheries on the entire East Coast.  

With his customary vision, Bill understood early on that management of fishery resources in North Carolina required participation in regional fishery management institutions as well. As such, he became involved with both the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Commission, as the Southeast Regional Director’s designee for both institutions.  He served in that capacity continuously for 19 years.  Bill served on numerous committees and management boards for both groups, and prior to his retirement served as Chair of the Commission’s South Atlantic State-Federal Fisheries Management Board. 

Along with several colleagues, Bill conceived the Cooperative Winter Tagging Cruise off North Carolina and Virginia.  The Cruise was designed to tag striped bass in a mixed stock of migratory fish wintering off the North Carolina Outer Banks and southern Virginia as a part of the Commission’s Atlantic migratory striped bass management program.  The Cruise began in 1988 and has been conducted annually with  few interruptions.  It is one of the longest time series of any such coastal tagging program, as well as one of the most effective federal, state, and academic partnerships.  Bill served as Chief Scientist on all but two of the cruises during an 18 year period, and annually coordinated scheduling, equipment acquisition, and recruitment of all Scientific Party members.  Through the years, tagging of additional ASMFC- and Council-managed species was added to the Cruise protocol.  To date, the Cruise has tagged 252 Atlantic sturgeon and over 47,000 striped bass, with a tag return rate approaching 20 percent.   

Bill is a charter member of the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program Operations Committee, and has been an ardent supporter of the Program since its inception, providing staff to serve as the initial Program Coordinator, and working tirelessly with federal and state partners to move the program forward.  

Finally, during his last year with USFWS, Bill was detailed to the National Marine Fisheries Service, where he served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, Dr. William Hogarth.  Bill was a key element in the planning of several national-level meetings that brought together fisheries professionals from Regional Fishery Management Councils and Interstate Fisheries Management Commissions to consider the future directions of fisheries management.

Bill has characterized himself as a “biopolitician,” but his contribution to the management of U.S. East Coast fisheries goes well beyond his many notable accomplishments.  Bill has been a true friend and mentor to many in our fisheries management family and we are deeply indebted to him.  Since Bill was unable to attend the Hart Award ceremony, Dr. Wilson Laney, a longtime colleague and friend, accepted the award on Bill’s behalf.

The Commission instituted the Award in 1991 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding efforts to improve Atlantic coast marine fisheries. The Hart Award is named for one of the Commission’s longest serving members, who dedicated himself to the advancement and protection of marine fishery resources.                                                                                                                                                                                                                

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Nov. 2, 2015

November 2, 2015 — The following was released by the North Carolina Fisheries Association:

REMINDER: WEBINAR Q&A SNAPPER GROUPER REGULATORY AMENDMENT 25 TONIGHT!

NOAA REPORT FINDS 2014 COMMERCIAL CATCH OF U.S. SEAFOOD ON PAR WITH 2013

Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and New Bedford, Mass., remain top fishing ports; recreational anglers took 68 million fishing trips in 2014. 

America’s commercial and recreational fisheries show continued stability and make a large contribution to the nation’s economy thanks to sustainable fisheries management policies, according to a new report from NOAA Fisheries.  U.S. fishermen landed 9.5 billion pounds of fish and shellfish, valued at $5.4 billion, in 2014, according to the new edition of NOAA Fisheries’ annual report, Fisheries of the United States 2014, released today. These figures are similar to those from 2013; both the volume and value continue to remain higher than the average for the past five years.Figures for recreational fishing activities remained strong; 10.4 million anglers took 68 million trips and caught nearly 392 million fish in 2014. See the full report here.  

MAFMC COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH COMMITTEE MEETING 

The council’s Collaborative Research Committee will meet via webinar on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.  to identify research priorities for the council’s upcoming collaborative research funding opportunity.  The council has undertaken a short-term (2015-17) initiative and intends to provide funding for several projects that address specific, council-defined research topics pertaining to mid-Atlantic fisheries.  During this meeting, the committee will identify approximately 4-6 research priorities which will be used to guide the solicitation of proposals and selection of projects to receive funding.  A detailed agenda and background documents will be made available on the council’s website prior to the meeting.  

ASMFC 74TH ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA AND MATERIALS 

REGULATION AND RULE CHANGES:

–Commercial harvest of yellowtail snapper in South Atlantic federal waters will close Oct. 31

DEADLINES:

Nov. 4 – Atlantic HMS SEDAR Pool Nominations

Nov. 9 – NMFS Proposed Rule on ICCAT Bluefin Electronic Documentation Comments

Nov. 16 – SAFMC Proposed Federal Management Measures Comments

Nov. 19 – Derelict Fishing Gear Recovery Project Applications

Dec. 16 – NMFS Draft Ecosystem-based Fishery Management Policy Comments

MEETINGS:

If you are aware of ANY meetings that should be of interest to commercial fishing that is not on this list, please contact us so we can include it here.    

Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. – Question and Answer Webinar for Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 25

Nov. 2-5 – ASMFC Annual Meeting, World Golf Village Renaissance, St. Augustine Resort, 500 Legacy Trail, St. Augustine, Fl

Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.– SAMFC Snapper Grouper Regulatory Amendment 25 Public Hearing

Nov. 9-10 – Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee Meeting, Providence Biltmore, 11 Dorrance Street, Providence, RI

Nov. 12  at 6 p.m. – SAFMC Dolphin Wahoo Regulatory Amendment 1 Public Hearing to address commerical trip limits for dolphin

Nov. 13 at 9 a.m. – MAFMC Collaborative Research Committee Meeting via webinar

Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. – Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel Meeting via webinar

Nov. 18-20 – Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting, Jennette’s Pier, 7223 South Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head

Nov. 18-20 – ASMFC River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop, Linthicum, MD

Nov. 30 at 12:30 p.m. – NCFA Board of Directors Meeting, Washington Civic Center, 110 Gladden St., Washington

PROCLAMATIONS: 

SCUP – COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS – ATLANTIC OCEAN-NORTH OF CAPE HATTERAS

SPINY DOGFISH-COMMERCIAL FISHING OPERATIONS

SNAPPER-GROUPER COMPLEX – COMMERCIAL PURPOSES (YELLOWTAIL SNAPPER)

GILL NETS – ALBEMARLE SOUND AREA- MANAGEMENT UNIT A-OPENING PORTIONS OF ALBEMARLE SOUND AND TRIBUTARIES  

RULE SUSPENSION – GILL NET RESTRICTIONS: INTERNAL COASTAL WATERS – OPENING MANAGEMENT UNITS B AND D1

2015-2016 OYSTER MECHANICAL HARVEST RESTRICTIONS

View a PDF of the Weekly Update here

River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop Scheduled for November 18-20, 2015 in Linthicum, MD

ARLINGTON, VA – October 15, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will conduct a River Herring Data Collection Standardization Workshop on November 18-20, 2015 in Linthicum, MD. The Workshop will bring together researchers from state and federal marine fishery agencies, Tribal Nations, and Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans to evaluate current fishery-independent surveys for river herring and develop recommendations to standardize survey methodologies as well as data collected by these surveys for use in future stock assessments. Workshop participants will also consider some fishery-dependent sampling that collect river herring along the Atlantic coast.

Standardization of river herring data collection methods and datasets was identified as a priority for future stock assessments by the 2012 river herring benchmark stock assessment and peer review, the Commission’s River Herring Technical Committee, and NOAA Fisheries’ River Herring Technical Expert Working Group.  The Workshop, which is being supported with funding by NOAA Fisheries, will begin at 1 PM on November 18th and end at 3 PM on the 20th, and will be held at the Sheraton BWI, 1100 Old Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090. The Workshop is open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room.  Opportunities for public comment will be provided.

For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.