Saving Seafood

New report finds many local species hard to buy in New England

May 13, 2019 — It’s not hard to find lobster, sea scallops, haddock, or cod at your local fishmonger in New England, but look for more locally sourced fish like scup, dogfish, and skate and you’re usually out of luck.

Authors of a new study released Monday by the nonprofit group Eating with the Ecosystem describe a stark discrepancy between what’s swimming in local waters and what’s available on local seafood counters.

“Our findings show that there are many local species that are underrepresented in the marketplace and yet many of these species are also quite abundant in our local waters,” program director and study coordinator Kate Masury told SeafoodSource in an email. “Species experiencing this kind of mismatch should be the first priority for a marketing boost as they have the most to gain from an economic benefit perspective and balancing their harvest with their ecological production can help alleviate impacts on marine food webs.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

There are plenty of fish in the sea. Why do we eat so few?

May 7, 2019 — The waters off New England teem with a wide range of species, from scup, white hake, and mackerel to whelk, surf clams, and peekytoe crab. But despite this abundance, just a small handful of regionally available species dominate the marketplace—mostly lobster, scallops, and cod. Why don’t supermarket shelves better mirror the diversity of local waters?

That question is the subject of a new survey of fish and shellfish diversity in grocery stores and specialty markets in New England. The study, published on Monday by Eating with the Ecosystem, a nonprofit that promotes local and sustainable seafood harvesting in the Northeast, looks for “symmetry”: namely, the balance between the creatures found in nearby waters and the products found in the seafood section. For now, the study found, that proportion is greatly out of whack.

The report is based on the shopping experiences of 86 citizen scientists, who collected data over a six-month period of time. Each week, participants were randomly assigned four species from a list of 52 species commonly found in the waterways where New England fishers harvest their catch. They were instructed to seek their targets out at up to three markets, bring one home, cook out, and rate their experience. Basically, it was adult hide-and-seek but with pollock and sea urchins instead of people.

Read the full story at The New Food Economy

ASMFC 2019 Spring Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

April 24, 2019 — The following was published by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spring Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-spring-meeting for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2019SpringMeeting/2019SpringMtgMaterialsSupplemental.pdf.

American Lobster Management Board – Progress Report on Draft American Lobster Addendum XXVIII
 
Atlantic Herring Management Board – Advisory Panel Review of Draft Addendum II; Overview of 1A Management Tools
 
Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Technical Committee Report on Percent Reduction in Harvest to Achieve Fishing Mortality Threshold and Target in 2020, and Example Recreational Options to Achieve Those Reductions;  Correspondence Regarding Striped Bass Management; Public Comment
 
Law Enforcement Committee – MAFMC Letter on Law Enforcement/For-hire Workshop
 
Executive Committee – Revised Agenda & Draft Work Group Meeting SOPPS
 
Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Plan Development Team Report on Black Sea Bass Commercial Management
 
Business Session – Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment Summary
 
Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Task List; Public Comment; James Cooper Tribute to Board
 
Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board – Revised Draft Agenda and Meeting Overview
 
South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Committee Task List; MD DNR Memo: State-Gathered Public Input on Potential Management Measures for Atlantic Croaker and Spot
 
As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning April 29th at 1 p.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:15 p.m.) on Thursday, May 2nd. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. Please go to – https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1041506190356646145 – to register.

ASMFC & MAFMC Recommend Approval of Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment

March 11, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) recommended approval of the Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment. The Amendment revises the management program’s goals and objectives specific to summer flounder and implements new state-specific commercial allocations.

The Amendment was initiated in December 2013, with joint work on the Amendment by the Board and Council beginning in 2014. Initially, the Amendment was to consider changes to both commercial and recreational summer flounder fisheries, but over time was refocused to address commercial issues and Fishery Management Plan (FMP) goals and objectives.

The revised management program’s goals and objectives focus on ensuring biological sustainability of the summer flounder resource, supporting and enhancing development of effective management measures, and optimizing social and economic benefits from the resource. These revisions were made to reflect current priorities in sustainably managing the resource.

The new state commercial allocations are based upon a 9.55 million pound trigger point. When the annual coastwide commercial quota is at or below 9.55 million pounds, the formula for allocating the quota to the states will remain status quo, i.e., the same state-specific percentages that have been in effect since 1993. When the annual coastwide quota exceeds 9.55 million pounds, additional quota above 9.55 million pounds will be distributed as follows: 0.333% to the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Delaware and 12.375% to the remaining states (see table below). As a result, state allocations will vary over time based on overall stock status and the resulting coastwide commercial quotas. For 2019-2021, the Board and Council approved an annual coastwide commercial quota of 11.53 million pounds. Depending on the timing of final rule-making by NOAA Fisheries, the new state allocation strategy could go into effect as early as January 2020.

Read the full release here

Final Action on Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment Postponed Until February 2019

December 19, 2018 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

During a joint meeting last week in Annapolis, Maryland, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board (Board) voted to postpone final action on the Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment until their next joint meeting in February 2019.

The amendment considers several potential changes to the management of the commercial summer flounder fishery and proposes modifications to the fishery management plan goals and objectives for summer flounder.

Discussion during the meeting focused predominantly on options in the amendment that could modify allocations of the commercial summer flounder quota to the states. The current commercial allocations were last modified in 1993 and are perceived by some as outdated given their basis in 1980-1989 landings data. The amendment proposes three sets of alternatives for modifying the current state-by-state allocations. After reviewing public comments on these options, the administrative Commissioner from New York introduced a motion that would have allowed states to submit additional commercial quota allocation options for discussion in February 2019. While some Council and Board members offered support for the motion, others felt that it was too late in the process to introduce new alternatives and that the existing options adequately address the purpose of the amendment. After a lengthy discussion, the motion was defeated due to lack of majority from the Council.

Given the limited time available to discuss the remaining issues addressed in the amendment, the Council and Board voted to postpone final action until their next joint meeting, to be held February 11-14, 2019 in Virginia Beach, VA. Additional information about this action is available at:
http://www.mafmc.org/actions/summer-flounder-amendment.

Questions? Contact Kiley Dancy, Fishery Management Specialist, kdancy@mafmc.org, (302) 526-5257.

Read the full release here

ASMFC Approves Addenda XXXI and XXXII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan

December 14, 2018 — ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board), at its joint meeting with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), approved Addenda XXXI and XXXII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

Addendum XXXI

Addendum XXXI, coupled with the Council’s complementary Framework Document, adds to the suite of tools available for managing summer flounder, scup and black sea bass, with particular focus on enhancing the compatibility of state and federal regulations.

First, the joint action modifies the Council and Commission FMPs to allow the use of conservation equivalency for black sea bass recreational management, beginning in 2020. Conservation equivalency allows recreational management measures in federal waters measures to be waived, and instead requires recreational anglers to abide by the measures of the state in which they land their catch. As is done in summer flounder recreational management, the Board and Council will annually decide whether to enact conservation equivalency.

Second, the Commission recommended NOAA Fisheries implement transit provisions in Block Island Sound, allowing non-federally permitted recreational and commercial vessels to transit federal waters while in possession of summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass legally harvested from state waters.

Lastly, the Council’s Framework allows for the use of maximum sizes in addition to minimum sizes, commonly referred to as slot limits, to control catch in the summer flounder and black sea bass recreational fisheries. The Commission’s FMP already allows for use of this approach, thereby allowing both management bodies to use this measure in the future.

Addendum XXXII

Addendum XXXII establishes a new process for developing recreational management measures for summer flounder and black sea bass. These measures will be set on an annual basis through a specifications process, rather than addenda. The Board will approve measures in early spring each year, based on technical committee analysis of stock status, resource availability, and harvest estimates. Public input on specifications will be gathered by states through their individual public comment processes.

By removing the need to develop annual addenda to implement recreational measures, the specifications process will provide the Board more flexibility in adjusting measures, if necessary, to constrain harvest to the annual coastwide recreational harvest limit (RHL). Further, the process will enable the Board to consider a host of factors, including: regional equity; regulatory stability; species abundance and distribution; and late-breaking recreational harvest estimates. To further aid in setting specifications, the Addendum establishes standards and guiding principles intended to structure the development of recreational measures on a regional basis.

Addenda XXXI and XXXII will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org, on each species webpage by the end of December. For more information on summer flounder and scup, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org, and for information on black sea bass, contact Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org, or 703.842.0740.

Read the release here

 

October/November 2018 issue of Fisheries Focus Now Available

November 19, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The October/November 2018  issue of Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5bef3628FishFocusOctNov2018.pdf.  Wishing you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Upcoming Meetings

page 2

Report from the Chair
Reflections on Our Past and Future

page 3

Species Profile

Atlantic Herring

page 4

Fishery Management Actions

Coastal Sharks

Horseshoe Crab

Northern Shrimp

Spiny Dogfish

page 6

Proposed Management Actions

Summer Flounder

Scup

Black Sea Bass

page 8 

Science Highlight

Living Shorelines

page 9 

ACCSP

What Do You Do?

page 10

On the Legislative Front

page 11

Past issues of Fisheries Focus can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/search/%20/%20/Fishery-Focus

States Schedule Public Hearings on Draft Addenda XXXI and XXXII: Management Board Seeks Input on Options for Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management

October 25, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Atlantic states from Massachusetts through Virginia have scheduled hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addenda XXXI and XXXII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The details of those hearings follow:

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

  • November 28, 2018 at 6 PM
  • Bourne Community Center, Room 2
  • 239 Main Street
  • Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
  • Contact: Nichola Meserve at 617.626.1531

Rhode Island Division of Fish & Wildlife

  • November 7, 2018 at 6 PM
  • University of Rhode Island Narragansett Bay Campus Corless Auditorium
  • South Ferry Road
  • Narragansett, Rhode Island
  • Contact: Robert Ballou at 401.222.4700 ext. 4420

Connecticut Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection

  • November 5, 2018 at 7 PM
  • DEEP Marine Headquarters
  • Boating Education Center, Building 3
  • 333 Ferry Road
  • Old Lyme, Connecticut
  • Contact: Justin Davis at 860.447.4322

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

  • November 27, 2018 at 6:30 PM
  • Division of Marine Resources
  • 205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
  • East Setauket, New York
  • Contact: Maureen Davidson at 631.444.0483

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

  • November 26, 2018 at 6 PM
  • Stafford Township Administrative Office
  • 260 East Bay Avenue
  • Manahawkin, New Jersey
  • Contact: Joseph Cimino at 609.748.2020

Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources & Environmental Control

  • November 8, 2018 at 6 PM
  • DNREC Auditorium
  • 89 Kings Highway
  • Dover, Delaware
  • Contact: John Clark at 302.739.9914

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

  • November 15, 2018 at 6 PM
  • Ocean City Municipal Airport
  • 12724 Airport Road
  • Berlin, Maryland
  • Contact: Steve Doctor at 410.213.1531

Virginia Marine Resources Commission

  • November 14, 2018 at 6 PM
  • 2600 Washington Avenue
  • 4th Floor Conference Room
  • Newport News, Virginia
  • Contact: Rob O’Reilly at 757.247.2248

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Draft Addendum XXXI for public comment at the Joint Commission/Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Virginia Beach, VA in August 2018, and approved Draft Addendum XXXII yesterday at the Commission’s Annual Meeting in New York City.

Draft Addendum XXXI

Draft Addendum XXXI and the Council’s complementary framework consider adding the following management options to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan.

  1. Conservation equivalency for the recreational black sea bass fishery
  2. Conservation equivalency rollover for summer flounder
  3. Transit provisions for Block Island Sound for recreational and/or commercial fisheries for all three species
  4. Slot limits (not currently a management option in the Council’s FMP)

The Draft Addendum aims to increase the suite of tools available for managing summer flounder, scup and black sea bass, as well as reduce inconsistencies between state and federal regulations. This action does not consider implementing black sea bass conservation equivalency or slot limits for any of the three species in 2019. Rather, the options would update the FMPs to allow these management tools to be used in future years.

Draft Addendum XXXII

Draft Addendum XXXII was initiated to establish new recreational management programs for summer flounder and black sea bass, as the current addenda under which the two fisheries are currently managed (Addenda XXVIII and XXX, respectively) expire at the end of 2018. The Draft Addendum proposes two options for each recreational fishery: (1) coastwide management (the default program for both species under the FMP), or conservation equivalency for summer flounder; and (2) setting measures through a specifications process.

The Draft Addendum seeks to address several challenges with the recreational management of summer flounder and black sea bass. Since the adoption of the FMP, shifts in abundance, distribution, and behavior of these two species have created challenges in constraining harvest to the coastwide recreational harvest limit (RHL) while providing fair and equitable access to fishermen throughout the species’ ranges. In addition, the use of highly variable and inherently delayed annual harvest estimates to establish management measures for the subsequent year has led to regulatory instability, regulatory disparities, and frustration on the part of stakeholders.

Setting measures through specifications would be a procedural change, allowing regional management to reflect the current condition and distribution of the stocks and fisheries, and enabling measures to be established based on more complete harvest data rather than preliminary projections. This process would eliminate the need for measures to be established through addenda; instead, the Board would approve measures in the late winter or early spring each year, based on technical committee analysis of harvest estimates and other information on resource availability. Public input on specifications would be gathered by states through their individual public comment processes. For each species, the Draft Addendum also includes proposed standards and guiding principles to structure how measures are set in order to provide fair and equitable access to the resource, and increase regulatory stability.

Interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addenda XXXI and XXXII either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Draft Addenda are is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/SF_Scup_BSB_DraftAddendumXXXI_PublicComment_Oct2018.pdf and http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/SF_BSB_DraftAddendumXXXII_PublicComment_Oct2018.pdf. They can also be accessed on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on November 28, 2018 and should be forwarded to Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum XXXI and XXXII Comment).

August/September 2018 issue of Fisheries Focus Now Available

October 1, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The August/September 2018  issue of Fisheries Focus is now available at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5bae9553FishFocusAugSept2018.pdf.

Upcoming Meetings

page 2

From the Executive Director’s Desk 

MRIP’s Upgraded Fishing Effort Survey: A Significant Step Forward in Fisheries Science and Recreational Management

page 3

Species Profile

Horseshoe Crab

page 4

Essential Trawl Survey Receives Needed Boost

page 5

Fishery Management Actions

American Eel

Summer Flounder

Scup

Black Sea Bass

Bluefish

page 8

Science Highlight

Effects of the Biomedical Bleeding on the Behavior and Physiology of Horseshoe Crab

page 10

ACCSP Well Represented at AFS Annual Meeting

page 11

Proposed Management Actions

Summer Flounder

Scup

Black Sea Bass

Coastal Sharks

Cobia

page 12

In Memoriam
page 13

Comings & Goings

page 14

Employee of the Quarter Named

page 15

Past issues of Fisheries Focus can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/search/%20/%20/Fishery-Focus