Saving Seafood

ASMFC Spiny Dogfish Board Approves 2016/2017 Specifications

February 5, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved a spiny dogfish commercial quota of 40,360,761 pounds for the 2016/2017 fishing season (May 1 – April 30). Although this represents a 20% reduction in quota from 2015/2016, landings have been below 24 million pounds for the past two fishing years. The Board set commercial trip limits at 5,000 pounds in state waters (0-3 miles from shore) in the northern region (Maine through Connecticut). Both measures are consistent with the quota and trip limit recommended to NOAA Fisheries by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils. The Board also approved an increase in the northern area trip limit to 6,000 pounds contingent on complementary action in federal waters. The Board will send a letter to NOAA Fisheries to request it consider and implement these measures.

image003

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Board reviewed the revised 2015 Northeast Fisheries Science Center Stock Assessment Update, which concludes spiny dogfish are not overfished nor experiencing overfishing. Spawning stock biomass was estimated to be 106% of the target. In order to overcome the data gap resulting from the incomplete 2014 survey, the Mid-Atlantic Council’s Science and Statistical Committee used a Kalman Filter for the update. This was the best approach because it provided the most stable estimates of survey abundance and hence catch advice.

For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

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.

Spiny dogfish gets a marketing makeover

October 27, 2015 — When Steve DeLeonardis, the owner of the Corner Store restaurants on Cape Cod, heard about the new FDA-approved name for spiny dogfish, he immediately created a new menu item — “SharkRito.”

“Cape shark” has been an alternative moniker for the Cape’s ubiquitous groundfish for some time, but it gained local popularity when the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance adopted it last year.

“We’re on the Cape, and there’s been all this buzz about the great whites down here,” said DeLeonardis, who operates restaurants in Orleans and Chatham.

“We have a younger, hip demo here that responds well to what we’re doing.”

He debuted the SharkRito at his Orleans location in mid-June and, despite the fact that the fish-filled burrito is available only on Fridays, he’s already selling 20 to 30 pounds a week.

The SharkRito is just the latest in ongoing efforts by New England seafood interests to expand the culinary taste of Americans. Their goal is to support the ecological management of aquatic life while stabilizing the income of fishermen and others who work in the field.

 

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

 

Supplemental Materials Now Available for the ASMFC’s 74th Annual Meeting

October 27, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 74th Annual Meeting have been posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting for the following Boards/Sections (click on “Supplemental Material” following each relevant committee header to access information). 

American Lobster Management Board – Report for the Southern New England (SNE) Subcommittee’s October 2nd Meeting; Update on SNE Stock Projections Presented at the Subcommittee Meeting; Relationship Between Fishing Effort and Fishery Exploitation; Incidental Bycatch of Jonah Crab by Non-trap Gear; and Revised Advisory Panel Nominations

Atlantic Herring Section – Issues and Options Under Development and Consideration for Inclusion in Draft Amendment 3; Technical Report on Gonadal-Somatic Index-based Monitoring System for Atlantic Herring Closures; and Advisory Panel Meeting Summary

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Delaware Bay Summer Flounder White Paper; Black Sea Bass Commercial Quotas; and 2015 FMP Reviews for Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass

Executive Committee – Executive Committee Recommended Changes to Commission Documents and Additional Issues for Consideration on Commission Guidance Documents

American Eel Management Board – Public Comment

Winter Flounder Management Board – Northeast Fisheries Science Center Stock Assessment Update on 20 Northeast Groundfish Stocks Through 2014 (This report has been modified to include information on winter flounder stocks only).

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Ecological Reference Point Recommendations for Draft Amendment 3 Development; Socioeconomic Study of Menhaden Fisheries – Request for Proposals Update; and Public Comment

Law Enforcement Committee – Revised Agenda

Tautog Management Board – Summary of Submitted Public Comment; Individual/Organization Comments; and Law Enforcement Subcommittee Review on Illegal Tautog Harvest

Spiny Dogfish Management Board – Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Spiny Dogfish Motions and Selected Alternatives

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – 2015 FMP Review 

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – 2015 FMP Reviews for Spotted Seatrout and Spanish Mackerel

As a reminder, Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 8:00 a.m. on November 2nd, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:45 p.m.) on November 5th.  The webinar will allow registrants to listen to the proceedings of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s management boards/sections during the Commission’s 74th Annual Meeting, November 2-5, 2015. Registrants will also be able to view presentations and motions as they occur. For a detailed agenda and meeting materials, go to http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise during the streaming of the broadcast, the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. Board/Section summaries, presentations, and audio files will be available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2015-Annual-Meeting the week of November 9th.

View a PDF of the Supplemental meeting materials here

MAFMC Recommends Spiny Dogfish Quota Reduction for 2016

October 15, 2015 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Mid-Atlantic Council Votes to Reduce Spiny Dogfish Quota for 2016

At last week’s meeting in Philadelphia, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council recommended a substantial cut in the spiny dogfish commercial quota for next year. Following a review of the most recent scientific information, public comments, and advice from the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Spiny Dogfish Advisory Panel, the Council voted to set the 2016 commercial quota at 25.3 million pounds, a 50% reduction from the 2015 quota of 50.6 million pounds. If approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the new measure will go into effect May 1, 2016. 

The Council’s decision was driven by the recent spiny dogfish stock assessment update, which estimated the stock’s biomass to be at 87% of the rebuilt target in 2015. Although the stock was found to be neither overfished nor subject to overfishing, the new estimate of stock biomass was a marked decrease from the 2013 update, which indicated that the stock’s biomass was at 135% of the target.  

The Council received a considerable number of comments from the fishing industry, with the majority in opposition to the proposed cuts. Several commenters expressed concern about the accuracy of the trawl survey data used in the assessment update and requested that the Council maintain status quo regulations until a benchmark assessment for the stock has been completed. 

After extensive discussion, the Council approved the SSC’s recommended acceptable biological catch (ABC) limit of 37.0 million pounds. After accounting for management uncertainty, projected discards, Canadian landings, and recreational landings, this ABC translates into a commercial quota of 25.3 million pounds for 2016. However, because the fishery has not taken the full quota in recent years, the recommended quota for 2016 would still be 11% above the landings in the most recent fishing year. 

Given that the survey data from 2014 was not included in the 2015 update due to a mechanical breakdown in the NEFSC trawl survey, the Council also requested that the SSC determine an overfishing limit (OFL) and ABC for 2016 using averaged data to fill in the missing 2014 data point. The SSC will meet later this year to consider this request. 

Finally, because the spiny dogfish fishery is managed jointly, the New England Fishery Management Council must also make recommendations for spiny dogfish specifications at its upcoming meeting in December. 

NOAA Fisheries Announces Atlantic Mackerel Fishery Consequence Measures for Slippage Events

August 11, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces measures to enhance catch monitoring and address slippage (catch that is discarded before it has been sampled by observers) in the Atlantic mackerel fishery.

The slippage consequence measures for limited access mackerel vessels carrying an observer are:

  • If slippage occurs due to safety, mechanical failure, or excess catch of spiny dogfish, the vessel has to move and remain at least 15 nautical miles from the location of slippage; and
  • If slippage occurs for any other reason, the vessel must terminate its trip immediately and return to port.

We are also requiring that vessel operators report slippage events that occur on observed trips via the vessel monitoring system daily catch reports.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register today, and the permit holder bulletin available on our website.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175 or email Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.