April 27, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2022 Spring Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2022-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/2022SpringMeeting/2022SpringMeetingSupplementalMaterials.pdf. This document does not include the supplemental materials for the Atlantic Striped Bass and Sciaenids Boards. For those Boards that have FMP Reviews and Compliance Reports on their agendas, the compliance reports are not posted due to their large file sizes. If you would like a copy of a specific state’s or jurisdiction’s compliance report, please contact the respective FMP Coordinator. 

As a reminder this will be a hybrid meeting (both in-person and remote) to allow for remote participation by Commissioners and interested stakeholders. The Law Enforcement Committee meeting will not be available remotely. The agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein.

Below is the list of documents included in the supplemental materials.

Revised Final Notice & Agenda

Sciaenids Management Board – Revised Draft Agenda & Meeting Overview; 2022 Red Drum Simulation Stock Assessment Report (previously posted report did not include the full report); and Advisory Panel Nomination

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Technical Committee Meeting Summary

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Plan Development Team Recommendations on Draft Addendum l to Amendment 3 & Public Comment

Executive Committee – Draft Meeting Summary from January 26, 2022

Coastal Sharks Management Board – Revised Draft Agenda and Meeting Overview; Proposal to List 54 Shark Species under Appendix II; and Advisory Panel Nomination

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Recommendations from the Advisory Panel; Input from the Law Enforcement Committee; and Full Public Comment Summary. The document is very large (>2100 pages), the bulk of which is public comment on Draft Amendment 7, so please be patient downloading.

ISFMP Policy Board – Revised Agenda; ASMFC De Minimis Discussion Paper; New York Tautog Tagging Feedback Survey DRAFT Results; Public Comment on Tautog Tags

Webinar Information

Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, May 2 at  10 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:30 p.m.) on Thursday, May 5. To register for the webinar, please go to

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6673024452273516048 (Webinar ID:  243-937-907).

If you are joining the webinar but will not be using voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), you can may also call in at +1 (562) 247-8422, access code 616-672-938. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar; seewebinar instructions for details on how to receive the PIN. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, press the # key when asked for a PIN.

Meeting Process

In terms of meeting process, Board chairs will ask both in-person and virtual Board members if they wish to speak. In-person members can simply raise their hands at the meeting without logging on to the webinar, while virtual members will raise their hands on the webinar. The Chair will work with staff to compile the list of speakers, balancing the flow of questions/comments between in-person and virtual attendees. The same process will be used for the public and interested stakeholders when the Board Chair provides an opportunity for public comment. Depending upon the number of commenters, the Board Chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.

Each day, the webinar will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so that people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter.  If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.

Public Comment Guidelines

To provide 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 ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide 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 three weeks prior to the start of a meeting week (April 11) have been included in the briefing materials.

2.    Comments received by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, April  26th will be included in supplemental materials.

3.    Comments received by 10:00 AM on Friday, April 29th will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.

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 and email.

We look forward to seeing you at the Spring Meeting.