February 2, 2017 — A proposal to drastically reduce this year’s summer flounder catch could get final approval at a federal regulatory meeting Thursday morning in Virginia.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Committee is scheduled consider strategies that would reduce the summer flounder harvest by up to 41 percent coast-wide and implement tighter restrictions on bag and size limits for recreational fishermen.
January 26, 2017 — A rally against the proposed cuts to the summer flounder harvest is planned for this Friday morning in the parking lot of Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach.
Along with members of the fishing community, the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection Bob Martin and U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) will lead the rally and speak in opposition to the harvest reduction.
Both Martin and Pallone have been critical of the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management for their proposed drastic cuts to the summer flounder harvest.
Pallone has been outspoken against the science used to count fish landings and stock biomass that has led those management bodies to conclude that anglers overfished their quota last year and the biomass of summer flounder is shrinking.
January 19, 2017 — A South Jersey lawmaker introduced a bill Tuesday that would urge the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to halt proposed reductions to this year’s summer flounder catch.
Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, D-Atlantic, introduced a resolution asking NOAA to conduct a new summer flounder assessment before implementing the proposed regulations, which would cut the flounder catch by 40 percent.
The reduction plan was advanced at a Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting last month but has been roundly condemned by recreational fishermen and prominent state leaders, including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd.
Federal officials say the cuts are necessary because a recent NOAA report concluded the flounder fishery is overfished.
Recreational fishermen at a hearing earlier this month in Galloway Township questioned NOAA’s methods for measuring flounder, and Mazzeo’s resolution, a draft of which was sent to The Press of Atlantic City, asks the agency to take another look at the stock.
January 10, 2017 — I was not able to attend Thursday’s New Jersey’s summer flounder public hearing on Summer Flounder Draft Addendum XXVII in Galloway Township.
From what I heard from those who did, it was standing room only and fishermen were outspoken against the proposed cuts to the fishery.
Jim Hutchinson Jr., managing editor of The Fisherman magazine, reported the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council voted for the summer flounder to remain status quo.
However, the decision lies with the regional fishery management bodies, the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fisheries Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. They will most likely vote in February at the Kitty Hawk, North Carolina meeting.
If the cuts are passed, anglers will be facing a 40-percent reduction in the allowable coastwide catch. For New Jersey anglers that could result in a 19-inch size limit and two-fish bag limit. If anglers are lucky, an 18-inch size limit and a three-fish bag limit.
Legislatures are trying to stop the cuts.
A group of New Jersey delegates made up of Democrats Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr, and Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker, and Republican Congressmen Frank LoBiondo and Tom MacArthur, blasted the science used by the ASMFC and MAMFC to determine anglers’ catch totals this year in a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
December 27, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board announces the availability of Draft Addendum XXVIII for public comment. The document, which was approved by the Board in early December, presents a suite of management approaches, including regional options, to achieve the 2017 recreational harvest limit (RHL). The Atlantic coastal states of Massachusetts through North Carolina have scheduled public hearings to gather public comment. The details of those scheduled hearings follow:
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
January 11, 2017 at 6 PM
Bourne Community Center, Room # 1
239 Main Street
Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
Contact: Nichola Meserve at 617.626.1531
Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
January 12, 2017; 6:00 PM
University of Rhode Island Bay Campus
Corliss Auditorium South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Robert Ballou at 401.222.4700 ext. 4420
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
January 10, 2017 at 7 PM
CT DEEP Boating Education Center
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson at 860.434.6043
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
January 9, 2017 at 6:30 PM
Bureau of Marine Resources
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at 631.444.0435
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
January 5, 2017 at 6:30 PM
Galloway Township Branch Library
306 East Jimmie Leeds Rd
Galloway, New Jersey
Contact: Tom Baum at 609.748.2020
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
January 17, 2017 at 6 PM
DNREC Auditorium
89 Kings Highway
Dover, Delaware
Contact: John Clark at 302.739.9914
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
January 3, 2017 at 6 PM
Ocean Pines Library
11107 Cathell Road
Berlin, Maryland
Contact: Steve Doctor at 410.213.1531
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
January 12, 2017 at 6 PM
2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Robert O’Reilly at 757.247.2247
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
January, 9, 2017 at 6 PM
NC Marine Fisheries, Central District Office
5285 US Highway 70 West
Morehead City, North Carolina
Contact: Chris Batsavage at 252 808-8009
Draft Addendum XXVIII was initiated to consider alternative management approaches for the 2017 recreational summer flounder fisheries, while also seeking to address needed reductions due to a decrease in the coastwide RHL in 2017. In August, the Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved a 30% reduction in the 2017 coastwide RHL relative to 2016. This action was taken in response to the 2016 Stock Assessment Update which found fishing mortality was higher in recent years and population estimates were lower than previously projected.
Changes in summer flounder distribution, abundance and availability have created problems under the static state-by-state allocations, with overages often occurring. In response, states would implement regulations to reduce harvest, resulting in differing regulations between neighboring states. In 2014, the Board shifted away from traditional state-by-state allocations to a regional approach for managing summer flounder recreational fisheries. A benefit of the regional approach is it provides the states the flexibility to share allocations. The intent is to set regulations that account for shifting distribution, abundance and availability while providing stability and greater regulatory consistency among neighboring states, and enabling the states to meet but not exceed the coastwide RHL.
Anglers and interested stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum XXVIII either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained here or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 19, 2017 and should be forwarded to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org (Subject line: Summer Flounder Draft Addendum XXVIII).
The Board will review submitted public comment and consider final action on the Draft Addendum at the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February 2017. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
December 27, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries is slashing 2017 and 2018 recreational and commercial catch limits for summer flounder and the 2017 commercial quota for black sea bass.
The sweeping cuts will impact both the commercial and recreational harvesting of the summer flounder. The cuts, based on the recommendations of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, will be most severe in 2017, when the commercial and recreational quota for the species is cut by 30 percent from current levels.
Those reductions will set the set the commercial quota at 5.66 million pounds and the recreational at 3.77 million pounds in 2017.
The 2018 reduction summer flounder catch limits is projected to be 16 percent below current levels, setting the commercial quota at 6.63 million pounds and the recreational catch limits at 4.42 million pounds.
The federal fishing regulator is cutting the commercial black sea bass quota by 31 percent in 2017 to 1.86 million pounds as “an automatic accountability measure” because the fishery exceeded its annual catch limit in 2015.
“In 2015, the commercial annual catch limit was exceeded due to both a 4 percent overage of the commercial quota and higher-than-anticipated estimated discards of black sea bass,” NOAA Fisheries said in announcing the cuts.
The agency, however, said it is possible that a final report on the black sea bass stock assessment, due in early 2017, might provide the impetus for increasing recreational and commercial catch limits in the midst of the next fishing season.
“It is possible that the next black sea bass assessment will provide justification for increasing the 2017 black sea bass catch limits for both the commercial and recreational fisheries,” NOAA Fisheries said. “If that is the case, we will work with the (Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council) to quickly implement revised catch limits mid-year. A final report for the assessment is expected in early 2017.”
The 2017 recreational harvest limit for black sea bass will hold steady at about 2.82 million pounds, according to NOAA Fisheries spokeswoman Jennifer Goebel.
December 22, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board announces the availability of Draft Addendum XXVIII for public comment. The document, which was approved by the Board in early December, presents a suite of management approaches, including regional options, to achieve the 2017 recreational harvest limit (RHL). The Atlantic coastal states of Massachusetts through North Carolina have scheduled public hearings to gather public comment. The details of those scheduled hearings follow:
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
January 11, 2017 at 6 PM
Bourne Community Center, Room # 1
239 Main Street
Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
Contact: Nichola Meserve at 617.626.1531
Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
January 12, 2017; 6:00 PM
University of Rhode Island Bay Campus
Corliss Auditorium South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Robert Ballou at 401.222.4700 ext. 4420
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
January 10, 2017 at 7 PM
CT DEEP Boating Education Center
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson at 860.434.6043
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
January 9, 2017 at 6:30 PM
Bureau of Marine Resources
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at 631.444.0435
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
January 5, 2017 at 6:30 PM
Galloway Township Branch Library
306 East Jimmie Leeds Rd
Galloway, New Jersey
Contact: Tom Baum at 609.748.2020
–
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
January 17, 2017 at 6 PM
DNREC Auditorium
89 Kings Highway
Dover, Delaware
Contact: John Clark at 302.739.9914
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
January 3, 2017 at 6 PM
Ocean Pines Library
11107 Cathell Road
Berlin, Maryland
Contact: Steve Doctor at 410.213.1531
–
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
January 12, 2017 at 6 PM
2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Robert O’Reilly at 757.247.2247
–
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
January, 9, 2017 at 6 PM
NC Marine Fisheries, Central District Office
5285 US Highway 70 West
Morehead City, North Carolina
Contact: Chris Batsavage at 252 808-8009
–
Draft Addendum XXVIII was initiated to consider alternative management approaches for the 2017 recreational summer flounder fisheries, while also seeking to address needed reductions due to a decrease in the coastwide RHL in 2017. In August, the Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved a 30% reduction in the 2017 coastwide RHL relative to 2016. This action was taken in response to the 2016 Stock Assessment Update which found fishing mortality was higher in recent years and population estimates were lower than previously projected.
Changes in summer flounder distribution, abundance and availability have created problems under the static state-by-state allocations, with overages often occurring. In response, states would implement regulations to reduce harvest, resulting in differing regulations between neighboring states. In 2014, the Board shifted away from traditional state-by-state allocations to a regional approach for managing summer flounder recreational fisheries. A benefit of the regional approach is it provides the states the flexibility to share allocations. The intent is to set regulations that account for shifting distribution, abundance and availability while providing stability and greater regulatory consistency among neighboring states, and enabling the states to meet but not exceed the coastwide RHL.
Anglers and interested stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum XXVIII either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained by clicking here or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 19, 2017 and should be forwarded to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org (Subject line: Summer Flounder Draft Addendum XXVIII).
The Board will review submitted public comment and consider final action on the Draft Addendum at the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February 2017. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy atkrootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
December 15, 2016 — The following was released by the Fisheries Survival Fund:
Last week, a group of fisheries organizations, communities and businesses filed suit against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), seeking a temporary restraining order to delay today’s auction of leasing rights to the proposed New York Wind Energy Area. The suit also sought a preliminary injunction to prevent BOEM from executing any resulting wind energy lease.
The plaintiffs allege that BOEM did not adequately consider the effect on the region’s fishermen of a 127-square-mile wind farm off the coast of New York and New Jersey.
Subsequently, a scheduling agreement was reached between the parties that allows the court to take adequate time to deliberate carefully on the case’s important issues. The plaintiffs agreed to withdraw their motion for a temporary restraining order that would have delayed the scheduled auction. Although the auction is proceeding today, under BOEM’s final sale notice for the auction, the lease will not be final until further steps, as outlined in the sale notice, are completed.
On Monday, Judge Tanya Chutkan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia set a court schedule on the plaintiffs’ motion to preliminarily enjoin BOEM’s execution of any lease resulting from today’s auction. The schedule concludes with a hearing in Federal court on February 8.
Under Judge Chutkan’s order, if the lease is ready to be executed before the court is able to rule on the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction motion, BOEM must provide the court no less than 14 days notice. If that notice is provided, the preliminary injunction proceedings will be expedited.
The Fisheries Survival Fund, representing the majority of the U.S. Atlantic scallop industry, is the lead plaintiff in the case. The lease area includes documented scallop and squid fishing grounds, which serve as essential fish habitat and grounds for other commercially important species, including black sea bass and summer flounder. It is also an important foraging area for threatened loggerhead sea turtles and critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
Other organizations joining as plaintiffs include the Garden State Seafood Association and the Fishermen’s Dock Co-Operative in New Jersey; the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association in New York; and the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce and Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance.
Joining as plaintiffs are the City of New Bedford, Mass.; the Borough of Barnegat Light, N.J.; and the Town of Narragansett, R.I.
Also joining are three fishing businesses: SeaFreeze Shoreside, Sea Fresh USA and The Town Dock.
December 15, 2016 — Washington, DC – On Wednesday, Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06) spoke at the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (MAFMC) December Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland about his efforts to convince NOAA Fisheries to postpone any decision on reducing summer flounder quotes until it conducts a new benchmark summer flounder assessment. Pallone argued that proposed reductions would harm many coastal communities including those along the Jersey Shore who rely on the recreational and commercial fishing industries.
“Many fishermen are frustrated and lack confidence in the data that guides stock assessments,” said Pallone. “In the recreational sector, many believe that they have sacrificed for years to increase stocks, and have yet to see any benefits, despite the increase in biomass from the ‘90s. There continues to be legitimate concerns that the random sampling heavily relied upon by the NOAA and the estimates produced are inaccurate.”
This week Congressman Pallone and Senator Cory Booker sent a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries about its proposal to reduce the Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) recreational and commercial quotas for summer flounder in 2017 and 2018. The New Jersey lawmakers requested that NOAA Fisheries postpone any decision on reducing summer flounder quotes until it conducts a new benchmark summer flounder assessment.
November 28, 2016 — The results of a recent collaborative study between researchers at Rutgers University and Stockton University of New Jersey, the University of Rhode Island, and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, NY and Cornell University may hold the key to bold new management changes in the summer flounder fishery.
The research project, Sex and Length of Summer Flounder Discards in the Recreational Fishery, NJ to RI, spanned the 2016 summer flounder recreational season beginning May 23 and continuing through September 16. Samples were collected aboard for-hire recreational fishing vessels from selected ports in New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island, and were supplemented by a series of back bay, shallow water trips.
Samples were collected from stations ranging in depth from 5 to 95 feet and spanning a latitudinal range from just off the coast of Delaware to coastal Rhode Island. According to the survey results, sex-at-length data was collected for a total of 2,243 discard-sized fish and 842 legal-sized fish.
Researchers say lab analysis findings confirm prior observations that female summer flounder dominate the recreational catch, although it was also demonstrated that this does not hold below the legal size limit where fish smaller than the legal limit were predominately male. On average, across all ports, dates and depths, the sex ratio approximates 50:50 at 15.35 inches in length, with males dominant in the size classes less than that mark and females dominant above the 15.35-inch (39 cm) mark.