Saving Seafood

ASMFC & MAFMC Set Specifications for Jointly Managed Species Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish

August 16, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Management Boards for Bluefish and Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass met jointly with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) to adopt 2022-2023 specifications for all four species. The Boards and Council reviewed the results of the June 2021 management track stock assessments for the four species, which incorporated fishery catch and fishery-independent survey data through 2019. They also considered recommendations from the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), Monitoring Committees and Advisory Panels, as well as comments from members of the public regarding the specifications for each species.

The table below summarizes commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits (RHL) for all four species (2021 values are provided for comparison purposes). No changes were made to the commercial management measures for any of the species. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0‐3 miles from shore); the Council will forward its recommendations for federal waters (3 – 200 miles from shore) to the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval.

Summer Flounder
The 2021 summer flounder management track stock assessment concluded the stock was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring in 2019. Spawning stock biomass was estimated to be about 86% of the biomass target. The 2018 year class was above average at an estimated 61 million fish, the largest estimate of recruitment since 2009, while the 2019 year class is below average at 49 million fish. Based on the SSC’s recommendation, the Board and Council approved an acceptable biological catch (ABC) of 33.12 million pounds for 2022 and 2023. After accounting for expected discards, the ABC results in a commercial quota of 15.53 million pounds and an RHL of 10.36 million pounds. These landing limits represent a 24% increase in the commercial quota and a 25% increase in the RHL from 2021 levels.

Scup

The 2021 scup management track stock assessment concluded the stock was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring in 2019. Spawning stock biomass was estimated to be about 2 times the biomass target. The assessment indicated the stock experienced very high recruitment in 2015 and below-average recruitment during 2016-2019. Based on the SSC’s recommendation, the Board and Council approved an ABC of 32.11 million pounds for 2022 and 29.67 million pounds for 2023. After accounting for expected discards, the ABCs result in a commercial quota of 20.38 million pounds and an RHL of 6.08 million pounds in 2022, and a commercial quota of 17.87 million pounds and an RHL of 5.41 million pounds in 2023. Compared to 2021 landings limits, the new limits represent a slight decrease in the commercial quota and a minor increase in the RHL in 2022. The Board and Council discussed an industry proposal to increase or eliminate the commercial possession limit during the winter I quota period and decrease the minimum size from 9 inches to 8 inches in total length. After reviewing the Monitoring Committee recommendation and input from the Advisory Panel, the Board and Council determined that changes to current commercial measures were not warranted at this time.

Black Sea Bass

The 2021 black sea bass management track stock assessment concluded the stock was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring in 2019. Spawning stock biomass was estimated to be about 2.1 times the target level in 2019 and the fishing mortality rate was 15% below the threshold level that defines an overfished condition. Based on the SSC’s recommendation, the Board and Council approved an ABC of 18.86 million pounds for 2022, which, after accounting for expected discards, results in a commercial quota of 6.47 million pounds and an RHL of 6.74 million pounds. These landings limits represent a 6% increase compared to the 2021 landing limits. The 2023 ABC was set at 16.66 million pounds, resulting in a 2023 commercial quota of 5.71 million pounds and an RHL of 5.95 million pounds.

Bluefish

The 2021 bluefish management track assessment concluded spawning stock biomass was still overfished but overfishing was not occurring in 2019. Based on the SSC’s recommendation, the Bluefish Board and Council adopted an ABC of 25.26 million pounds and 30.62 million pounds for 2022 and 2023, respectively. The 2022 ABC results in a commercial quota of 3.54 million pounds and an RHL of 13.89 million pounds, and represents a 28% increase in the commercial quota and a 67% increase in the RHL from 2021 levels. The 2023 ABC results in a commercial quota of 4.29 million pounds and an RHL of 22.14 million pounds. Historically, a portion of the total allowable landings above the expected recreational harvest have been transferred from the recreational fishery to the commercial fishery. However, because the stock is currently overfished and the recreational and commercial sectors are both anticipated to fully harvest their limits, the Bluefish Board and Council did not authorize any quota transfers.

For more information on the Commission’s actions pertaining to summer flounder, scup, and bluefish, please contact Dustin Colson Leaning, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at dleaning@asmfc.org and contact Savannah Lewis at slewis@asmfc.org for more information pertaining to the Commission’s actions on black sea bass.

MAFMC Revises Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Recommendations

August 9, 2021 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved a 1% increase in New York’s black sea bass commercial allocation, bringing New York’s baseline share of the coastwide quota to 8%, during a meeting last week with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission) Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board). This action modifies the state commercial quota allocations that had been previously approved through the Council’s Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment and the Commission’s Addendum XXXIII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

The Amendment and Addendum, approved in February 2021, address significant changes in the distribution of black sea bass that have occurred since the original allocations were implemented in 2003. Among other things, these actions changed Connecticut’s baseline allocation from 1% to 3% of the coastwide quota to address its disproportionally low allocation compared to the increased availability of black sea bass in state waters. The Amendment and Addendum also added the state-by-state allocations to the federal FMP.

In March, New York appealed the allocation changes approved by the Board in February, arguing that its baseline quota should increase similarly to that of Connecticut as it too had experienced a significant disparity between allocation and the abundance/availability of black sea bass in Long Island Sound, which is shared by New York and Connecticut.

The Commission’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board (Policy Board) considered the appeal in May. Finding that it was justified, the Policy Board remanded the section of Addendum XXXIII addressing baseline allocations back to the Board for corrective action to address impacts to New York’s baseline allocation in a manner comparable to the consideration given to Connecticut. Based on the Policy Board’s decision, the Board was required to increase New York’s baseline allocation by up to 2%.

The Council considered the implications of this decision during their June meeting and agreed to revisit these allocations with the Board, with the goal of maintaining the same final recommendations in the Council’s Amendment and the Commission’s Addendum.

During last week’s meeting, the Council and Board considered various potential increases in New York’s baseline quota. Both management bodies ultimately approved a 1% increase. The Council will forward its revised recommendations to NOAA Fisheries for final approval. A table containing the revised state allocations of the black sea bass commercial quota can be found below.

For more information, visit http://www.mafmc.org/actions/bsb-commercial-allocation or contact Julia Beaty, Fishery Management Specialist, jbeaty@mafmc.org, (302) 526-5250.

*These allocations represent the baseline quota plus the regional biomass distribution based on the results of the 2021 Operational Stock Assessment. These allocations will be updated if future assessments indicate a change to the biomass distribution.

North Carolina flounder: Prices rise, but Southern species cut back to rebuild stock

August 9, 2021 — North Carolina’s summer flounder trawl fishery typically occurs in waters off New Jersey and New York, outside of the Southern flounder range, with the catches landed in North Carolina under the state’s summer flounder quota — the lion’s share among East Coast states at 27.44 percent.

For the 2019-21 fishing seasons, the coastwide commercial quota is set at 11.53 million pounds, approximately a 49 percent increase over the previously set 2019 quota.

Harvest of both summer and Southern flounder in North Carolina remained consistent for the past several years. Prices have also remained consistent with the average retail price from $8 to $12 a pound for filets and $4 to $5 a pound for whole fish. Price to fisherman has varied between a low of $3.50 to $5 throughout the season.

Jeff Styron of Garland Fulcher Seafood, Oriental, N.C., says things are looking up after a year of covid.

“We were basically shut down last year,” says Mr. Styron. “With few restaurant purchasing products, we ended up with a lot of frozen fish and slim markets. Now the demand has gone crazy.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

New York’s Black Sea Bass Baseline Commercial Quota Increased to 8% under Addendum XXXIII

August 6, 2021 — 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) approved a 1% increase in New York’s black sea bass commercial allocation, bringing New York’s baseline share of the coastwide quota to 8%. This action modifies the state commercial quota allocations that had been previously approved through Addendum XXXIII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. The final 2022 state-by-state commercial shares can be found in the table on page 2.

Addendum XXXIII, approved in February 2021, addressed significant changes in the distribution of black sea bass that have occurred since the original allocations were implemented in 2003, while also accounting for the states’ historical harvest of black sea bass. Among other things, the Addendum changed Connecticut’s baseline allocation from 1% to 3% of the coastwide quota to address its disproportionally low allocation compared to the increased availability of black sea bass in state waters of Long Island Sound (LIS). The remaining state shares (with the exception of Maine and New Hampshire) were allocated using their adjusted historical allocations (to account for the Connecticut change) as well as a portion based on the most recent regional biomass distribution information from the stock assessment.

In March, New York appealed the allocation changes approved by the Board in February. The Commission’s appeal process provides states/jurisdictions the opportunity to appeal management decisions if a state/jurisdiction finds a Board decision has not been consistent with language of an FMP, resulted in unforeseen circumstances or impacts, did not follow established processes, or was based on flawed technical information. Through its appeal, New York argued that its baseline quota should increase similarly to that of Connecticut as it too had experienced a significant disparity between allocation and the abundance/availability of black sea bass in LIS, which is shared by New York and Connecticut.

In May, the Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board (Policy Board) considered the appeal and found it was justified based on New York’s arguments. This included data showing New York’s historical allocation was based largely on its ocean fishery. Since 2010, there has been an exponential increase of black sea bass in LIS. This increased availability has resulted in an expansion of New York’s commercial black sea bass landings from LIS from 24% (2004-2008) to 51% (2015-2019) of the state’s total landings.

The Policy Board remanded Section 3.1.1 of Addendum XXXIII (which only addresses baseline allocations) back to the Board for corrective action to address impacts to New York’s baseline allocation in a manner comparable to the consideration given to Connecticut. The Policy Board’s action specified the Board must increase New York’s baseline allocation by up to 2%, while maintaining Connecticut’s baseline allocation of 3%. No other aspects of these allocations, and no other alternatives in the associated Addendum, may be revised by the Board.

Based on the Policy Board’s directive, the Board considered a number of motions with various increases in New York’s baseline quota and ultimately approved a 1% increase. As a joint partner in the management of black sea bass, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council also approved the same changes to New York’s commercial quota share. The Council will forward its revised recommendations, which include adding the state-by-state shares to the federal Fishery Management Plan, to NOAA Fisheries for final approval.

For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, Fisheries Policy Director, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC 2021 Summer Meeting Webinar Supplemental Materials Now Available

July 28, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2021 Summer Meeting Webinar are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2021-summer-meeting-webinar for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, all supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2021SummerMeeting/2021SummerMtgSupplementalCombined.pdf.

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

American Lobster Management Board – Revised Meeting Overview and Workgroup Report on Vessel Tracking Devices in Federal Lobster and Jonah Crab Fisheries

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Revised Draft Agenda & Meeting Overview; Draft FMP Review; Technical Committee Memo on Review of Juvenile Abundance Index for the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River;  Staff Memo on Potential Options and Timelines to Address Commercial Quota Allocation; Advisory Panel Nominations; and Public Comment

Tautog Management Board – Industry feedback on Tautog Commercial Harvest Tagging Program

Sciaenids Management Board – Atlantic Croaker and Red Drum FMP Reviews; and Florida FWC Commercial Atlantic Croaker Implementation Plan

Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board Concurrent with Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council – FMP Reviews for Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass; and Policy Board Directive to Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Public Comment

Business Session – Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment Summary, and Draft Amendment for Public Comment

Webinar Information

Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, August 2 at  1:30 p.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 3 p.m.) on Thursday, August 5. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. To register for the webinar go tohttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1268548762865393678 (Webinar ID: 606-517-315).

Each day, the webinar will begin 30 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.

If you are joining the webinar but will not be using VoIP, you can may also call in at 415.655.0052. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar; see webinar 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, you can do so by dialing 415.655.0052 (access code: 904-450-431).

Public Comment Guidelines

To provide a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board  approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings. Please note these guidelines have been modified to adapt to meetings via webinar:

For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide an 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 3 weeks prior to the start of the webinar (July 12) will be included in the briefing materials.
  2. Comments received by 5:00 PM on Tuesday, July 27 will be included in the supplemental materials.
  3. Comments received by 10:00 AM on Friday, July 30 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.

Comments should be submitted via email at comments@asmfc.org. All comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.

MAFMC August 9-12, 2021 Hybrid Meeting (In-Person/Virtual)

July 15, 2021 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a hybrid in-person/virtual Council meeting August 9-12, 2021. Council members, other meeting participants, and members of the public will have the option to attend the meeting in person at the The Notary Hotel in Philadelphia, PA or participate online via Webex webinar. Portions of the meeting will be conducted jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Bluefish Management Board, Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass Management Board, and ISFMP Policy Board. All attendees, regardless of whether they choose to attend in-person or virtually, will be given an equal opportunity to provide comments.

Please see the August 2021 Council Meeting Page for further updates and details regarding webinar connection and participation instructions, briefing materials, and public comment deadlines. A detailed agenda is available here. Most briefing materials will be available on the meeting page by July 30.

Questions? Contact Mary Sabo, msabo@mafmc.org, (302) 518-1143.

Northeast summer flounder: Prices return, landings on track to beat 2020

July 6, 2021 — The 2021 quota for summer flounder, or fluke, is 12.48 million pounds — up from last year. As of late May, almost 37 percent of quota had been landed, according to NOAA. So far, since the start of the 2021 fishing year, landings are up, compared to last year for January to April. In general, state allocations vary each year, based on the overall quota.

Not surprisingly, 2020 was defined by major market disruptions as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. But in some respects, the pandemic may not have had as large an impact on summer flounder compared to other species, in part, because it is a very well-established staple item in many regions. At times in 2020, fishing effort may have gone down, but some in the industry were lucky to be able to pivot to retail sales when restaurant markets tanked.

Average commercial ex-vessel price for fluke consistently increased from 2011 to 2017, reaching a peak at $4.40 per pound, but then fell in 2019. Total ex-vessel value in 2019 was $28.54 million. The 2020 average price per pound was depressed, relative to recent years — coastwide average ex-vessel price was $2.58 per pound (whereas in 2016-19, it averaged around $3.75 per pound.)

“2020 was definitely an odd year due to covid,” says Kiley Dancy of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. “We observed a clear decline in landings compared to 2019, starting in April last year and lasting for a few months.” But eventually, adds Dancy, landings did return to “normal,” relative to the 2019 trajectory. When all was said and done, 2020 commercial landings ended up very close to 2019. “Preliminary data indicate 9.11 million pounds landed in 2020,” Says Dancy, “compared to 9.06 million pounds in 2019.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Interstate fishery managers postpone action on allocations for multiple species

May 20, 2021 — Local recreational and commercial fishermen will have to wait until December to find out if interstate fisheries managers will make changes to allocations for several fish species.

During a joint webinar meeting May 8, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s summer flounder, scup and black sea bass board voted to postpone a final decision on potential changes to the allocations. The delay is intended to allow for further development of the recreational reform initiative before any decisions are made.

The council and board are now scheduled to take final action on the allocation amendment at a joint meeting in December. Summer flounder, scup and black sea bass are highly sought by commercial and recreational fishermen throughout the mid-Atlantic and southern New England regions, which includes the North Carolina coast.

The allocations for all three species are currently based on historical proportions of catch or landings. Recent changes in how recreational catch is estimated have resulted in a discrepancy between the current levels of estimated recreational harvest and the allocations to the same sector.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

NOAA Fisheries Announces 2021 Recreational Rules for Summer Flounder

May 5, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are finalizing “conservation equivalency” for the recreational summer flounder fishery as recommended by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Under conservation equivalency the combination of state or regional measures must be “equivalent,” in terms of conservation (i.e., not expected to exceed the recreational harvest limit), to a set of “non-preferred coastwide measures,” which are recommended by the Council and the Commission each year.

For the 2021 fishing year we have waived the federal recreational bag limit, minimum fish size, and fishing season for summer flounder, and fishermen are subject to regulations in the state where they land. Please contact your state for information on summer flounder recreational rules.

Read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register today.

Read the full release here

ASMFC 2021 Spring Meeting Webinar Final Agenda and Materials Now Available

April 21, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please note there was an error in the final agenda for the ISFMP Policy Board. The correct agenda item follows.

Review and Consider New York’s Appeal of Addendum XXXIII to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (P. Keliher) Final Action

The revised agenda is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2021SpringMeetingWebinar/2021SpringMtgWebinarFinalNotice_Agenda.pdf