August 23, 2017 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section will meet on August 31st from 1 – 3:30 PM at the Westin Portland Harborview, Winslow Homer Ballroom, 157 High Street, Portland, ME (Tel: 207.775.2411). The Section will be reviewing submitted public comment and considering final action on Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp.
While the fishery is currently under a moratorium, the Amendment considers measures to improve management of the northern shrimp resource in the event the fishery reopens. Proposed options include state-by-state allocations and accountability measures to better manage effort in the fishery. The Draft Amendment also explores the mandatory use of size sorting grate systems to minimize harvest of small (presumably male) shrimp, as well as reporting measures to ensure all harvested shrimp are being reported.
If approved by the Section, the Amendment will be forwarded to the Commission’s Business Session for final approval in October at the Commission’s Annual Meeting.
Meeting materials for the Section meeting can be accessed at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/NShrimpSectionMtgMaterials_Aug2017.pdf.
A PDF version of the press release can be found here –http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/599da091pr38NShrimpSectionMtg_Aug2017.pdf.