May 16, 2014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Alexandria, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board accepted the 2014 Fishery Management Plan Review detailing the results of the 2013 fishing year and implementation of Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. Total 2013 harvest excluding bycatch was 166,077 metric tons (mt), 2.8% below the coastwide total allowable catch (TAC) of 170,800 mt established through Amendment 2. In 2013, the reduction fishery harvested 131,034 mt while the bait fishery harvested approximately 35,043 mt. A total of 1,942 metric tons were harvested under the 6,000 pound bycatch allowance with approximately 91% of bycatch coming from pound nets. Bycatch accounted for 1.2% of the total coastwide harvest, but does not count towards the TAC. Amendment 2 does not provide for the rollover of unused quota from one year to the next because the stock is currently experiencing overfishing.
“Through the cooperative efforts of the Atlantic states in implementing Amendment 2, we have taken measurable steps towards ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Atlantic menhaden resource for both its ecosystem services and the fisheries that depend on it,” stated Commission Chair Louis Daniel of North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.
Amendment 2 implementation has also improved reporting as well as expanded biological monitoring for the bait fishery. The accompanying table details state quotas for the 2014 fishing year after setting aside 1% for episodic events. Any overages in the 2013 quotas because of late reports will come out of the 2014 quotas. Progress on the upcoming benchmark stock assessment continues with an assessment workshop scheduled for June 2 -5, 2014 at the NOAA Beaufort Lab and the peer review scheduled for December 2014. It is anticipated that the Board will consider the results of the peer review at the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February 2015. For more information, please contact, Mike Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mwaine@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
2014 Atlantic Menhaden Quotas
State: ME
2014 Quota (MT): 66.58
2014 Quota (LBS): 146,787
State: NH
2014 Quota (MT): 0.05
2014 Quota (LBS): 112
State: MA
2014 Quota (MT): 1417.94
2014 Quota (LBS): 3,126,024
State: RI
2014 Quota (MT): 30.29
2014 Quota (LBS):66,779
State: CT
2014 Quota (MT): 29.50
2014 Quota (LBS): 65,034
State: NY
2014 Quota (MT): 93.76
2014 Quota (LBS): 206,695
State: NJ
2014 Quota (MT): 18924.42
2014 Quota (LBS): 41,721,164
State: DE
2014 Quota (MT): 22.33
2014 Quota (LBS):49,230
State: MD
2014 Quota (MT): 2320.98
2014 Quota (LBS): 5,116,874
State: PRFC
2014 Quota (MT): 1049.69
2014 Quota (LBS): 2,314,174
State: VA
2014 Quota (MT): 144272.84
2014 Quota (LBS): 318,066,790
State: NC
2014 Quota (MT): 833.23
2014 Quota (LBS):1,836,948
State: SC
2014 Quota (MT): –
2014 Quota (LBS): –
State: GA
2014 Quota (MT): –
2014 Quota (LBS): –
State: FL
2014 Quota (MT): 30.39
2014 Quota (LBS): 66,995
TOTAL
2014 Quota (MT): 169092.00
2014 Quota (LBS): 372,783,605