Council Actions Archives - Page 174 of 318

Presentations and Audio Files from ASMFC’s 2018 Summer Meeting Now Available

August 14, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The presentations and audio files from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2018 Summer Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2018-summer-meeting; go to the relevant board header and click on either “Presentations” or “Audio.” The Atlantic Herring Section has two audio links given the length of the meeting (NOTE: the very beginning of the afternoon session was not recorded).

SAFMC Recruitment Announcement for Administrative Officer

August 14, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, headquartered in Charleston, SC, is currently soliciting applicants for an Administrative Officer staff position. The Council is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit of the Atlantic off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and east Florida to Key West. The Council is responsible for Coastal Migratory Pelagics from New York to Florida and for Dolphin/Wahoo, from Maine to Florida. Learn more about the Council at www.safmc.net.

The Administrative Officer is responsible for supervising all administrative staff. Responsibilities also include budget and finance, personnel management, property management, records management, and meeting support.

Closing Date: August 28, 2018

Contact:

Send a complete resume, a brief statement of interest describing the skills you would bring to this position, and contact information for 3 references to:

Gregg T. Waugh, Executive Director

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201

North Charleston, SC 29405

Or via email to: gregg.waugh@safmc.net

For more information:

Additional details, including a complete job description, is available from the Council’s website at: http://safmc.net/other-fishery-news/08-13-18-safmc-recruitment-announcement-administrative-officer/.

Applicants may also contact Mike Collins, Administrative Officer at mike.collins@safmc.net or by calling the Council office at 843/571-4366 or Toll Free 866/SAFMC-10.

ASMFC 2018 Summer Meeting Press Releases, Summaries and Motions Now Available

August 13, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Press releases, meeting summaries and motions from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2018 Summer Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2018SummerMeeting/2018SummerMeetingSummary.pdf. The document can also be obtained on the Commission website on the Meeting Archives page at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive. Presentations and audio files from this week’s meetings will be posted to the 2018 Summer Meeting page (http://www.asmfc.org/home/2018-summer-meeting) early next week.

ASMFC South Atlantic Board Releases Atlantic Cobia Draft Amendment 1 Public Information Document for Public Comment

August 13, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board approved for public comment the Public Information Document (PID) for Draft Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Migratory Group Cobia (Atlantic cobia). As the first step in the amendment process, the document seeks input from stakeholders and those interested in Atlantic cobia about changes observed in the fishery/resource and potential management measures.

Draft Amendment 1 was initiated in anticipation of removal of Atlantic cobia from the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils’ (SAFMC and GMFMC, respectively) Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources (CMP FMP). Both Councils approved removal of Atlantic cobia from the CMP FMP earlier this year, and this action is now pending review by the Secretary of Commerce. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, there would no longer be a federal management plan for Atlantic cobia, and the Commission would become the sole management body for this stock.

The PID outlines three main issues: recommended management for federal waters, a harvest specification process, and biological monitoring requirements. If Atlantic cobia is removed from the CMP FMP, the Commission will need to develop management measures to be recommended for implementation by NOAA Fisheries in federal waters, since a portion of the fishery occurs offshore. Additionally, several management measures within the Interstate FMP are dependent upon the CMP FMP, meaning that these measures will need to be redefined to continue management in state waters.

A harvest specification process would allow the Board to periodically (e.g. annually or biennially) set certain management measures through a Board vote without having to gather input via public hearings as done through an addendum or amendment process. This would expedite the Board’s decision-making process for measures where states commonly gather public input through their administrative process. The Board and members of the public have expressed a desire to change some of the current FMP management measures, and this could be accomplished through a harvest specification process.

Finally, biological monitoring programs have been recommended for Board consideration by the Cobia Plan Development Team and Technical Committee. Information obtained by such programs, like ages or lengths, can provide important information beyond harvest estimates to managers as they make decisions.

Stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the PID either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The PID can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/CobiaDraftAmd1PID_PublicComment.pdf or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on October 4, 2018 and should be forwarded to Dr. Michael Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Cobia PID). If your organization is planning to release an action alert related to the Amendment 1 PID, please contact Michael Schmidtke at mschmidtke@asmfc.org prior to its release.

It is anticipated the states of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and potentially Maryland or Delaware will be conducting public hearings in September 2018. A subsequent press release will provide the details of those hearings. The Management Board will meet at the Commission’s 2018 Annual Meeting in October to review and consider public comment and provide direction to staff for items to be included in Draft Amendment 1.

MAFMC and ASMFC to Hold Public Hearings for Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment

August 10, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission & Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) are soliciting public input on a draft amendment to address several potential changes to the management of the commercial summer flounder fishery, as well as modifications to the fishery management plan (FMP) goals and objectives for summer flounder. Ten public hearings will be held between September 10 and September 27. Written comments will be accepted through October 12, 2018.

The specific issues under consideration in this amendment include:

Requalifying criteria for federal commercial moratorium permits to address latent effort in the fishery: The amendment includes options to reduce the number of eligible commercial federal moratorium permits by implementing requalifying criteria for existing permits.
Modifying commercial quota allocation: The amendment proposes several options for revising the current commercial allocation to the states, which has been in place since 1993 and is based on average landings from 1980-1989.
Adding commercial landings flexibility as a framework issue in the Council’s FMP: This action does not consider implementing landings flexibility policies at this time but considers allowing the Council to implement landings flexibility through a future framework action instead of an amendment. The Commission’s adaptive management process already allows for landings flexibility.
Revising the FMP objectives for summer flounder: This amendment proposes revisions to the current FMP objectives for summer flounder management to provide more meaningful and up-to-date guidance to managers.

Learn More

Additional information about the amendment and the management alternatives being considered can be found on the Council’s website at www.mafmc.org/actions/summer-flounder-amendment and on the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. This information includes three documents: (1) the Public Hearing Document, which includes all proposed management changes and was developed to solicit public comment; (2) the Commission’s Draft Amendment; and (3) the Council’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Both the Commission’s Draft Amendment and the Council’s DEIS are required under their respective regulatory processes.

Contacts

Kiley Dancy, Fishery Management Specialist, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, kdancy@mafmc.org, 302.526.5257
Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior FMP Coordinator, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, krootes-murdy@asmfc.org, 703.842.0740

Hearing Schedule

Monday, September 10, 7:00 PM – Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Marine Headquarters Boating Education Center (Rear Building), 333 Ferry Road, Old Lyme, Connecticut 06371
Wednesday, September 12, 6:00 PM – North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Washington Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, US Highway 17, Washington, North Carolina 27889
Thursday, September 13, 6:00 PM – Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources & Environmental Control, DNREC Auditorium, Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, Delaware 19901
Thursday, September 13, 6:00 PM – Virginia Marine Resources Commission, 2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor, Newport News, Virginia 23607
Wednesday, September 19, 5:30 PM – Bourne Community Center, Room #2, 239 Main Street, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts 02532
Wednesday, September 19, 6:00 PM – University of Rhode Island Bay Campus, Corless Auditorium, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882
Monday, September 24, 6:00 PM – Ocean County Administrative Building, 101 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, New Jersey 08753
Tuesday, September 25, 6:00 PM – Ocean Pines Library, 11107 Cathell Road, Berlin, Maryland 21811
Thursday, September 27, 6:30 PM – New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SOMAS), Room 120 Endeavor, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794
Thursday, September 27, 6:30 PM – Internet Webinar, Registration URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5467929991483514883; Webinar ID: 658-611-667; Phone: 1-888-585-9008; Room Number: 853-657-937

Written Comments

Given the joint nature of this management effort and to streamline the public comment process, comments should be directed to Council contact information below. In addition to providing comments at any of the scheduled public hearings, you may submit written comments by 11:59 PM, Eastern Time, on Friday, October 12, 2018. Written comments may be sent by any of the following methods:

ONLINE: www.mafmc.org/comments/summer-flounder-amendment
EMAIL: nmfs.flukeamendment@noaa.gov
MAIL OR FAX TO:
Chris Moore, Ph.D., Executive Director
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
North State Street, Suite 201
Dover, DE 19901
FAX: 302.674.5399

Please include “Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment Comments” in the subject line if using email or on the outside of the envelope if submitting written comments by mail. All comments, regardless of submission method, will be compiled into a single document for review and consideration by both the Council and Commission. Please do not send separate comments to the Council and Commission.

Web Version / PDF Version

Commercial Closure of the Golden Tilefish Hook-and-Line Component in South Atlantic Federal Waters on August 14, 2018

August 10, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

WHAT/WHEN:

The commercial hook-and-line component for golden tilefish in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 14, 2018.

WHY THIS CLOSURE IS HAPPENING:

The 2018 commercial catch limit for the golden tilefish hook-and-line component is 78,328 pounds gutted weight. Commercial landings are projected to reach the commercial catch limit on August 14, 2018. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the catch limit from being exceeded.

DURING AND AFTER THE CLOSURE:

The commercial hook-and-line component closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper permit.
The prohibition on sale or purchase during the closure does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 14, 2018, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
The commercial longline component for South Atlantic golden tilefish closed on March 25, 2018, for the remainder of the fishing year. Therefore, because the commercial longline component is already closed, and the commercial hook-and-line component will close on August 14, 2018, all commercial fishing for South Atlantic golden tilefish will close effective 12:01 a.m., local time, August 14, 2018.
During the commercial closure, harvest or possession of golden tilefish in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits when the recreational sector is open.
Harvest by the commercial hook-and-line and longline components will reopen at 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2019.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. The complete list of regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=383bc195ccbeab4fd6bec1c24905df34&node=sp50.12.622.i&rgn=div6 .

ASMFC American Eel Board Approves Addendum V

August 10, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Eel Management Board approved Addendum V to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Eel. The Addendum increases the yellow eel coastwide cap starting in 2019 to 916,473 pounds. This modest increase in the cap (less than 1%) reflects a correction in the historical harvest. Further, the Addendum adjusts the method (management trigger) to reduce total landings to the coastwide cap when the cap has been exceeded and removes the implementation of state-by-state allocations if the management trigger is met. Lastly, the Addendum maintains Maine’s glass eel quota of 9,688 pounds.

The Addendum responds to concerns with the previous Addendum’s (IV) yellow eel management triggers given the timing and precision of landings data and the challenges of state-by-state quota management. Under Addendum IV, management action would have be triggered when (1) the coastwide cap is exceeded by more than 10% in a given year; or (2) the coastwide cap is exceeded in two consecutive years, regardless of the percent overage. If either of these triggers had been met, state-by-state quotas would have been required to be implemented.

Under Addendum V, management action will now be initiated if the yellow eel coastwide cap is exceeded by 10% in two consecutive years. If the management trigger is exceeded, only those states accounting for more than 1% of the total yellow eel landings will be responsible for adjusting their measures. A workgroup will be formed to define the process to equitably reduce landings among the affected states when the management trigger has been met.

The Board slightly modified the glass eel aquaculture provisions, maintaining the 200 pound limit for glass eel harvest but modifying the criteria for evaluating the proposed harvest area’s contribution to the overall population consistent with the recommendations of the Technical Committee. Under the revised provisions, the Board approved Maine’s glass eel aquaculture proposal for the 2019 fishing season, allowing for an additional 200 pounds of glass eels to be harvested for development in domestic aquaculture facilities. This amount is in addition to the Maine’s glass eel quota.

The implementation date for Addendum V is January 1, 2019. The Addendum will be posted to the Commission’s website by the end of August at http://www.asmfc.org/species/american-eel under Managements Plans. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Trimester 2 Effort Controls Measures Maintained

August 9, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts reviewed the effort control measures for the 2018 Area 1A Trimester 2 (June 1 – September 30) fishery. The states agreed to maintain the existing Area 1A Trimester 2 Days Out Measures, which are outlined below.

Days Out of the Fishery

Vessels with a herring Category A permit that have declared into the Trimester 2 Area 1A fishery may land herring five (5) consecutive days a week. One landing per 24 hour period.Vessels are prohibited from landing or possessing herring caught from Area 1A during a day out of the fishery.
- Landing days in New Hampshire and Massachusetts begin on Monday of each week at 12:01 a.m.
- Landings days in Maine begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m.
Small mesh bottom trawl vessels with a herring Category C or D permit that have declared into the Trimester 2 fishery may land herring seven (7) consecutive days a week.

Weekly Landing Limit

Vessels with a herring Category A permit may harvest up to 640,000 lbs (16 trucks) per harvester vessel, per week.
160,000 lbs (4 trucks) out of the 640,000 lbs weekly limit can be transferred to a carrier vessel (see below).

At-Sea Transfer and Carrier Restrictions
The following applies to harvester vessels with a herring Category A permit and carrier vessels landing herring caught in Area 1A to a Maine, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts port.

A harvester vessel can transfer herring at-sea to another catcher vessel.
A harvester vessel is limited to making at-sea transfers to only one carrier vessel per week.
Carrier vessels are limited to receiving at-sea transfers from one catcher vessel per week and can land once per 24 hour period. A carrier vessel may land up to 160,000 lbs (4 trucks) per week. The carrier limit of 4 trucks is not in addition to the harvester weekly landing limit. Carrier vessel: a vessel with no gear on board capable of catching or processing fish. Harvester vessel: a vessel that is required to report the catch it has aboard as the harvesting vessel on the Federal Vessel Trip Report.

The Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) is 32,084 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for a carryover from 2016 and the research set-aside. The Section allocated 72.8% of the sub-ACL to Trimester 2 and 27.2% to Trimester 3. After incorporating the 295 mt fixed gear set-aside and the 8% buffer (Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL), the seasonal quotas are 21,291 mt for Trimester 2 and 7,955 mt for Trimester 3.

These effort controls are projected to extend the Trimester 2 fishery through the beginning of September. Landings will be monitored closely and the fishery will be adjusted to zero landing days when the trimester’s quota is projected to be reached.

Due to the results of the 2018 Atlantic Herring Stock Assessment, which indicate poor recruitment and spawning stock biomass, the New England Fishery Management Council has recommended that the Regional Administrator allow for an in-season adjustment to the 2018 Atlantic herring sub-ACLs. The intent of this in-season adjustment is to reduce the severity of catch reductions in 2019. Following action from NOAA Fisheries to adjust the 2018 sub-ACLs, the Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts will reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort measures. Forty-eight hour notice will be provided before a Days Out Meeting.

Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A on no landing days. Please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740 for more information.

A PDF of the announcement can be found at – http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5b6b5e15AtlHerringDaysOutTri2_Aug2018.pdf.

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – Wednesday, August 15, 2018, Groundfish Issues

August 8, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet on Wednesday, August 15, 2018 to discuss groundfish-related issues. The public is invited to attend in person or listen live via webinar or telephone. Here are the details.

MEETING LOCATION: Hilton Garden Inn, Boston Logan Airport, 100 Boardman Street, Boston, MA. Hotel information is available here.

START TIME: 9:30 a.m.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting will be available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 930-5321. The access code is 523-918-908. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA: The SSC will:

Review recent stock assessment information from the U.S./Canada Transboundary Resource Assessment Committee and Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT) and then;

Recommend the overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder for the 2019 and 2020 fishing years;

Review 2017 operational assessments for ocean pout, Georges Bank winter flounder, witch flounder, Northern windowpane flounder, and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder;

Comment on the rebuilding alternatives under development by the PDT for the above-mentioned stocks to advise the Council on their technical basis; and

Discuss other business as necessary.

COMMENTS: The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 5 p.m. on Friday, August 10, 2018. Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org. The address for mailing comments via the U.S. Postal Service is: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill #2, Newburyport, MA 01950.

MATERIALS: Meeting materials will be posted on the Council’s website at SSC August 15, 2018 documents.

QUESTIONS: Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 106, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817, jplante@nefmc.org.

Atlantic Sea Scallop RSA Competition Underway; 2019-2020 Proposals Due by October 1, 2018

August 6, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The federal competition for 2019-2020 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Awards is now open.

The deadline for submitting full proposals is 5 p.m., Monday, October 1, 2018.

The New England Fishery Management Council sets research priorities for this industry-funded program, while NOAA Fisheries, through the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, manages the RSA competition and administers the program.

During its June meeting in Portland, ME, the Council approved two categories of priorities for this latest RSA cycle. These include: (1) “high” priorities, which are ranked; and (2) “general research areas,” which are not ranked in any order of preference.

Each year during the specification-setting process, the Council “sets aside” 1.25 million pounds scallops to carry out the program. Awards are made in pounds, not dollars, and no federal funding is provided. Instead, proceeds generated from the sale of set-aside scallops are used to fund research activities and compensate participating vessels.

The New England Council established the Scallop RSA Program to address research questions that support management of the scallop resource. The work is conducted collaboratively between fishermen and scientists. Research results directly contribute to stock assessments and help the Council better manage the fishery overall.

Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn called the RSA program “one of the flagships of the scallop fishery.”

Read the full release here