Council Actions

July 2, 2013 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts have cancelled the Days Out meeting scheduled for Monday, July 8, 2013. Atlantic herring landings rates have not progressed as projected; therefore the 7 landing days will not be adjusted at this time.

The Atlantic Herring Section members set a ‘days out’ effort control measure to allow seven (7) landing days a week for Period 2 of the Atlantic herring 2013 fishing season for Area 1A. Trimester 2 spans from June 1 through September 30, 2013 and has a total allowable catch (TAC) of 20,378 metric tons. This amount is 72.8% of the 31,200 mt annual catch limit sub-component for Area 1A approved by both the Commission and New England Fisheries Management Council after accounting for the 1,425 mt overage in 2011, 295 mt set-aside for fixed gear, and 5% bycatch allowance.

With seven landings days, or zero (0) days out for Area 1A’s Trimester 2, the entire TAC is projected to be caught close to the end of the period. As of June 26, 2013, landings are at 13% of the quota for Trimester 2. Landings will be closely monitored and if a meeting is required, it will rescheduled for later in the Trimester 2 season. The directed fishery will be closed when the season’s quota has been harvested.

Please contact Melissa Yuen at 703.842.0740 for more information.

June 26, 2013 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2013 Summer Meeting in Alexandria, Virginia. Please note that the meeting begins on Tuesday. A block of rooms is being held at the Crowne Plaza Old Town Alexandria, 901 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA  22314; (888) 233-9527. If you are interested in reserving a hotel room, reservations must be made before July 8, 2013 (be sure to mention ASMFC to get the group rate).  Room availability will not be guaranteed beyond this date.

The agenda and public comment guidelines are also available here. The final agenda and meeting materials will be posted to the website by July 24, 2013.

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Summer Meeting Preliminary Agenda
August 6 – 8, 2013

Please note: The agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of meetings. Interested parties should anticipate meetings starting earlier or later than indicated herein.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

10:00 – 10:45 a.m.-  Atlantic Herring Section

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.- American Lobster Management Board

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.– Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board

2:45 – 4:45 p.m.– Business Session (Strategic Planning)

5:00 – 6:00 p.m.– Atlantic Menhaden Management Board

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

8:00 a.m. – noon- American Eel Management Board

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.- South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board

2:45 – 3:45 p.m.-  Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) Policy Board

4:00 – 5:15 p.m.- Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board

4:15 – 5:15 p.m.- Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) Executive Committee

5:30 – 6:30 p.m.- ACCSP Coordinating Council

Thursday, August 8, 2013

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.- Executive Committee

8:30 – noon- Parliamentary Workshop

12:30 – 2:15 p.m.-  Spiny Dogfish & Coastal Sharks Management Board

2:30 – 3:30 p.m.- ISFMP Policy Board (continued)

3:30 – 4:00 p.m.- Business Session (continued)

Public Comment Guidelines

With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:

For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will use a speaker sign-up list in deciding 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 a meeting week will be included on the briefing CD.
2. Comments received by 5:00 PM on the Tuesday immediately preceding the scheduled ASMFC Meeting (in this case, the Tuesday deadline will be July 30, 2013) will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.
3. Following the Tuesday, July 30, 2013 5:00 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies).

The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution.  As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail, fax, and email.

 

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — June 21, 2013 — Several actions were approved for further development by the New England Fishery Management Council at its meeting earlier this week in Portland, ME. The 18-member Council directed its staff and technical groups to refine and analyze measures that would affect fishermen who participate in the Atlantic herring and groundfish fisheries. The latter includes cod, haddock, pollock, redfish and a number of flounder species.

The Council also identified measures to enhance groundfish fishery productivity by improving spawning and habitat protection as part of its work on a comprehensive plan to update essential fish habitat protections. After development, review and approval these measures may become fisheries regulations.

Atlantic Herring The Council agreed to formally develop measures that would protect river herring (alewife and blueback herring) and both American and hickory shad, because of concerns about the poor condition of these stocks. They are vulnerable to the fishing gear used to target Atlantic herring.

In considering a cap on the amounts of river herring and shad that may be taken in the Atlantic herring fishery the Council adopted the following goals:

– To provide strong incentives for the industry to continue to avoid and reduce the catch of these species to the extent practicable;

– To enhance coordination with the Mid-Atlantic Council to address overlapping fisheries; and  To promote flexibility to adjust the cap in the future as more information becomes available.

Finally, the Council agreed that the river herring/shad catch cap would apply to all trips landing more than the open access possession limit of 6,600 pounds of Atlantic herring and gave direction that the catch cap areas for the Atlantic herring fishery be analyzed by statistical area clusters and gear type.

Groundfish After receiving updated information about the fishery, details about sector management operations and input from its Groundfish Advisory Panel, the Council unanimously voted to replace the existing goals and objectives of Amendment 18 to its Groundfish Fishery Management Plan with the following:

    • To promote a diverse groundfish fishery, including different gear types, vessel sizes, ownership patterns, geographic locations and levels of participation through sectors and permit banks;

    • To enhance sector management to effectively engage industry to achieve management goals and improve data quality;

    • To promote the resilience and stability of fishing businesses by encouraging diversification, quota utilization and capital investment; and

    • To prevent any individual(s), corporation(s) or other entity(ies) from acquiring or controlling excessive shares of the fishery access privileges.

Work on this action will continue over the summer, fall and early winter, with Groundfish Committee meetings to be announced once they are scheduled.

Habitat The Council identified the range of alternatives that will be analyzed over the next several months as part of the Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat 2 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). In doing so, Council members approved management options for habitat and spawning areas on a regional basis and developed measures for these areas. Spawning areas will have seasonal restrictions on gears capable of catching groundfish; sensitive habitat areas will have year-round restrictions on mobile bottom tending gears or trawl gear modifications, with possible exemptions for hydraulic clam dredges. Three different Dedicated Habitat Research Areas were included in the alternatives.

Additional Habitat and Groundfish Committee work will focus on any necessary refinements to the management areas and measures. The Draft EIS is scheduled to be approved by the Council this November, with public hearings likely scheduled in mid-winter, followed by final action in April 2014.

The New England Council develops rules for both large and small-scale commercial and recreational fisheries that operate between three and 200 miles off the coastlines of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Read the NEFMC brief on the meeting

 

PORTLAND, Maine — June 21, 2013 — While no final measures were taken on Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2, New England scallopers will ultimately benefit from the management alternatives selected by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) at Wednesday’s full Council meeting for further development. The alternatives included by the Council for analysis in the Amendment’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) won’t impose any further restrictions on scallopers in the Georges Bank area, and could also grant scallopers access to a wealth of scallops on its Northern Edge.

During its report of the NEFMC’s Joint Groundfish and Habitat Committee, the Council selected alternatives that will be considered for inclusion in Amendment 2. These alternatives are aimed at minimizing adverse effects on Essential Fish Habitat while protecting groundfish spawning grounds and juvenile groundfish habitat. The Council examined management alternatives for several key regions including the Western Gulf of Maine (GOM), Central GOM, Eastern GOM, and Georges Bank.

Looking specifically at Georges Bank, the NEFMC voted to remove two alternatives that would have been detrimental to scallopers’ efforts on the Northern Edge, and agreed to modify a third alternative by removing a proposed elimination of a large portion of the Closed Area II scallop access area. As a result, with the exception of a “no action” alternative, which would maintain the status quo, the remaining Georges Bank Alternatives will only increase access to the scallop resource in this area. The NEFMC also voted to add an additional alternative based on a proposal from the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), which would grant scallopers access to the Northern Edge of Georges Bank.

Several audio clips related to this discussion can be found below (Note: Unfortunately, due to problems with available recordings of this meeting, we are only able to provide certain portions of the recording):

Listen to Peter Hughes, of Atlantic Cape Fisheries, discuss yellowtail bycatch avoidance, and voice his support for the inclusion of areas such as the Northern Edge of Georges Bank in rotational fishing efforts.

Listen to John Bullard, NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator, stress the importance of including data presented by the scallop industry in the Council’s decision-making process.

Listen to NEFMC Scallop Oversight Committee Chair, Mary Beth Tooley, propose a motion that would allow scallopers to fully utilize the scallop resource on the Northern Edge.

Listen to John Bullard, NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator, voice his support for the motion made by Mary Beth Tooley related to FSF’s proposal.

Listen to Gib Brogan, Oceana’s Northeast Representative, discuss the goals and objectives of Amendment 2 and scallop recovery.

June 20, 2013 — The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council today released a draft of its 5-year strategic plan for public comment. The draft plan, which outlines the Council’s vision, mission, and strategic goals for 2014-2018, is the culmination of the Council’s two-year-long Visioning and Strategic Planning Project. Comments from the public will be accepted through July 19, 2013 and reviewed by the Council at its August 13-15 meeting in Wilmington, DE.

Click here to download the Draft 2014-2018 Strategic Plan
 
The plan was developed over the past year by a working group composed of Council members and stakeholders through a series of strategic planning meetings. During the year prior, the stakeholder input for the plan was collected during the largest outreach initiative in the Council's history. More than 1,500 stakeholders contributed ideas and recommendations through online surveys, port meetings, and position letters. The results from this project were summarized in the Stakeholder Input Report and were used by the working group as a foundation for the plan. 
 
The Draft 2014-2018 Strategic Plan is available on the Council’s website, along with additional background information and instructions for submitting comments, at http://www.mafmc.org/strategic-plan.

Please direct questions about the draft strategic plan to Mary Clark at mclark@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5261.

View a PDF of the announcement here

 

June 20, 2013 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Arlington, Va. — The state of North Carolina has scheduled its public hearing to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to the Omnibus Amendment to the Interstate Fishery Management Plans for Spanish Mackerel, Spot, and Spotted Seatrout. The date, time, and location of the hearing follows.
 
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
July 1, 2013; 6:00 PM
Central District Office
5285 Highway 70 West
Morehead City, North Carolina
Contact: Michelle Duval at 252.808.8011
 
The Draft Addendum proposes a pilot program that would allow states to reduce the Spanish mackerel minimum size limit for the commercial pound net fishery to 11 ½ inches for one or more of the summer months of July through September for the 2013 and 2014 fishing years only. The proposed measure is intended to reduce waste of these shorter fish, which are discarded dead in the summer months, by converting them to landed fish.
 
The Draft Addendum responds to reports about the increased incidence of Spanish mackerel ¼-inch to ½-inch short of the 12 inch fork length minimum size limit in pound nets during the summer months.  While the fish are alive in the pound, once the net is bunted and bailing commences, they die before being released.  This may be due to a combination of temperature, stress and crowding.  Most pound nets are constructed using 1 ½-inch to 1 5/8-inch inch mesh in the pound and 4-inch to 6-inch mesh for the leads.  While individual fishermen have experimented with different wall or panel mesh sizes depending on the target species, there is no consistent use of cull panels. Those who have used cull panels have noted the difficulty and lack of success in being able to release the undersized fish quickly enough to prevent dead discards during this time of year.
 
The proposed measure would only apply for the 2013 and 2014 fishing years only. Interested states would be required to notify the Commission of the specific month or months it intends to use the minimum size limit exemption.
 
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending the joint public hearing or providing written comment. Draft Addendum I is available here. Public comment will be accepted until5:00 PM (EST) on July 19, 2013 and should be forwarded to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or krootes-murdy@asmfc.org (Subject line: Spanish Mackerel Addendum I). For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.              

 

 

June 18, 2013 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Mangement Council:

Last week the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved a 236 metric ton (MT) cap on incidental catch of river herring and shad in the U.S. Atlantic mackerel fishery for 2014. Under the new cap, the mackerel fishing fleet—which is primarily composed of trawlers—will risk early closure if they are unable to successfully avoid river herring and shad.
 
River herring and shad once supported thriving commercial and recreational fisheries, but recent stock assessments indicate that their populations have reached near-historic lows. Although there is little debate about the need for river herring and shad conservation, their decline is likely the result of a combination of factors, including dams, predation, water quality, climate change, and fishing effort. A variety of analyses have suggested that the Atlantic mackerel fishery can have substantial river herring and shad catch in some years.
 
The catch cap is one of several protective measures slated to take effect next year as part of Amendment 14 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. The amendment also calls for increased reporting and monitoring requirements for fishermen and dealers. These changes are expected to provide managers with much-needed and improved data about actual river herring and shad catch levels.
 
During the meeting the Council reviewed input from the fishery’s monitoring committee and took comments from the public, which included members of environmental groups and fishing industry participants. After discussing cap levels ranging from 119 to 456 MT, the Council settled on a cap of 236 MT. Council members noted that the lack of detailed information about river herring and shad posed a particular challenge in determining an appropriate cap level.
 
“It’s important to understand the limitations of the data we are using to manage shad and river herring interactions in our offshore fisheries,” said Council Chairman Rick Robins.  "The Council had to develop management advice for a catch cap without the benefit of biological reference points. Given those limitations, the Council recommended a cap that would limit or reduce river herring and shad catch and provide an incentive for the industry to avoid them, consistent with the goals of Amendment 14.”
 
Although mackerel landings in 2011 and 2012 were relatively low, data suggest that a 236 MT cap would have been a limiting factor for the fishery in two out of six years between 2005 and 2010. “This level should allow fishermen, who are likely in the best position to figure out how to avoid river herring and shad, to catch the mackerel quota if they can achieve a relatively low catch rate of river herrings and shads,” said Jason Didden, fisheries management specialist for the Council.
 
River herring and shad avoidance will not be a new consideration for many mackerel fishermen. As concerns about river herring and shad populations have escalated in recent years, fishermen have become increasingly involved in voluntary avoidance programs such as the SMAST Bycatch Avoidance Program and the Squid Trawl Network Fleet Communication System for Butterfish/River Herring Avoidance. These programs will likely play an important role in helping fishermen to minimize river herring and shad catches and avoid early closure of the mackerel fishery under the new cap.
 
For more information about river herring and shad, contact Jason Didden at jdidden@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5254.
 
Quick Links

– June 2013 Meeting- Mackerel, Squid, Butterfish Briefing Materials (includes river herring and shad documents)

– Amendment 14 Background Documents

– Council Website

Read a PDF of the announcement here

 

June 18, 2013 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

During a meeting last week in Eatontown, New Jersey, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted on a suite of alternatives that would change the way the Council manages recreational fisheries. The measures were part of the Omnibus Recreational Accountability Measure Amendment initiated by the Council in December 2012 in response to concerns that the current system of accountability measures (AMs) did not adequately consider the inherent uncertainty in recreational fishery catch estimates.

If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, the Council’s recommendations would adapt the system of AMs to the realities of uncertain catch estimates and management controls associated with recreational fisheries. “An overage in the black sea bass fishery may have triggered this Council action, but it led to a comprehensive re-examination of how we can improve the management of all our recreational fisheries,” said Council Chairman Rick Robins.

AMs are required for all federally managed fisheries as a way of either preventing catch overages or responding to them when they occur. Current accountability measures for the Council’s commercial and recreational fisheries require overages to be paid back, pound-for-pound, as a deduction from the catch limit in a subsequent year.

Under the new amendment, a management response (i.e. reactive AM) would be invoked when the lower confidence limit, rather than the point estimate, of recreational catch exceeds the Annual Catch Limit (ACL). If this condition is met, paybacks would only be required in certain cases, such as when the stock is overfished or when both the overfishing limit has been exceeded and the stock has fallen below a certain level. If those conditions are not met, accountability measures would consist of adjustments to the bag limit, size limit, and season to prevent future overages.

“The amendment would temper the Council’s reactions to recreational overages by taking the statistical uncertainty of the catch estimate into consideration before applying corrective management responses,” said Chairman Robins. “This action responds directly to concerns expressed by stakeholders during the Visioning Project regarding the Council’s treatment of uncertainty in recreational data and the broadly-supported goal of regulatory stability, both of which have been incorporated into our draft 5-year Strategic Plan.”

The Council also voted to eliminate the exercise of in-season closure authority. This decision reflects the Council’s preference for addressing recreational overages in subsequent years instead of through closures, which can have regionally disproportionate impacts on the recreational fishing industry.

In cases where a payback is required, the Council recommended a scaled payback of the ACL overage rather than a pound-for-pound payback. This method would allow the payback amount to be scaled depending on the condition of the stock, meaning that payback for an overage in an overfished fishery would be more severe than payback for an overage in a non-overfished fishery.

For more information, contact James Armstrong at jarmstrong@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5250.

Quick Links

– June 2013 Meeting- Omnibus Amendment Briefing Materials
– Omnibus Amendment Background Documents
– Council Website

View a PDF of the release here

 

June 17, 2013 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

After considering public comment and recommendations from its advisory panels, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has decided not to move forward with an amendment that would have required the use of Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) for vessels with a Federal Commercial Snapper Grouper Permit in the South Atlantic.  The decision was made during the Council's quarterly meeting last week in Stuart, Florida.  The Council received over 300 written comments from the public on Amendment 30 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan that proposed the use of the satellite-based systems to enhance enforcement capabilities and data collection.  The Council held a series of public hearings in April regarding the amendment and the majority of participants voiced strong opposition to the requirement.  Fishermen cited costs associated with VMS as a primary concern, including installation, maintenance, and monthly fees for service.  A federal fund is currently available to pay for the units, similar to an onboard computer, up to $3100.  Fishermen and others also cited concerns about being monitored while fishing, referring to the units as "ankle bracelets", and questioned the need for VMS for data collection purposes.  The Council will continue to explore options to improve electronic data collection.

Amendments Approved for Public Hearing

The Council also continued to review a broad range of management measures and approved six draft amendments for public hearings to be held August 5-15, 2013.  The hearings will be held from New Bern, North Carolina to Key Largo, Florida and the specific dates and locations will be announced once they are finalized.
 
– Regulatory Amendment 14 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan – The draft regulatory amendment addresses proposed changes for species within the snapper grouper management complex including greater amberjack, gag grouper, vermilion snapper, and black sea bass.
 
– Amendment 5 to the Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan – The draft amendment includes minor revisions to the acceptable biological catch, annual catch limits, and other management parameters for dolphin and wahoo to incorporate updates to the Marine Recreational Information Program.  Additionally, the amendment includes measures for revising the framework procedure for dolphin and wahoo, and establishment of commercial trip limits for dolphin.

– Amendments 19, 20 and Framework to the Coastal Migratory Pelagics Fishery Management Plan – Three draft amendments affecting fisheries for king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and cobia are being developed jointly by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.  Issues include: the sale of bag limit king mackerel and Spanish mackerel (including tournament sale of king mackerel); elimination of inactive king mackerel permits; modifications to income requirements for federal permits; transit provisions; annual catch limits and targets for cobia; transfer at sea and gillnet allowances for Spanish mackerel; trip limits for king mackerel; and consideration of regional annual catch limits for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel.
 
– Amendment 8 to the Coral Fishery Management Plan – The amendment includes alternatives for expanding protection of of Deepwater Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs) and transit provisions through the Oculina Bank HAPC located off the central east coast of Florida.

Other Actions:
 
Red Snapper

NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Fisheries Science Center provided the Council with an update on the calculations for establishing the Annual Catch Limit for red snapper in 2013 and provided estimates for how long the recreational and commercial mini-seasons may last this year…
 
See the complete news release for additional information about the amendments approved for public hearings and the latest on red snapper.
 
The next meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is scheduled for September 16-20, 2013 in Charleston, SC. Details for the meeting and meeting materials will be posted at www.safmc.net as they become available.

 

 

June 17, 2013 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Arlington, Va — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announces the release of its report, Research Priorities & Recommendations to Support Interjurisdictional Fisheries Management. The report highlights research priorities and data critical to the continued success and improvement of the Commission’s 25 species management programs. The report can be used by state and federal marine fishery agencies, and university research programs to develop projects to answer outstanding research questions.
 
The report identifies research priorities and recommendations by individual species and species groups, as in the case of diadromous species (American eel, shad, river herring, Atlantic sturgeon, striped bass), as well as socioeconomic data needs for all species. Research needs were identified from a variety of sources, including Commission fishery management plans and amendments, annual plan reviews, and peer-reviewed stock assessments. Research focal areas were prioritized by the Commission’s species stock assessment subcommittees and technical committees, with additional input from management boards and advisory panels, the Habitat Committee, the Committee on Economics and Social Sciences, and the Management and Science Committee.
 
State, federal, and non-profit organizations are encouraged to use the report to identify research projects and design studies for future funding programs. To ensure its usefulness and relevancy, the report will be is updated periodically as research priorities are met and new research needs are identified. The full report can be obtained here, with species-specific sections available on the individual species pages. For more information, please contact Jeff Kipp, Stock Assessment Scientist, or Patrick Campfield, Director of Fisheries Science, at 703.842.0740.