Saving Seafood

Council Actions

ASMFC Begins Preparations for American Eel Benchmark Stock Assessment

August 11, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has begun work on the next American Eel Benchmark Stock Assessment and is requesting data from academia, member states, federal partners, participating jurisdictions and stakeholders. A data workshop has not been scheduled yet but is likely to occur in late 2020.

The Commission welcomes the submission of data sources that will improve the accuracy of the assessment. This includes, but is not limited to, data on catch per unit effort (young-of-the-year surveys, yellow eel surveys), biological samples (lengths, ages, stage data), and life history information (growth, maturity, natural mortality). For data sets to be considered, the data must be sent in the required format with accompanying description of methods to Dr. Kristen Anstead, Stock Assessment Scientist, at kanstead@asmfc.org by October 1, 2020.

For more information about the assessments or the submission and presentation of materials, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC 2020 Summer Meeting Webinar Press Releases, Meeting Summaries, and Motions Now Available

August 7, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Press releases, meeting summaries and motions from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commissionโ€™s 2020 Summer Meeting Webinar are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2020SummerMeeting/2020SummerMeetingSummary.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 weekโ€™s meetings will be posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2020-summer-meeting-webinar early next week.

SSC Groundfish SubCommittee online meeting September 2, 2020

August 7, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Groundfish Subcommittee of the Pacific Fishery Management Councilโ€™s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold an online meeting to plan a later methodology review of elasmobranch harvest control rules and management reference points.  This online meeting is open to the public, and will be held Wednesday, September 2, 2020, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Pacific Time, or until business for the day has been completed.

Please see the SSC Groundfish Subcommittee meeting notice on the Councilโ€™s website for additional details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer John DeVore at 503-820-2413; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Board Adopts Ecological Reference Points

August 6, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic Menhaden Management Board approved the use of ecological reference points (ERPs) in the management of Atlantic menhaden. By adopting ERPs, the Board will be accounting for the speciesโ€™ role as an important forage fish. The 2020 Atlantic menhaden benchmark assessments, which were endorsed by an independent panel of fisheries scientists, used the Northwest Atlantic Coastal Shelf Model of Intermediate Complexity for Ecosystems (NWACS-MICE) in combination with the single-species model (Beaufort Assessment Model or BAM) to develop Atlantic menhaden ERPs by evaluating trade-offs between menhaden harvest and predator biomass.

โ€œThe Board took another important step in managing Atlantic menhaden in a broader ecosystem context,โ€ stated Board Chair Spud Woodward of Georgia. โ€œItโ€™s the culmination of more than a decade of effort by state, federal, and academic scientists to develop ERPs that reflect menhadenโ€™s role as a key food source for several fish species. These ERPs are not a silver bullet to resolve all our fisheries management issues, and the models on which they are based will continue to evolve. However, the use of ERPs for menhaden management will enhance the success of predator management by providing a more abundant forage base for rebuilding predator fish populations. It is important for us to keep those rebuilding efforts on track through the use of proven management tools such as controls on fishing mortality.โ€

Read the full release here

ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Initiates Amendment 7 to Address Longstanding Fishery Management Issues

August 6, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commissionโ€™s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board initiated the development of an Amendment to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan. As the first step in the development of a new FMP or amendment, the Public Information Document (PID) will focus on the following management topics: (1) fishery goals and objectives; (2) stock rebuilding/timeframe; (3) management triggers; (4) biological reference points; (5) regional management (recreational measures, coastal and producer areas, regional reference points); (6) recreational discard mortality; (7) conservation equivalency; (8) recreational accountability; and (9) coastal commercial quota allocation. The purpose of the PID is to solicit stakeholder input on prioritizing the importance of each topic for continued development and inclusion in the Draft Amendment.

โ€œNow that Addendum VI measures are in place and stock rebuilding has been initiated, the Board can focus on addressing a number of issues that have been at the forefront of striped bass management for a long time,โ€ stated Board Chair David Borden of Rhode Island.

Between the Spring and Summer Meetings, a Work Group of Board members met to discuss significant issues facing striped bass management. The Board agreed that all of the issues discussed by the Work Group are extremely important and complex, and deserve significant thought and consideration. Furthermore, the prioritization of issues to be addressed by the Amendment should be guided by stakeholder input.

โ€œGiven itโ€™s been 17 years since the Board last considered a new plan amendment to the striped bass management program, the Board intends to be very thoughtful and deliberative as it proceeds with the development of this Amendment,โ€ stated Mr. Borden. โ€œItโ€™s important that we provide the public with sufficient background information in order to solicit effective feedback from all stakeholders and ensure the Draft Amendment addresses the most pressing issues at this time.โ€

During its deliberations, Board members discussed the importance of addressing discard mortality in recreational striped bass fisheries given discards significantly contribute to total fishing mortality. As a result, the Board tasked the Plan Development Team and Technical Committee to review factors limiting the accuracy of discard mortality estimates for stock assessment purposes, and to identify potential actions that could improve understanding or help reduce discard mortality in the fishery.

The Work Group Report, which can be found here, will serve as the foundation of the Draft PID. The Board will review the first draft of the PID at the Commissionโ€™s Annual Meeting in October. At that meeting, the Board will determine if the PID is ready to be sent out for public comment or if further modifications to the document are needed. Given current, and possibly future, meeting restrictions due to COVID-19, public hearings may be conducted via webinar.

For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

PFMC: Ecosystem SubCommittee meeting of the SSC September 4 & 8, 2020

August 6, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Ecosystem Subcommittee of the Pacific Fishery Management Councilโ€™s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold an online meeting to review items from the California Current Ecosystem Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Team that may potentially inform future annual reports to the Pacific Council on the state of the California Current Ecosystem.  The meeting is open to the public.

The SSC Ecosystem Subcommittee meeting will be held Friday, September 4, 2020 and will continue on Tuesday, September 8.

Please see the SSC Ecosystem Subcommittee meeting notice on the Councilโ€™s website for all of the details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer John DeVore at 503-820-2413; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

ASMFC: August 7 Atlantic Herring Days Out Call Canceled; Next Call Scheduled for August 14

August 5, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commissionโ€™s (Commission) Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts set effort control measures for the Area 1A fishery via Days Out webinars. Current effort controls for Season 1 (June โ€“ September) are detailed in Memo 20-50 which is available on the Commissionโ€™s website (click here).

The previously scheduled Days Out call on August 7, 2020 at 8:30 AM has been cancelled. Given the current rate of landings in the Area 1A fishery, and that the weekly landings limit has not been fully harvested by all vessels, the states have decided a Days Out call is not warranted at this time.

The Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are scheduled to reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort on:

  • Friday, August 14, at 8:30 โ€“ 10:00 am
  • You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone at the following link:https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/924867957. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. The meeting will be using the computer audio (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (646) 749-3122 and enter access code 924-867-957 when prompted. The webinar will start at 8:00 a.m., 30 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.

If it is decided that this meeting is also not needed, it may be canceled. Please contact Max Appelman, FMP Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740 for more information.

The announcement can also be found here โ€“ http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/AtlHerringDaysOutMtgNotice_Aug2020.pdf

ASMFC: American Shad Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Find Coastwide Abundance Remains Depleted

August 5, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The 2020 American Shad Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report indicate American shad remain depleted on a coastwide basis. Multiple factors, such as overfishing, inadequate fish passage at dams, predation, pollution, water withdrawals, channelization of rivers, changing ocean conditions, and climate change are likely responsible for shad decline from historic abundance levels. Additionally, the assessment finds that shad recovery is limited by restricted access to spawning habitat. Current barriers partly or completely block 40% of historic shad spawning habitat, which may equate to a loss of more than a third of spawning adults. The โ€œdepletedโ€ determination was used instead of โ€œoverfishedโ€ because the impact of fishing on American shad stocks cannot be separated from the impacts of all other factors responsible for changes in abundance. The benchmark assessment was endorsed by the Peer Review Panel and accepted by the Shad & River Herring Management Board (Board) for management use.

โ€œOn behalf of the Board, I want to commend the members of the Shad Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee for their outstanding work on the 2020 Benchmark Stock Assessment Report,โ€ stated Board Chair Dr. Michael Armstrong from Massachusetts. โ€œThis is a considerable body of work that substantially advances our understanding of the challenges facing American shad stocks along the Atlantic coast. It certainly has given the Board a lot to think about regarding next steps in management to improve population resiliency. Given the stock-specific nature of shad management, the Board has tasked the Technical Committee with identifying potential paths forward to improve shad stocks along the coast considering the assessment results.โ€

Coastwide adult mortality is unknown, but was determined to be unsustainable for some systemโ€specific stocks, indicating the continued need for management action to reduce adult mortality. Specifically, adult mortality was determined to be unsustainable for three stocks โ€“ Connecticut, Delaware, and Potomac โ€“ and sustainable for five stocks โ€“ Hudson, Rappahannock, York, Albemarle Sound, and Neuse (see table on page 2 for information by system). The terms โ€œsustainableโ€ and โ€œunsustainableโ€ were used instead of โ€œnot overfishingโ€ and โ€œoverfishingโ€ because fishing mortality cannot be separated from other components contributing to total mortality. Though adult mortality was determined to be sustainable for some systemโ€specific stocks, it is important to note that maintaining sustainable adult mortality will not result in favorable abundance status if juvenile mortality is unsustainable. Unfortunately, juvenile mortality status cannot be determined due to insufficient data collection in all systems; without these determinations, significant uncertainty remains in assessment advice for management of American shad. Thus, the recovery of American shad will need to address multiple factors including anthropogenic (human-caused) habitat alterations, predation by nonโ€native predators, and exploitation by fisheries. The assessment also highlights the need for stock composition monitoring data in order to separate the impacts of fishing from other factors driving American shad population dynamics in future stock assessments.

Read the full release here

MAFMC News Roundup โ€“ 8/5/20

August 5, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Last Chance to Submit Comments on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth: The Council is seeking ideas and suggestions for reducing burdens on domestic fishing and increasing production within sustainable fisheries. Input will help inform the Councilโ€™s development of a prioritized list of recommended actions as required under Section 4 of Executive Order 13921. Learn more and submit comments here. Comments are due today, August 5, at 5:00 p.m.

August 6 Joint MAFMC/ASMFC Meeting: The Council will meet jointly via webinar with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commissionโ€™s (ASMFC) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and Bluefish Management Board on August 6, 2020. An agenda and other details related to the joint portion of the meeting are available on the August 6, 2020 Joint MAFMC/ASMFC Meeting Page. Webinar connection information is available on the ASMFCโ€™s Summer 2020 Meeting page.

August 2020 Council Meeting: The Councilโ€™s August 2020 Council Meeting will be held via webinar next week, August 10-13. A portion of the meeting will be conducted jointly with the ASMFCโ€™s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and Bluefish Management Board. An agenda, briefing materials, and webinar connection details are available on the August 2020 Council Meeting Page.

Redeployment of Northeast Observers: NOAA Fisheries has announced that deployment of observers and at-sea monitors in the Northeast partial-coverage fisheries will resume on August 14. To improve transparency in its approach to observer deployment, NOAA Fisheries has established national-level criteria for vessels to be waived (released) from observer or at-sea monitor coverage.

Recreational Tilefish Permitting and Reporting: Beginning August 17, 2020, any recreational vessel that intends to target or retain blueline or golden tilefish north of the NC/VA border will be required to obtain a Federal private recreational tilefish vessel permit. In addition, recreational vessel operators will be required to submit electronic vessel trip reports (eVTRs) within 24 hours of returning to port from any recreational trip targeting or retaining tilefish. For more information, read the NOAA Fisheries announcement or visit the Councilโ€™s Recreational Tilefish Permitting and Reporting page.

Proposed Commercial eVTR Requirements: NOAA Fisheries has published a proposed rule to implement a framework jointly developed by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils which would require federally permitted commercial fishing vessels to submit vessel trip reports electronically within 48 hours of the end of a trip. For more details, please see the NOAA Fisheries announcement or visit the Councilโ€™s Commercial eVTR page. Comments must be submitted by August 17, 2020.

Chub Mackerel: NOAA Fisheries has published a final rule implementing Amendment 21 to the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This action integrates Atlantic chub mackerel into the FMP and implements long-term conservation and management measures for the species from Maine through North Carolina.

Illex Squid Quota Increase: NOAA Fisheries has increased the 2020 acceptable biological catch for the Illex squid fishery from 26,000 mt to 30,000 mt. This quota increase was recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council based on preliminary work by its Illex Squid Working Group, which concluded that the species continues to be lightly exploited and the fishery footprint is small. See the permit holder bulletin for more information.

Offshore Wind: The Coast Guard is conducting a Port Access Route Study (PARS) to evaluate the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and determine whether additional vessel routing measures are necessary for port approaches to New York and New Jersey and international and domestic transit areas in the First District area of responsibility. A public comment period on this study is open through August 28. A virtual public meeting will be held via webinar and teleconference to provide an opportunity for oral comments on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, beginning at 6 p.m. EST. More information is available here.

Upcoming Webinars:

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

PFMC: Request for nominations on the Habitat Committee (due August 31 2020)

August 4, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is requesting nominations of qualified candidates to fill one commercial fishery position on its Habitat Committee. Successful candidates will serve out the remainder of the 2019-2021 Council advisory body term. To ensure consideration, nominations should be received at the Council office no later than 5 p.m. Monday, August 31, 2020.

Please see the Councilโ€™s Advisory Body Vacancy webpage for full details on the available positions, including the vacancy announcements and how to apply.

The Council is committed to the principle of diversity and is particularly interested in receiving nominations from a broad spectrum of people. Eligibility or selection for these positions will not be based on race, color, national origin, handicap, age, religion, or sexual orientation.

If you have further questions, please contact Mr. Mike Burner at 503-820-2414; toll free 1-866-806-7204.