Management & Regulation

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — February 6, 2014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission unanimously approved its 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan at its 2014 Winter Meeting.  The Plan revises the Commission’s long-term vision to “Sustainably Managing Atlantic Coastal Fisheries” and establishes seven major goals and related strategies to pursue this vision. The Strategic Plan will guide the Commission’s activities over the next five years and will be implemented through annual action plans.

“This Strategic Plan is the culmination of extensive and thoughtful strategic planning by my fellow Commissioners,” states Commission Chair Dr. Louis B. Daniel, III of North Carolina. “The document revises the Commission’s long-term vision, values, driving forces, and goals to better respond to new challenges and opportunities in Atlantic coast fisheries management.  The Commissioners’ goal, through the review process, was to strengthen the Strategic Plan to make it more effective, concise, and accessible to the public.  We are deeply grateful for the thoughtful input we received from our stakeholders, with  more than 4,500 comments submitted during the public comment period. Commissioners were pleased to learn that an overwhelming majority of the public’s comments supported the direction of the Commission and we are committed to addressing the other issues raised through our annual action plans.”

The Plan’s seven goals are:

1. Rebuild, maintain, fairly allocate, and promote Atlantic coastal fisheries
2. Provide the scientific foundation for and conduct stock assessments to support informed management actions
3. Promote compliance with fishery management plans to ensure sustainable use of Atlantic coast fisheries
4. Protect and enhance fish habitat and ecosystem health through partnerships and education
5. Strengthen stakeholder and public support for the Commission
6. Advance Commission and member states’ priorities through a proactive legislative policy agenda
7. Ensure the fiscal stability & efficient administration of the Commission

The 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan is available on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/files/pub/2014-2018StrategicPlan_Final.pdf.

 

February 4, 2014 — New Jersey anglers will see reduced fluke catches this year, to the benefit of neighboring New York, under a decision made Tuesday by an interstate fisheries pane

The decision also could mean two different fluke sizes in the Delaware Bay, with a smaller keeper size in Delaware waters and a larger one on the New Jersey side.

New Jersey was on the short end of a 9-2 vote at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meeting in Virginia as the East Coast states that land the popular flatfish, also known as summer flounder, voted in new measures for the 2014 fishing season. Only Virginia voted with New Jersey.

“Virginia realized it wasn’t fair,” said Tom Fote, a New Jersey representative on the ASMFC, an interstate panel that regulates migratory fish. “Our allocation is basically going to New York. It sets a bad precedent where they basically take fish from one state and give it to another, because New York has been crying for six years.”

New York has complained its anglers are allowed fewer fish per day, and they must be larger to be considered keepers. The system in place since 2001 awards each state a quota, and the states get to determine their own measures, called a “conservation equivalency,” to meet that quota. New Jersey has received 39.1 percent and New York 17.6 percent of the East Coast quota, the two highest amounts of the nine states that fish for fluke, since 2001.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City 

 

 

February 4, 2014 — Stop and listen: Do you hear that buzzing noise? It's the grumbling from red snapper fishermen and buyers in the Gulf who are anticipating the results of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting in Houston this week.

At stake during the meeting is the future of Amendment 28, which would reallocate more of the red snapper quota currently allotted to commercial fishermen to recreational interests. This could hamper the supply of domestic red snapper going to U.S. restaurant menus and retail stores.

This potential outcome led chefs, restaurant owners, fishermen, seafood industry leaders and conservationists last October to form Share the Gulf, a coalition to support fair access to red snapper. This group of more than 150 has almost doubled in size over the concern that red snapper could disappear from menus and retail establishments not just in the Gulf, but nationwide. Share the Gulf's message is clear: Shifting the allocation to more recreational interests over commercial will jeopardize fishermen and businesses throughout the Gulf region, and could cut off public access to red snapper.

Consider this: The red snapper quota allocation of 8.46 million pounds (whole weight) is 51 percent for commercial fishermen and 49 percent recreational. However, recreational management struggles under the current system and allows large overharvests (46 percent over in 2012), which hardly supports the goal of maintaining sustainable harvest levels to help the fishery rebuild. According to Share the Gulf, the offshore recreational fishermen are stuck in a failed management system that leads to the fishery exceeding its limit every season and inaccurate and insufficient data collection, which has forced regulators to shorten the season year after year.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

January 31, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comments on proposed measures under the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid and Butterfish Fisheries. At the request of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries is proposing to make adjustments to the butterfish discard cap to help extend the longfin squid fishery throughout the fishing year, while protecting the buttefish stock.

Click here to view the proposed rule and learn more about how to provide public comments on these proposed measures.  The deadline for providing public comments is March 3, 2014.

January 30, 2014 — Fisheries management experts from the Pacific Northwest testified before Congress on the effects of the Magnuson-Stevens Act on the region.

Panel One:

– Will Stelle, regional administrator, West Coast Region, National Marine Fisheries Service
– Donald McIssac, executive director, Pacific Fishery Management Council
– Arnold Palacios, chair, Western Pacific Fishery Management Council
– Mel Moon, director of natural resources, Quileute Nation

Panel Two:

– Michael Goto, fish auctioneer, United Fishing Agency
– Ray Toste, president and general manager, Washington Dungeness Crab Fishermen’s Association
– Joe Dazey, executive director, Washington Trollers Association
– Mike Gravitz, policy and legislative director, Marine Conservation Institute
– Trevor Branch, assistant professor of aquatic and fishery sciences, University of

Watch the video at C-Span

 

January 27, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

At the request of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, this notice announces a control date that may be applicable, but not limited to, limiting the number of permits or traps a business entity may own in Lobster Conservation Management Area 3 or in any of the Lobster Conservation Management Areas. NOAA Fisheries intends this notice to promote awareness of possible rulemaking, alert interested parties of potential eligibility criteria for future access, and discourage speculative entry into and/or investment in the American lobster fishery while the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and NOAA Fisheries consider if and how participation in the American lobster fishery should be controlled.

The deadline for providing comments on this action is February 26, 2014.

Click here for more information.

 

January 24, 2014 — One well-seasoned commercial fisherman says Federal regulations are drowning New England fisheries.

He says catch shares, where fishermen are limited to a certain quota of fish per season, are to blame.

"90% of the seafood consumed in the United States comes from overseas. So we do all these rules and regulations here, we tie down all our fisherman from going fishing. And the rest of the world don't [have] the same rules that we do, and they taking our market share," says Carlos Rafael of Carlos Seafood in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Environmental groups argue that catch shares are critical to improving the sustainability of the industry in the long-term.

"You don't just want to fish until you've run out of fish. You want to fish in a way that's sustainable. So that the populations will reproduce, the young fish will grow and become big enough to be fished,” says Dr. William Karp, director of science and research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. “And then the whole cycle can be maintained."

But others in the industry are critical, Karp admits, "we get a lot of scrutiny because people don't want to believe the news that we are bringing, and they may not be seeing the same things. Fisherman may be fishing in an area where the fish are particularly abundant. And we are trying to look over a much broader area to get a more complete understanding of the condition of the stocks."

Read the full story at Fox Business

January 24, 2014 — ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. — Local watermen want to be able to put their black sea bass pots back in the water during the winter.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, one of the interstate fishery management bodies with jurisdiction in the federal waters off North Carolina, held a hearing and scoping meeting for the public Wednesday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. It was about several proposed amendments to fishery management plans. One of these is Amendment 16 to the Snapper-Grouper FMP for the South Atlantic region, which includes North Carolina.

This amendment, which was up for public scoping, includes options to reduce or eliminate the current Nov. 1 – April 30 black sea bass pot prohibition, which was adopted Oct. 23, 2013.
The prohibition was adopted to remove the pots from the waters to avoid entanglements during the calving season for endangered right whales, which are frequently seen off the coast of North Carolina.

Dr. Michelle Duval, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries representative on the SAFMC, and Jack Cox, another representative and owner of Blue Ocean Market in Morehead City, took the public’s comments at the hearing.

Dr. Duval said during a presentation on the proposed amendments that there has been no recorded interaction between right whales and black sea bass pots.
“There’s no evidence this kind of closure is warranted,” she said.    

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

January 24, 2014 — New Jersey fluke fishermen claim New York is trying to take their fish.

The border war of sorts has been going on for several years but appears to finally be heading toward a vote on the issue in February.

New Jersey has the bulk of the quota for fluke, also known as summer flounder, on the East Coast. New York is No. 2 and wants to increase its harvest.

“It’s New York looking at extra fish we have in New Jersey. It’s as simple as that,” said Tom Fote, of the Toms River-based Jersey Coast Anglers Association.

A proposal to manage fluke with states lumped into regions is heading to a Feb. 4 vote of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a compact of East Coast states that manages migratory fish.

There are several options that representatives of the nine coastal states that catch fluke, from North Carolina through Massachusetts, will vote on. Each state has three representatives on the ASMFC but gets a single vote.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City 

 

 

January 24, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Fish-Online is a password protected website for fishermen. It was originally made available in May 2013, enabling commercial fishing permit holders to view landings, days-at-sea, and potential sector contribution (PSC) information. We've now added many more functions. Check it out!

Read more about Fish-Online from NOAA Fisheries