March 19, 2013 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has recently adopted Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden.
This plan establishes a menhaden quota for Maryland that is equal to 1.37% of the total coast-wide quota (5.12 million pounds for 2013, based on Maryland's average harvest between 2009 and 2011). Maryland is required to submit an implementation plan to ASMFC before April 15th. This plan will be reviewed by the Menhaden Management Board at the May meeting of ASMFC in Alexandria, Virginia.
Therefore, Maryland will not receive final approval of its plan, until May. Here are the implementation requirements from ASMFC and an informational document. We will continue to post updates on this website as things progress.
Read the full update at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.