Arlington, VA — Oct, 1, 2012 — Atlantic coastal states from Maine through North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow:
Maine Department of Marine Resources
October 17, 2012; 5 PM
Casco Bay Lines Conference Room
56 Commercial Street
Portland, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
October 15, 2012; 7 PM
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
October 16, 2012; 5:30 PM
Joseph Bourne Public Library
19 Sandwich Road
Bourne, Massachusetts
Contact: David Pierce at 617.626.1532
Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
November 1, 2012; 6 PM
University of Rhode Island Bay Campus
Corless Auditorium
South Ferry Road
Narragansett Rhode Island
Contact: Jason McNamee at 401.423.1943
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
October 16, 2012; 7 PM
DEEP Marine Headquarters
Boating Education Center
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson 860.434.6043
October 18, 2012; 3 PM
Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science &
Technology Center
60 St. Stevens Road
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson 860.434.6043
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
November 1, 2012; 6:30 PM
Marine Resources Headquarters
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at 631.444.0430
New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife
November 1, 2012; 7 PM
Atlantic County Library, Galloway Township
306 East Jimmie Leeds Road
Galloway, New Jersey
Contact: Peter Himchak at 609.748.2020
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
October 29, 2012; 7 PM
DNREC Auditorium
89 Kings Highway
Dover, Delaware
Contact: John Clark at 302.739.9914
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
October 30, 2012; 6 – 9 PM
Easton Armory
7111 Ocean Gateway (Route 50)
Easton, Maryland
Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285
November 1, 2012; 6 – 9 PM
Northeast Community Center
4075 Gordon Stinnett Avenue
Chesapeake Beach, Maryland
Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285
Potomac River Fisheries Commission
October 29, 2012; 6 PM
222 Taylor Street
Colonial Beach, Virginia
Contact: AC Carpenter at 804.224.7148
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
October 15, 2012; 6 PM
VMRC Headquarters, 4th Floor
2600 Washington Avenue
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Rob O’Reilly at 757.247.2247
October 18, 2012; 6 – 9 PM
Lancaster Middle School Auditorium
191 School Street
Kilmarnock, Virginia
Contact: Rob O’Reilly at 757.247.2247
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
October 18, 2012; 6 PM
Central District Office Building
5285 Highway 70 West
Morehead City, NC 28557
Contact: Trish Murphey at 252.726.7021
The Draft Amendment presents a suite of options to manage and monitor the stock in both the short and long-term. These include options to end overfishing; change the biomass reference points to match the fishing mortality reference points; and establish a specification process to set and allocate total allowable catch (TAC), including procedures to close the fishery when a certain percentage of the TAC has been projected to be landed. It presents accountability measures to address quota transfers, rollovers, and overage payback, as well as options to allow for a specified amount of the TAC to be set aside for small scale fisheries and episodic events. To address monitoring and data collection needs, the Draft Amendment also presents options for timely quota monitoring and the collection of biological data through catch sampling.
The Draft Amendment responds to the findings of both the 2010 benchmark stock assessment and the 2012 stock assessment update that indicate the stock is experiencing overfishing but may or may not be overfished depending on the reference points chosen. The stock is not overfished based on the current reference points used in the most recent assessment. Given that the stock is experiencing overfishing, the Draft Amendment’s immediate goals are to take steps to end overfishing and manage Atlantic menhaden not only as a fishery but as a critical ecosystem component. However, uncertainties in the 2012 stock assessment update make it difficult to quantify the level of reductions needed to meet those goals. Therefore, the Draft Amendment includes a range of harvest reductions from 0 – 50% from current harvest levels. The broad range of potential harvest reductions and allocation scenarios enables the Board and the public to consider management options beyond the historical allocations and traditional quota setting approaches to best manage this fishery. The Technical Committee plans to address the issues with the stock assessment in the next benchmark assessment, currently planned for 2015.
Final action on the Amendment is anticipated to occur in December; information on that meeting will be announced once it has been finalized. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Amendment either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Draft Amendment 2 is available on the Commission website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at 703.842.0740. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on November 16, 2012 and should be forwarded to Mike Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or mwaine@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Amendment 2). For more information, please contact Mike Waine at mwaine@asmfc.org.