Saving Seafood

ASMFC 2019 Summer Meeting Preliminary Agenda & Public Comment Guidelines

June 17, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Please find attached and below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2019 Summer Meeting, August 6-8, 2019, in Arlington, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-summer-meeting. Materials will be available on July 24, 2019 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-summer-meeting.

A block of rooms is being held at The Westin Crystal City, 1800 S. Eads Street, Arlington, VA  22202. Cindy Robertson will make Commissioner/Proxy reservations and will contact you regarding the details of your accommodations. Please notify Cindy of any changes to your travel plans that will impact your hotel reservations, otherwise you will incur no-show penalties. We greatly appreciate your cooperation.

For all other attendees, please reserve online via Star Group Website at http://www.starwoodhotels.com/ or call The Westin Crystal City at 703.486.1111 as soon as possible and mention the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to obtain the group room rate of $179.00 plus tax single/dbl. Please be aware you must guarantee your room reservation with a major credit card or one night’s advance payment. Hotel reservations must be made by Sunday, July 7, 2019.  Room availability will not be guaranteed beyond this date.  If you are being reimbursed by ASMFC for your travel, please make your reservation directly with the hotel. Reservations made through travel websites do not apply toward our minimum number of required reservations with the hotel. Please note, cancellations at The Westin must be made by 4:00 p.m. two days prior to arrival to avoid penalty and an early departure fee of $100.00 will apply when checking out prior to the confirmed date. If you have any problems at all regarding accommodations please contact Cindy at 703.842.0740 or at crobertson@asmfc.org.

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

 Summer Meeting

August 6-8, 2019

The Westin Crystal City

Arlington, Virginia

Preliminary Agenda

 The agenda is subject to change. Bulleted items represent the anticipated major issues to be discussed or acted upon at the meeting. The final agenda will include additional items and may revise the bulleted items provided below. The agenda reflects the current estimate of the time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein. 

 Tuesday, August 6

8:00 – 10:00 a.m.                     Executive Committee 

(A portion of this meeting may be a closed session for Committee members and Commissioners only)

  • Consider Policy Addressing Non-Payment of State Assessments
  • Consider Proposed Revision to the Annual Report
  • Update on Transitioning the For-hire Telephone Survey to State/ACCSP Conduct
  • Discuss Commission Involvement in Biosecurity and Bait Sources

10:15 a.m. – Noon                   South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board 

  • Consider Approval of Atlantic Cobia Amendment 1
  • Progress Update on Draft Addenda for Atlantic Croaker and Spot Traffic Light Analyses
  • Review and Consider Approval of 2019 Fishery Management Plan Reviews and State Compliance Reports for Atlantic Cobia, Atlantic Croaker, and Red Drum

Noon – 1:00 p.m.                     Lunch

1:00– 2:00 p.m.                        American Eel Management Board  

  • Review Board Working Group Recommendations on Addressing Coastwide Cap Overages
  • Review and Consider Approval of Aquaculture Proposals

2:15 – 3:15 p.m.                       Horseshoe Crab Management Board 

  • Consider Potential Management Response to the 2019 Benchmark Stock Assessment
  • Review and Consider Approval of 2019 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance Reports

3:30 – 5:00 p.m.                       Atlantic Menhaden Management Board

  • Progress Update on Menhaden Single Species and Ecological Reference Point Benchmark Stock Assessments
  • Review and Consider Approval of 2019 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance Reports
  • Set 2020 Atlantic Menhaden Fishery Specifications

Wednesday, August 7

8:30 – 11:15 a.m.                     Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board

  •                   Review Potential Black Sea Bass Commercial Management Strategies and Consider Initiating Management Action to Address Commercial Allocation
  •                   Progress Update on the Recreational Management Reform Working Group
  •                   Update on Management Strategy Evaluation of Summer Flounder Recreational Fishery Project
  •                   Discuss Discard Mortality

9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.              Committee on Economics and Social Sciences

  • Review Ongoing Committee Activities
  • Discuss Efforts to Increase the Availability and Use of Socioeconomic Information in Management
  • Review Committee Input on the Commission’s Draft Risk and Uncertainty Policy

11:30 – 12:30                            Spiny Dogfish Management Board

  • Consider Approval of Draft Addendum VI for Public Comment
  • Review and Consider Approval of 2019 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance Reports

12:30 – 1:15 p.m.                     Lunch

1:15 – 3:15 p.m.                       Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board

  • Review 2019 Performance of the Stocks Report
  • Review and Consider Approval of ISFMP Guiding Documents
  • Update on American Lobster Enforcement Vessel
  • Committee Reports
  • Consider Noncompliance Recommendations (If Necessary)

3:15 – 3:30 p.m.                       Business Session 

  • Consider Approval of Atlantic Cobia Amendment 1
  • Consider Noncompliance Recommendations (If Necessary)

3:45 – 4:45 p.m.                       Tautog Management Board

  • Review Implementation Guidelines for the Commercial Harvest Tagging Program
  • Review and Consider Approval of 2019 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance Reports

Thursday, August 8

8:30 – 11:30 a.m.                     Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board  

  • Consider Approval of Draft Addendum VI for Public CommentMid
  • Consider Postponed Motions from the April 2019 Meeting:

Main Motion: Move to initiate an Amendment to the Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan to address the needed consideration for change on the issues of fishery goals and objectives, empirical/biological/spatial reference points, management triggers, rebuilding biomass, and area-specific management. Work on this Amendment will begin upon the completion of the previously discussed Addendum to the Management Plan.

Motion made by Mr. Luisi and seconded by Mr. Clark.

Motion to Amend: Move to amend to add reallocation of commercial quota between states.

Motion made by Mr. Pugh and seconded by Mr. Reid.

  • Review and Consider Approval of 2019 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance Reports

 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.         Lunch

12:30 – 5:00 p.m.                     NOAA Fisheries Wind Power Workshop for New England and Mid-Atlantic Commissioners

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 an opportunity for 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 in the briefing materials.

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, 2019) 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, 2019 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.

Tiny glass eel draws big money, political muscle and poachers

January 10, 2018 — During the past few years, the GOP-controlled General Assembly has slashed the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries budget by about 40 percent, leaving departments understaffed and some employees bending under heavy workloads.

At the same time,  a review of more than 3,000 public documents shows that  several elected and former state Department of Environmental Quality officials prompted what appears to be hundreds of hours of DMF time finding ways to justify obtaining a share of the federal glass eel quota to benefit just one company in Jones County — American Eel Farm, owned by Rick Allyn.

Since 2013, Allyn has solicited support from state senators Harry Brown, R-Jones, Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, and Bob Steinburg, R-Chowan, and U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-Farmville.

For almost two decades, the glass eel has been closely regulated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Eel Management Board (AEMB), which has limited glass eel harvesing to Maine and South Carolina.

Most glass eels are exported to Asia to be raised to a larger size for use in kabayaki and other popular Japanese dishes. A pound of glass eels — about the size of a grapefruit — can consist of 2,000-4,000 fish. They are juvenile fish that are still transparent with only their spines and eyes visible.

Read the full story at the Outer Banks Voice

 

American Eel Stock Assessment Update Finds Resource Remains Depleted

October 19, 2017 — NORFOLK, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Eel Management Board reviewed the results of the 2017 American Eel Stock Assessment Update, which indicates the resource remains depleted. The assessment updates the 2012 American Eel Benchmark Stock Assessment with data from 2010-2016. Trend analyses of abundance indices indicated large declines in abundance of yellow eels during the 1980s through the early 1990s, with primarily neutral or stable abundance from the mid-1990s through 2016. Total landings remain low but stable. Based on these findings, the stock is still considered depleted. No overfishing determination can be made based on the analyses performed.

The American eel fishery primarily targets yellow eel. Glass eel fisheries along the Atlantic coast are prohibited in all states except Maine and South Carolina. In recent years, Maine is the only state reporting significant glass eel harvest. The highest total landings of all life stages occurred from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s after which they declined. Since the 1990s, landings have been lower than historical landings and have been stable in recent decades. The value of U.S. commercial American eel landings has varied from a few hundred thousand dollars (prior to the 1980s) to a peak of $40.6 million in 2012 (largely driven by the price of glass eels).

The 2012 benchmark stock assessment found the resource depleted and Addenda III (2013) and IV (2014) were approved with the goal of reducing mortality across all life stages. These addenda established a 9-inch minimum size limit for commercial and recreational fisheries, a yellow eel commercial coastwide cap of 907,671 pounds, and glass eel quota of 9,688 pounds for Maine beginning for the 2015 fishing year. The yellow eel cap has two management triggers: (1) the coastwide cap is exceeded by more than 10% in a given year and (2) the coastwide cap is exceeded for two consecutive years, regardless of the percent over. If either trigger is met, there is an automatic implementation of state-by-state quotas. The 2015 yellow eel landings were below the cap. However, 2016 landings were 925,798 pounds, which exceeded the cap by less than 10%.

A more detailed overview of the American eel stock assessment is available on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/59e8c077AmericanEelStockAssessmentOverview_Oct2017.pdf. It was developed to aid media and interested stakeholders in better understanding the results. The assessment update will be available on the Commission website on the American Eel webpage the week of October 23rd.

In other business, the Board maintained Maine’s glass eel quota of 9,688 pounds for the 2018 fishing season. The Board also initiated an addendum to consider alternative allocations, management triggers, and coastwide caps relative to the current management program for both the yellow and glass eel commercial fisheries starting for the 2019 fishing season.

For more information on the stock assessment update, please contact Dr. Kristen Anstead at kanstead@asmfc.org and for information on American eel management, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org.

A PDF version of the press release can be found here – http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file//59e8c22cpr48AmEelAssmtUpdate.pdf

ASMFC 76th Annual Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

October 11, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 76TH Annual Meeting have been posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2017-annual-meeting for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information).

American Lobster Management Board – Draft Addendum XXVI to the American Lobster FMP; Draft Addendum III to the Jonah Crab FMP; Technical Committee Report on Harvester Reporting and Biological Sampling; American Lobster and Jonah Crab Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Tasks;  2017 American Lobster FMP Review

 Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership Steering Committee – ACFHP Science and Data Meeting Summary

Tautog Management Board – Public Comment; Long Island Sound Proposal; Tautog Draft Amendment 1 Decision Tree; Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Tasks

 Spiny Dogfish Management Board – Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Tasks

Atlantic Herring Section – Technical Committee Tasks

 Shad & River Herring Management Board – Technical Committee Review of Shad Sustainable Fishery Management Plans (SFMPs); South Carolina and Georgia SFMPs; Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Tasks

 Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Public Comment; Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Tasks

 Coastal Sharks Management Board – NOAA Fisheries Request for Complementary Measures for Dusky Sharks

American Eel Management Board – Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Tasks

 ACCSP Coordinating Council – Draft ACCSP Integrated Reporting Workshop Report and Operations Committee Letter to Coordinating Council FY18 Dogfish Proposal

 Habitat Committee – Draft Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Policy Update; Draft Aquaculture Habitat Management Series; Draft Climate Change Gaps and Recommendations

 Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board – Status of Incidental Take Permits for Atlantic Sturgeon by State;Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Tasks

 Business Session – Revised Draft Agenda; Draft 2018 Action Plan; Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp

 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Black Sea Bass Recreational Working Group Call Summary; Revised Draft Addendum XXX; MAFMC Memo on Reconsideration of the 2018 Wave 1 Recreational Black Sea Bass Fishery – February 1 – 28 Open Season; Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Tasks

 Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee MemoRequesting Board Guidance on Atlantic Striped Bass FMP Goals and Objectives

 ISFMP Policy Board – Revised Meeting Overview; Draft White Paper: Management, Policy and Science Strategies for Adapting Fisheries Management to Changes in Species Abundance and Distribution Resulting from Climate Change; Habitat Committee Update Draft Climate Change Report

 South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Draft Cobia FMP Public Hearing Summaries; Technical Committee Memo on Maryland Black Drum Commercial Fishery Proposal; Fishery management Plan Reviews for Red Drum and Spotted Seatrout; Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Tasks

For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have combined into one PDF –http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/76AnnualMeeting/76AnnualMeetingSupplementalCombined.pdf.

As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning October 16th at 10:15 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 3:00 p.m.) onThursday, October 19th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise while streaming the broadcast the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. Please go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8911027556606824449 to register. Board/Section summaries, presentations, and audio files will be available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2017-annual-meeting the week of October 23rd.