Saving Seafood

ASMFC Releases Smooth Dogfish Draft Addendum IV for Public Comment

May 19, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The states of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks. The details of those hearings follow.

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

June 28, 2016 at 7 PM

Marine Headquarters

Boating Education Center

333 Ferry Road

Old Lyme, Connecticut

Contact: Colleen Giannini at 860.447.4308

 

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

June 28, 2016 at 6:30 PM

Bureau of Marine Resources

205 North Belle Mead Road

East Setauket, New York

Contact: Steve Heins at 631.444.0435

 

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

June 22, 2016 at 6:30 PM

Nacote Creek Marine Law Enforcement Office

360 North New York Road, Mile Marker 51

Port Republic, New Jersey

Contact: Russ Allen at 609.748.2037

 

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

June 21, 2016 at 3:30 – 5:00 PM

Ocean Pines Library Conference Room

11107 Cathell Road

Ocean Pines, Maryland

Contact: Michael Luisi at 410.260.8341

 

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

June 23, 2016 at 5:00 PM

Dare County Center

Courthouse Campus

950 Marshall C. Collins Dr.

Manteo, North Carolina

Contact: Holly White at 252.264.3911

The purpose of the Draft Addendum is to maintain consistency between federal and state FMPs, where possible, and to better incorporate the intent of the smooth dogfish limited exception  in the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 (SCA) into state regulations.

Under current regulations, commercial fishermen with only a state commercial fishing license can land smooth dogfish with corresponding fins removed from the carcass. The Draft Addendum proposes to amend the FMP to allow smooth dogfish carcasses to be landed with corresponding fins removed from the carcass as long as the total retained catch, by weight, is composed of at least 25 percent smooth dogfish. This option is consistent with the federal catch composition requirement, which was included in NOAA Fisheries’ final rule for Amendment 9.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained here or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on July 11, 2016 and should be forwarded to Ashton Harp, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at aharp@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum IV).

ASMFC Releases Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

May 19, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The states of Rhode Island through Delaware have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to Amendment 2 the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Menhaden. The details of those hearings follow.

Rhode Island Division of Fish & Wildlife

June 20, 2016 at 6:00 PM

University of Rhode Island Bay Campus

Corliss Auditorium

South Ferry Road

Narragansett, Rhode Island

Contact: Jason McNamee at 401.423.1943

 

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

June 28, 2016 at 7:00 PM

Marine Headquarters

Boating Education Center

333 Ferry Road

Old Lyme, Connecticut

Contact: David Simpson at 860.434.6043

 

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

June 29, 2016 at 6:30 PM

Bureau of Marine Resources

205 North Belle Mead Road

East Setauket, New York

Contact: Jim Gilmore at 631.444.0430

 

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

July 7, 2016 at 6:30 PM

Atlantic County Library (Galloway Twp. Branch)

306 East Jimmie Leeds Road

Galloway, New Jersey

Contact: Russ Allen at 609.748.2037

 

Maryland Department of Natural Resources

June 23, 2016 at 6:00 PM

Easton High School

723 Mecklenburg Avenue

Easton, Maryland

Contact: Lynn Fegley at 410.260.8285

 

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

July 6, 2016; 6 PM

DNREC Auditorium

89 Kings Highway

Dover, Delaware

Contact: John Clark at 302.739.9914

The Draft Addendum proposes modifying the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision. Specifically, it considers allowing two licensed individuals to harvest up to 12,000 pounds of menhaden bycatch when working from the same vessel fishing stationary, multi-species gear – limited to one vessel trip per day. Bycatch represents less than 2% of the total coastwide landings.

The practice of two permitted fishermen working together from the same vessel to harvest Atlantic menhaden primarily occurs in the Chesapeake Bay pound net fishery.  This practice enables the fishermen to pool resources for fuel and crew.  However, the practice is currently constrained by the FMP’s bycatch allowance provision, which includes a 6,000 pound/vessel/day limit. The Draft Addendum seeks comment on whether the provision should be revised to accommodate the interests of fixed-gear fishermen who work together, as authorized by the states and jurisdictions in which they fish.

The intent of Draft Addendum I is to add flexibility to one element of the bycatch allowance provision while the Board prepares to address menhaden management more comprehensively through the development of Draft Amendment 3 to the FMP over the next two years. A subsequent press release on the public hearing schedule and Draft Addendum I availability will be distributed once state hearings have been scheduled.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained here or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on July 11, 2016and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mware@asmfc.org(Subject line: Draft Addendum I).

STATES SCHEDULE PUBLIC HEARINGS ON DRAFT ADDENDUM XXVII

ARLINGTON, VA — December 21, 2015 —  The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC):

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Draft Addendum XXVII for public comment at the Joint Commission/Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Annapolis, Maryland earlier this month. Draft Addendum XXVII proposes regional management approaches for the 2016 summer flounder and black sea bass recreational fisheries. The Atlantic coast states of Massachusetts through Virginia have scheduled public hearings to gather public comment. The details of those hearings follow:

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
January 14, 2016 at 4:30 PM
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
101 Academy Drive
Buzzards Bay, MA 02532
Contact: Nichola Meserve at 617.626.1531
 
Rhode Island Division of Fish & Wildlife
January 6, 2016 at 6 PM
University of Rhode Island, Corliss
Auditorium
South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Jason McNamee at 401.423.1943

Connecticut Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection
January 5, 2016 at 7 PM
Marine Headquarters
Boating Education Center, Building 3
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson at 860.434.6043

New York State Dept. of Environmental
Conservation
January 7, 2016 at 6 PM
Bureau of Marine Resources
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at 631.444.0436

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
January 7, 2016 at 6:30 PM
Stafford Township Municipal Building
260 East Bay Avenue
Manahawkin, New Jersey
Contact: Tom Baum at 609.748.2020

Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources & Environmental Control and Maryland Department of Natural Resources
January 12, 2016 at 6 PM
DNREC Lewes Building (at the Lewes Boat Ramp)
901 Pilottown Road
Lewes, Delaware
Contacts: Delaware – John Clark at 302.739.9914  and Maryland – Mike Luisi at 410.260.8341

Virginia Marine Resources Commission
January 12, 2016 at 6 PM
2600 Washington Avenue
4th Floor Conference Room
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Rob O’Reilly at 757.247.2248

Draft Addendum XXVII was initiated to consider extending use of regional management approaches for the 2016 recreational summer flounder fishery, including an option that would allow for a Delaware Bay specific region. The Draft Addendum also includes options for extending use of ad-hoc regional management approaches for black sea bass recreational fisheries in 2016 and 2017. In the event the options in Draft Addendum XXVII are not approved for management, the Board extended the current summer flounder regional management approach for use in 2016.

In 2014, the Board approved Addendum XXV to shift away from traditional use of state-by-state harvest targets under conservation equivalency to use of an alternative regional strategy for managing summer flounder recreational fisheries. Based on its success in keeping recreational harvest within the RHL and providing greater regulatory consistency among neighboring states, this strategy was extended for use in 2015. State-by-state harvest targets previously utilized under conservation equivalency created difficulties for some states as overages occurred due largely to state shares and limits not reflecting local summer flounder abundance and its availability to recreational fishermen. In 2014 and 2015 management regions were the following: 1) Massachusetts; 2) Rhode Island; 3) Connecticut-New Jersey; 4) Delaware-Virginia; and 5) North Carolina.

The Draft Addendum also proposes two options for the 2016 black sea bass recreational fishery (1) coastwide measures or (2) the continued use of management measures by northern (Massachusetts – New Jersey) and southern regions (Delaware – North Carolina). The regional management approach has been used since 2011 and offers advantages over coastwide regulations by addressing geographic differences in the stock (size, abundance and seasonality) while maintaining the consistent application of management measures by neighboring states.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum XXVII either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/DraftAddendumXXVII_PublicComment_Dec2015.pdf and can also be accessed on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on January 21, 2016 and should be forwarded to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org  (Subject line: Draft Addendum XXVII). For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.