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States Schedule Hearings on Jonah Crab Draft Addendum I

February 11, 2015 โ€” The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC):

The states of Maine through Maryland have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan  for Jonah Crab (FMP). The details of those hearings follow.

Maine Dept. of Marine Resources
March 17, 2016; 6-8 PM
Casco Bay Lines Conference Room
56 Commercial Street
Portland, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553
 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
March 14, 2016; 5:30 PM
New Bedford Fairfield Inn and Suites
185 McArthur Drive
New Bedford, Massachusetts
Contact: Dan McKiernan at 617.626.1536

March 15, 2016; 6:00 PM
MA DMF Annisquam River Field Station
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Contact: Dan McKiernan at 617.626.1536

Rhode Island Dept. of Environmental Management
March 16, 2016; 6-9 PM
University of Rhode Island Bay Campus
Corliss Auditorium
South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Scott Olszewski at 401.423.1934

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation
March 23, 2016; 6:30 PM
New York State Dept. of Enviro Conservation
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Rachel Sysak at 631.444.0469

Maryland Department of Natural Resources
April 4, 2016; 2-4 PM
Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce
12320 Ocean Gateway
Ocean City, Maryland
Contact: Craig Weedon at 410.643.4601 ext. 2113

The Draft Addendum proposes changes to the incidental bycatch limits for non-trap gear (e.g., otter trawls, gillnets) and non-lobster trap gear (e.g., fish, crab, and whelk pots). For non-trap gear, the Draft Addendum includes options to maintain, increase, or eliminate the bycatch limit, while options for non-lobster traps include establishing bycatch limits of varying size or maintaining no limit on these gears. The intent of the Draft Addendum is to cap incidental landings of Jonah crab while ensuring the inclusion of current participants in the Jonah crab fishery.

The FMP currently prescribes a 200 crab per calendar day/500 crab per trip incidental bycatch limit for non-trap gear; however, concerns were expressed over the appropriateness of these limits. Data submitted by the New England Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries illustrate while 97-99% of trips from 2010 through 2014 were within the current limit, there were several trips above the limit. Furthermore, current bycatch landings were sufficiently low, accounting for approximately 0.1% of total landings.

Bycatch limits for non-lobster trap gear were added as a second issue for consideration in the Draft Addendum to address concerns regarding the lack of effort controls on non-lobster traps and the potential for trap proliferation. Data submitted by NOAA Fisheries show between May 1, 2013 and August 31, 2015, 194 trips landed Jonah crab with whelk pots, crab pots, and fish pots. Of these, 80 trips landed 100 crab or fewer and 115 trips landed 200 crab or fewer.  Approximately 45 trips landed between 200 and 500 crab and 40 trips landed more than 450 crab.  Landings from Maryland show between 2012 and 2015, 33 trips landed Jonah crab with fish pots. All of these trips were under 200 pounds. Reports also indicated from 2014-2015, 36 trips landed Jonah crab with whelk pots. Average landings per trip with whelk pots were under 500 pounds; however, there is concern that these whelk pot landings may in fact be rock crab, a closely related species which is often misreported as Jonah crab.

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 at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/JonahCrabDraftAddendumI_PublicComment_Feb2016.pdf or via the Commissionโ€™s website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on April 18, 2016 and 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).

MARYLAND: Down year seen for oysters

October 8, 2015 โ€” Watermen dredging the muddy bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries for oysters may not haul in the bounty that some recent years have produced, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources cautions as a new season gets underway.

โ€œWeโ€™ve had good harvests the last couple years,โ€ said Chris Judy, the departmentโ€™s shellfish division director. But โ€œwe will no longer enjoy the spotlight on our oysters because other oysters are going to enter the market in a stronger way this year.โ€

The season kicked off Oct. 1, as it always does, but largely in name only. The same norโ€™easter that chewed at Delmarvaโ€™s beaches and rained out a weekend of activities at the beginning of the month kept most watermen off the water. But they were out in force after the skies cleared.

โ€œIt looks like we got the whole state of Maryland working on one bar off Tangier Island,โ€ said Greg Price, a waterman based out of Chance in Somerset County. โ€œI counted 55 boats this morning.โ€

Those freshly caught oysters are already finding their way into refrigerator cases.

โ€œAt first it was a little dreary because of the storm, but weโ€™re booming now,โ€ said Miranda Taylor, manager of Ocean Highway Seafood and Produce in Pocomoke City.

Read the full story at Delmarva Now

 

At โ€œOur Oceansโ€ Conference in Chile, Obama announces the first new marine sanctuaries in 15 years

โ€œSeveral advocacy groups have been pressing the administration to declare two new national marine monuments off New Englandโ€™s coast: Cashes Ledge and the New England Canyons and Seamounts, which are home to a major kelp forest and network of deepwater corals, respectively. But some local fishing operators raised objections to the designations of the two areas in the run up to the global conference, and the president did not use his executive authority to put them off limits.โ€

The following is an excerpt from a Washington Post story, written by Chelsea Harvey with contributions from Juliet Eilperin: 

WASHINGTON (The Washington Post) October 5, 2015 โ€” In a video message to conference attendees, President Obama announced plans for two new marine sanctuaries, one off the coast of Maryland, and the other in Lake Michigan. Theyโ€™ll be the first new national marine sanctuaries designated by the federal government in the past 15 years.

One of these sanctuaries will be an 875-square mile section of Lake Michigan off the shore of Wisconsin, which is recognized for its collection of nearly 40 known shipwrecks, some of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The other sanctuary is a 14-square mile area of the Potomac River, which includes Marylandโ€™s Mallows Bay โ€“ an area known for its ecological significance, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and home to bald eagles, herons, beavers, river otters and numerous species of fish.

โ€ฆ

Several advocacy groups have been pressing the administration to declare two new national marine monuments off New Englandโ€™s coast: Cashes Ledge and the New England Canyons and Seamounts, which are home to a major kelp forest and network of deepwater corals, respectively. But some local fishing operators raised objections to the designations of the two areas in the run up to the global conference, and the president did not use his executive authority to put them off limits.

Marine national monuments differ from marine sanctuaries in that they can be established by presidential proclamation, whereas sanctuaries are designated by NOAA and require extensive public input โ€“ however, they can offer similar protections and human use restrictions over marine ecosystems.

The United States is also announcing several other plans aimed at protecting marine resources. In Chile for the conference, Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced the launch of Sea Scout, a global initiative targeting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by uniting world leaders, expanding technology and information-sharing and identifying illegal fishing hot spots. NOAA also has plans to expand the development of a technology known as the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite, which detects boats and may help alert nations to illegal fishing activities. The technology will be implemented in several nations in 2016, including Indonesia and the Philippines.

The Sea Scout initiative โ€œprovides a real opportunity to improve coordination and information sharing around the world as a way to combat illegal fishing,โ€ said Beth Lowell, senior campaign director for Oceana, in a statement to The Post. According to Lowell, the biggest challenges to combating illegal fishing are an untraceable global seafood supply chain and a lack of enforcement. And on these fronts, thereโ€™s still more to be done.

โ€œThe first step to effectively stop IUU fishing and seafood fraud is to require catch documentation for all seafood sold in the U.S.,โ€ Lowell said. โ€œWhile Oceana applauds the presidentโ€™s task force for taking great steps in the right direction, full-chain traceability is ultimately needed for all U.S. seafood to ensure that itโ€™s safe, legally caught and honestly labeled.โ€

Read the full story from the Washington Post

Read Secretary of State John Kerryโ€™s remarks here

 

Maryland DNR Creates New Position to Give Seafood Industry More Input

July 29, 2015 โ€” EASTON MD โ€” Former Queen Anneโ€™s County commissioner and waterman George Oโ€™Donnell has been brought onto the Department of Natural Resourcesโ€™ payroll as a seafood industry and fisheries stakeholders liaison, of sorts.

Oโ€™Donnell has been in the position since July 8, and according to Maryland Watermenโ€™s Association President Robert T. Brown, heโ€™s already been working with the commercial industry to find solutions to their issues.

โ€œWeโ€™ve finally got a friend up there,โ€ Brown said.

Oโ€™Donnellโ€™s official title at DNR is the fisheries customer relations manager.

Itโ€™s an outreach position to ensure that fisheries stakeholdersโ€™ views are communicated to state departments and policymakers for consideration.

โ€œThe administration believes that through outreach a better understanding can be reached to benefit the user groups as well as our marine resources,โ€ Oโ€™Donnell said.

Oโ€™Donnell said that Gov. Larry Hogan, in his quest for the state government to provide better โ€œcustomer serviceโ€ to the people of Maryland, wants to make sure that any industry area of the state that feels underserved has a voice in Annapolis.

Read the full story at The Star Democrat

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