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Press Releases, Motions and Audio Files from the Atlantic Menhaden Board Now Available

November 16, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Press releases, motions and audio files from the November 13^th and 14^th meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board and Business Session are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive. Individual links to those materials are provided below.

Press Releases & Motions –http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/AtlMenhadenBoardNov2017/AtlMenhadenBoard_BusinessSessionMeetingSummary_Nov2017.pdf

November 13, 2017 Audio – https://youtu.be/0ksEjrOTLh0

November 14, 2017 (morning) Audio – https://youtu.be/MC2rOPvpETI

November 14, 2017 (afternoon) Audio – https://youtu.be/tt6kzGa6kZs

Meeting presentations will be posted to http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive tomorrow morning.

Links to previous Meeting Weeks’ materials, presentations and audio files, can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/home/meeting-archive.

For more information about the ASMFC visit their site here.

ASMFC Succumbed to Political Pressure on Atlantic Menhaden Coastwide Quota, Allocation

WASHINGTON — November 15, 2017 — The following was released by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition:

The Menhaden Fisheries Coalition (MFC) reiterates its thanks to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) for allowing science to prevail in setting reference points for Atlantic menhaden, and rejecting the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force “rule-of-thumb” approach in favor of the development of species-specific ecological reference points. The MFC believes it is unfortunate, however, that on the second day of the meeting, politics prevailed.

Our members argue that the ASMFC did not follow the best available science in setting the overall menhaden quota level. Although the best available science would have allowed an increase from 200,000 metric tons to 314,000 MT with only a minimal risk of overfishing, we believe the Commission succumbed to political pressure in raising the quota just 8 percent, to 216,000 MT. This led to the adoption of a complex reallocation scheme that we think unnecessarily pits state-against-state.

The commission gave each state other than New Jersey and Virginia – even those with no historic menhaden fishery — an additional 0.5 percent of the overall quota, taking that percentage from Virginia and New Jersey’s historic share. In addition, the scheme allows states to swap quota amongst each other using quota as a currency of trade.

Rather than adopt a reasonable and scientifically-justifiable quota level that addressed the needs of ALL states, our members maintain that the lower increase and allocation scheme creates a situation in which:

New Jersey’s significant bait fishery may see a statistically insignificant quota increase.
Virginia’s marine ingredients fishery will likely see a cut, and the Virginia bait industry will see a cut while their competitors in other states will get an increase.
Sets a precedent of giving fixed minima to states that didn’t qualify for it on the basis of their historical participation, which could have ramifications for other fisheries.

The creation of a system allowing non-fishing states to “horse-trade” allocation, the “taking” of quota from some to give to others, and the arbitrary moving of quota from the marine ingredients fishery to the bait fishery constitute inappropriate intrusions into the market economy, our members say.

The MFC believes a reasonable increase to just 240,000 MT would have allowed Virginia and New Jersey to receive their fair, historic, catch-based share of the resource, and also have allowed states such as Maine, Rhode Island, and New York, which have historic fisheries and sought a quota increase, to receive it via non-precedent breaking mechanisms. (Our member companies in Massachusetts also seek additional quota, although Massachusetts’s delegation did not represent their position at the meeting.)

Green groups, fishermen at odds over new rules on small fish

November 15, 2017 — Environmentalists and commercial fishing groups on the East Coast are divided over a decision to increase the amount fishermen can catch of an ecologically vital small fish.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved changes to menhaden fishing rules on Tuesday, including increasing the East Coast’s fishing quota by 8 percent, or some 35 million pounds (15.88 million kilograms) of fish.

The decision followed a string of public hearings and weeks of debate about how to manage a fish that is important for such industries as fish oil for human supplements and meal for aquaculture, but is also a vital food source for whales, dolphins and large fish.

The commission had been considering several new ways of managing menhaden, some of which included potentially reducing the quota — an idea environmental activist groups supported.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WRAL

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Rulemaking for American Lobster Fishery

November 15, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries seeks comments on the American lobster control date, changes to lobster trap gear marking requirements, and allowing substitute vessels to fish lobster traps for federally permitted but inoperable vessels.

In accordance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Addenda XXI and XXII to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fisheries Management Plan for American Lobster, NOAA Fisheries may select January 27, 2014, or another date, as a control date for the lobster fishery, depending on public comment and input from the Commission.

The control date may be applicable, but not limited, to restricting the number of traps or permits an individual or business entity may own, with emphasis on Lobster Conservation Management Areas 2 and 3.

Part of the reason for this action is the continued poor condition of the Southern New England lobster stock. The stock has been experiencing recruitment failure (not enough young lobsters) since the early 2000s, which may be caused by both environmental factors and fishing.

Read the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as published today in the Federal Register.

The comment period is open through December 15.

Provide comments through regulations.gov, or send comments by mail to John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the outside of the envelope: “Comments on Lobster ANPR.”

To learn more about NOAA visit their site here.

ASMFC Approves Interstate FMP for the Atlantic Migratory Group Cobia

November 15, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Linthicum, MD – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Migratory Group (AMG). The FMP complements many of the aspects of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (SAFMC) cobia regulations for federal waters extending from Georgia through New York. The FMP was initiated in response to recent overages of the federal annual catch limit (ACL) for AMG Cobia. Managing the recreational ACL on a coastwide basis has resulted in federal closures and significant overages in 2015 and 2016, disrupting fishing opportunities and jeopardizing the health of the stock.

Under the Interstate FMP, the recreational fishery will be managed with a one fish bag limit and minimum size limit of 36” fork length (FL) or total length equivalent. Vessel limits will be determined once individual states set their seasonal restrictions, but may not exceed six fish per vessel. State-specific allocations of a coastwide recreational harvest limit that is equivalent to the federal AMG cobia ACL of 620,000 pounds result in the following state-specific soft targets:

· Georgia: 58,311 pounds

· South Carolina: 74,885 pounds

· North Carolina: 236,316 pounds

· Virginia: 244,292 pounds

Recreational harvest overages of specific-state allocations will be evaluated over a three-year time period. If overages occur, states will be required to adjust management measures to reduce harvest in the subsequent three-year period.

The commercial fishery will maintain the current management measures as implemented through the SAFMC FMP and continue to be managed with a 33” FL minimum size limit and two fish limit per person, with a six fish maximum vessel limit. The federal ACL of 50,000 pounds is allocated to the entire commercial fishery from Georgia through New York. The commercial AMG cobia fishery will close once the ACL is projected to be reached.

The FMP provides the opportunity for states to declare de minimis status for their recreational fishery if landings constitute less than 1% of the recreational AMG cobia harvest. States must submit implementation plans to the Commission by January 1, 2018 for Technical Committee review and Board approval at the February 2018 meeting in Alexandria, Virginia. Approved plans must be implemented by April 1, 2018. The FMP will be available on the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, in early December. For more information, please contact Dr. Louis Daniel, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at ldaniel@asmfc.org or 252.342.1478.

To learn more about the ASMFC visit their site here.

Maine accepting entries into new baby eel lottery

November 15, 2017 — AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine is now accepting applications for a place in next year’s baby eel fishing lottery.

Wednesday marks the first day the Maine Department of Marine Resources is accepting entries. The baby eels, also called elvers, are typically worth more than $1,000 per pound on the international aquaculture market.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

Was Virginia wronged in a decision to raise quota for a fish called menhaden?

November 14, 2017 — An East Coast commission on Tuesday raised the quota for commercial catches of a small but important fish called menhaden. But the delegation from Virginia, the dominant player in the fishery, cast the lone vote against the change, contending that the state won’t get enough of the increase.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted 14-1 on a plan for menhaden that includes raising the coastwide quota by 8 percent, from 200,000 metric tons this year to 216,000 tons in 2018 and 2019.

The increase for Virginia will be significantly smaller, less than 1 percent, with the state getting about 1,000 of the additional 16,000 tons per year. That’s because the commission agreed to reallocate the total catch so that all states, even those without a current menhaden fishery, get at least a 0.5 percent slice. Most fall short of that level now.

“We thought it was unfair to Virginia,” said John Bull, head of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot

ASMFC Approves Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden

November 15, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Linthicum, MD – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has approved Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Menhaden. The Amendment maintains the management program’s current single-species biological reference points until the review and adoption of menhaden-specific ecological reference points as part of the 2019 benchmark stock assessment process. It also addresses a suite of commercial management measures including allocation, quota transfers, quota rollovers, incidental catch, the episodic events set aside program, and the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery cap.

In addition to its Amendment 3 deliberations, the Board set the total allowable catch for the 2018 and 2019 fishing seasons at 216,000 metric tons (mt) with the expectation that the setting of the TAC for subsequent years will be guided by menhaden-specific ecological reference points.

“Through adoption of Amendment 3 and the setting of the 2018 and 2019 TAC at a risk-averse level, the Board has demonstrated its continued commitment to manage the menhaden resource in a way that balances menhaden’s ecological role with the needs of its stakeholders,” stated Board Chair Robert Ballou of Rhode Island. “While the Amendment maintains the current reference points, the Board placed the development of menhaden-specific ecological reference points as its highest priority. While the Board’s action was not supported by the majority of public comment received, it is still a conservative management action relative to our understanding of stock status and many of the positive signals we see in the current stock conditions. Specifically, the 2017 Stock Assessment Update indicated the resource remains healthy, with increases in abundance particularly in the norther states. Risks to the resource under our current reference points are well understood, while changes to the TAC under the general forage fish guidelines are not as well understood. Further, the approved TAC, which represents a modest 8% increase in the coastwide quota, has zero percent chance of subjecting the resource to overfishing or causing it to be overfished.”

Amendment 3 also changes fishery allocations in order to strike an improved balance between gear types and jurisdictions. The Amendment allocates a baseline quota of 0.5% to each jurisdiction, and then allocates the rest of the TAC based on historic landings between 2009 and 2011 (see table below). This measure provides fishing opportunities to states which currently have little quota while still recognizing historic landings in the fishery. The Board also agreed to maintain the quota transfer process, prohibit the rollover of unused quota, maintain the 6,000 lb trip limit for non-directed and small-scale gears following the closure of a directed fishery, and set aside 1% of the TAC for episodic events in the states of New York through Maine. “The Board worked collaboratively and effectively to forge an outcome that is fair and responsive to the needs and interest of all East Coast states” said Chair Ballou.

Table 1. Amendment 3 allocation percentages based on a 0.5% fixed minimum during the 2009-2011 timeframe.

State	Allocations (%)
Maine	0.52%
New Hampshire	0.50%
Massachusetts	1.27%
Rhode Island	0.52%
Connecticut	0.52%
New York	0.69%
New Jersey	10.87%
Pennsylvania	0.50%
Delaware	0.51%
Maryland	1.89%
Potomac River Fisheries Commission	1.07%
Virginia	78.66%
North Carolina	0.96%
South Carolina	0.50%
Georgia	0.50%
Florida	0.52%
Total	100%

Finally, the Amendment reduces the Chesapeake Bay cap, which was first implemented in 2006 to limit the amount of reduction harvest within the Bay, to 51,000 mt from 87,216 mt. This recognizes the importance of the Chesapeake Bay as nursery grounds for many species by capping recent reduction landings from the Bay to current levels.

States must submit implementation plans to the Commission by January 1, 2018 for final implementation by April 15, 2018. The Amendment will be available on the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org, by the end of November. For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

To learn more about the ASMFC visit their site here.

NOAA Fisheries Announces Final Blueline Tilefish Amendment to the Golden Tilefish Fishery Management Plan

November 14, 2017 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Correction: Date corrected in bold below.

NOAA Fisheries announces that we are implementing regulations for Amendment 6 to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. This action sets commercial and recreational management measures for the blueline tilefish fishery in the Mid-Atlantic. Blueline tilefish (Caulolatilus microps) is also known as grey tilefish.

This rule goes into effect on December 15, 2017.

Blueline tilefish have been managed for many years under the South Atlantic Council’s Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan, whose measures only apply south of the Virginia/North Carolina border. The fishery in the Mid-Atlantic was considered very small and remained unregulated until recently.

Recreational and commercial blueline tilefish catch has been increasing steadily in the Greater Atlantic Region (Virginia to Maine) since 2011. In 2014, commercial landings increased more than 20-fold from the previous several years’ average. This rapid increase in unregulated harvest represented a risk to the long-term sustainability of the stock, and triggered the Mid-Atlantic Council to request emergency management measures in 2015. Interim management measures took effect in June 2016, while the Council developed this proposed amendment.

Amendment 6 to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan manages the federal waters blueline tilefish fishery north of the Virginia/North Carolina border, as part of the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. The rule requires fishermen to hold a valid Greater Atlantic Region open access tilefish commercial or charter/party permit to ensure adequate reporting and monitoring of blueline tilefish fishing activity.

Through this action, we are implementing a commercial possession limit of 300 pounds per trip.

The recreational season will run from May 1-October 31, and will close as of December 15, 2017, when this rule becomes effective. When the fishery re-opens in May, recreational fishermen will have limits of:

7 fish per person on Coast Guard inspected for-hire vessels (party boats)
5 fish per person on uninspected for-hire vessels (charter boats), and
3 fish per person on private recreational vessels.

Amendment 6 also calls for new permitting and reporting requirements for private recreational vessels. These measures are not being implemented at this time. Because they require additional development and outreach, they will be implemented later through a separate rule, and will not be in effect for the 2018 fishing season that starts on May 1, 2018.

More information is available in the final rule as filed in the Federal Register notice today, and in the permit holder bulletin on our website.

To learn more about NOAA Fisheries visit their site here.

US regulators boost Atlantic menhaden catch limits by 8%

November 14, 2017 — BALTIMORE — Omega Protein, Daybrook Fisheries, Lund’s Fisheries and several other US big fishing companies that rely heavily on menhaden caught in the Atlantic Ocean got the outcome they hoped for in a hotel meeting room here this week.

By a 15-3 tally, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), meeting as the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board on Tuesday morning, approved a 216,000 metric ton total allowable catch (TAC) on the Atlantic coast of the United States in 2018 and 2019 — an 8% increase. The panel gave itself the flexibility to lower the threshold should its staff come up with new ecological reference points (ERPs) that suggest a reduction is needed.

The day before ASFMC voted down, 13-5, a change favored by environmental advocates that would’ve required the establishment of interim goals aimed at restoring menhaden to 75% of their original biomass and prompted action, possibly even a moratorium, should the biomass ever fell below 40% of that amount. It approved a substitute proposal that requires ASMFC’s staff to develop species-specific ERPS, something that is predicted to get done by the end of 2019.

“We’re in a pretty good place right now where the fishery is concerned. As has been referenced, we’ve got an expanding stock and a stable harvest over the last couple of years and we’re still leaving about 40% of the unfished spawning potential in the water right now,” said Dave Blazer, Maryland’s representative on the panel, in explaining why he was voting for the substitute proposal on Monday.

Read the full story at UndercurrentNews

News for the Mid Atlantic Region