Saving Seafood

ASMFC 2019 Spring Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

April 24, 2019 — The following was published by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spring Meeting are now available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2019-spring-meeting for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information). For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have been combined into one PDF – http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2019SpringMeeting/2019SpringMtgMaterialsSupplemental.pdf.

American Lobster Management Board – Progress Report on Draft American Lobster Addendum XXVIII
 
Atlantic Herring Management Board – Advisory Panel Review of Draft Addendum II; Overview of 1A Management Tools
 
Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Technical Committee Report on Percent Reduction in Harvest to Achieve Fishing Mortality Threshold and Target in 2020, and Example Recreational Options to Achieve Those Reductions;  Correspondence Regarding Striped Bass Management; Public Comment
 
Law Enforcement Committee – MAFMC Letter on Law Enforcement/For-hire Workshop
 
Executive Committee – Revised Agenda & Draft Work Group Meeting SOPPS
 
Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Plan Development Team Report on Black Sea Bass Commercial Management
 
Business Session – Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment Summary
 
Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee Task List; Public Comment; James Cooper Tribute to Board
 
Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board – Revised Draft Agenda and Meeting Overview
 
South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – Committee Task List; MD DNR Memo: State-Gathered Public Input on Potential Management Measures for Atlantic Croaker and Spot
 
As a reminder, Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning April 29th at 1 p.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:15 p.m.) on Thursday, May 2nd. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board 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/1041506190356646145 – to register.

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.

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission South Atlantic Board Releases Cobia PID for Public Comment

November 3, 2016 — The following was released by the ASMFC:

Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board releases for public comment the Public Information Document (PID) for the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Cobia. As the first step in the FMP development process, the PID provides stakeholders with an opportunity to inform the Commission about changes observed in the fishery and provide feedback on potential management measures as well as any additional issues that should be included in the Draft FMP. Specifically, the PID seeks comment on the management unit; goals and objectives of the plan; commercial and recreational measures; coastwide, regional or state-by-state measures; and other issues.

This action responds to a request by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) for the Commission to consider joint or complementary management of the resource in light of the significant overage of the 2015 recreational annual catch limit (ACL) and the impact of those overages to state management. Further, during most recent years, a majority of recreational landings of cobia along the Atlantic coast occurs in state waters. The Commission considered this request in August and agreed to move forward with the development of a complementary FMP.

Widely distributed throughout the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, cobia are managed as two distinct groups – the Gulf Migratory Group and the Atlantic Migratory Group. The Atlantic Migratory Group, which range from New York to Georgia, is managed by the SAFMC. The east coast of Florida falls under the Gulf Migratory Group. The SAFMC manages the east coast of Florida sub-ACL which is set by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. Recreational landings of the Atlantic Migratory Group in 2015 were approximately 1.5 million pounds, 145% over the ACL, resulting in a June 20, 2016 closure of the fishery by NOAA Fisheries. Commercial cobia landings in 2015 were 83,148 pounds, 38% over the ACL. Late landings reports in 2015 precluded a timely closure of the commercial fishery.

Concerns were expressed by some states whose recreational seasons would have been significantly reduced by federal waters closure due to the 2015 quota overage. Instead of following the federal closure, several states developed alternate management strategies to reduce economic impacts to their state fisheries which resulted in differing regulations for federal and state water fishing. An intent of the complementary Cobia FMP is to provide the states the flexibility to respond to changes in the fishery and stock that meet their state fisheries needs without impacting federal fishermen while meeting the goals and objectives of the FMP.

Stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the PID either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The PID can be obtained athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/CobiaPID_PublicComment.pdf or via the Commission’s website,www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 6, 2017 and should be forwarded to Dr. Louis Daniel, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at ldaniel@asmfc.org (Subject line: Cobia PID).

It is anticipated states from Delaware through Florida will be conducting hearings over the next couple of months. The details of those hearings will be released in a subsequent press release. The Management Board will meet at the Commission’s 2017 Winter Meeting to review and consider public comment and provide direction to staff for items to be included in the Draft FMP.  For more information, please contact Louis Daniel at ldaniel@asmfc.org or 252-342-1478.

ASMFC 75th Annual Meeting Supplemental Materials Now Available

October 20, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Supplemental materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 75TH Annual Meeting have been posted at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-annual-meeting for the following Boards/Committees (click on “Supplemental” following each relevant committee header to access the information).

Spiny Dogfish Management Board – Spiny Dogfish 2017 Specifications Review; MAFMFC October 2016 Meeting Summary

Coastal Sharks Management Board – NOAA Fisheries Presentation on HMS Amendment 5b Proposed Rule; AP Nomination

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Advisory Panel Meeting Summary; Public Comment

Executive Committee – Meeting Summary from August 2016; Draft ASMFC Standard Operating Procedures for Meetings

South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board – FMP Reviews for Black Drum, Spanish Mackerel and Spotted Seatrout; Advisory Panel Nominations

Tautog Management Board – Guidance on Reference Points

Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – FMP Reviews for Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass (NOTE: Two additional documents will be posted on Friday – Memo on Preliminary Black Sea Bass Commercial Landings and Meeting Summary of the 2017 Summer Flounder Recreational Management Working Group).

Shad and River Herring Management Board – Technical Committee Report on  Review of the Nemasket River Sustainable Fishery Management Plan; MAFMFC Press Release and Motions on Shad and River Herring

Horseshoe Crab Management Board – Horseshoe Crab and Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committees’ Meeting Summary; FMP Review

ACCSP Coordinating Council – ACCSP Transition Document and Draft MOU

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Advisory panel Report on Draft Amendment 3 Public Information Document; Public Comment

ISFMP Policy Board – Revised Draft Agenda and Meeting Overview; Conservation Equivalency Memo; meeting Summary of the Climate Change and Fisheries management Work Group; Draft Correspondence to BOEM; Presentation on National Park Service Director’s Order

American Lobster Management Board – American Lobster Draft Addendum XXV; Technical Committee Report on Season Closures and Trip Limits in the SNE Lobster Fishery; FMP Review for American Lobster

For ease of access, supplemental meeting materials have combined into one PDF –http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/2016AnnualMeeting/CombinedSupplementalMaterials_rev.pdf.

As a reminder, Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar athttps://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6632926318150310403 beginning at 8:30 a.m. on October 24th, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 4:00 p.m.) on October 27th.  The webinar will allow registrants to listen to the proceedings of the Commission’s management boards/sections during the 75thAnnual Meeting, October 24-27, 2016. Registrants will also be able to view presentations and motions as they occur. No comments or questions will be accepted via the webinar. Should technical difficulties arise during the streaming of the broadcast, the boards/sections will continue their deliberations without interruption. We will attempt to resume the broadcast as soon as possible. Board/Section summaries, presentations, and audio files will be available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2016-Annual-Meeting  the week of October 30th.