The Westin Crystal City

1800 S. Eads Street
Arlington, VA 22202

703.486.1111

Final Agenda

The agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of 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.

For ease of access, all Board/Section meeting documents have been combined into two documents: Main Meeting Materials and Supplemental Materials. Links to individual board/committee materials can be found below.

Live-Streaming

Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning August 7th at 10:15 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:45 p.m.) on August 9th. 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. Go here - https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3101304879756771073 - to regisetr for the webinar.

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 opportunity to 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 July 31, 2018 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 31, 2018 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.

General Background Materials

Tuesday, August 7

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

• Welcome/Call to Order (J. Gilmore)
• Committee Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Meeting Summary from May 2018
• Public Comment
• Consider Changes to the Appeals Process (J. McNamee)
• Update on Right Whale Lawsuit (R. Beal)
• Update on Federal Appropriations (R. Beal)
• Discuss the Commission’s Role in Aquaculture Activities (R. Beal, L. Daniel)
• Discuss Development and Use of Ecosystem Reports (T. Kerns)
• Review White Paper on Future Scope of Recreational Data Collection Programs (R. Beal, M. Cahall)
• Other Business/Adjourn

10:15 AM - Noon & 1 - 2 PM

Atlantic Herring Section  Supplemental  Presentations  Audio1 Audio 2 (the beginning part of Audio 2 was not recorded)

• Welcome/Call to Order (P. Keliher)
• Section Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Proceedings from May 2018
• Public Comment
• Review and Consider Approval of the 2018 Atlantic Herring Benchmark Assessment (SAW 65) Action
  • Presentation of Stock Assessment (M. Cieri)
  • Presentation of Peer Review Report (P. Campfield)
  • Consider Acceptance of Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report for Management Use
• Discuss Recent New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) Recommendation to NOAA Fisheries on the 2018 Sub-Annual Catch Limits (M. Ware)
• Reconsider the ASMFC 2018 Sub-Annual Catch Limits Final Action
• Provide Recommendations to NEFMC for 2019-2021 Fishery Specifications (M. Ware)
• Other Business/Adjourn

Atlantic Menhaden Management Board  Supplemental  Audio

• Welcome/Call to Order (N. Meserve)
• Board Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Proceedings from May 2018
• Public Comment
• Consider Postponed Motion from the May 2018 Board Meeting (N. Meserve) Action
  Postponed Motion: “Move the Atlantic Menhaden Board recommend to the ISFMP Policy Board that the Commonwealth of Virginia be found out of compliance for not fully and effectively implementing and enforcing Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Menhaden Fishery Management Plan if the State does not implement the following measure from section 4.3.7 (Chesapeake Bay Reduction Fishery Cap) of Amendment 3: The annual total allowable harvest from the Chesapeake Bay by the reduction fishery is limited to no more than 51,000 mt. Motion made by Mr. Batsavage and seconded by Mr. Estes.
• Elect Vice-Chair Action
• Other Business/Adjourn

Wednesday, August 8

American Eel Management Board  Supplemental  Presentations  Audio

• Welcome/Call to Order (M. Gary)
• Board Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Proceedings from February 2018
• Public Comment
• Update on Illegal Glass Eel Harvest in Maine (P. Keliher, R. Cloutier)
• Consider Addendum V for Final Approval Final Action
  • Review Options and Public Comment Summary (K. Rootes-Murdy)
  • Reports from the Law Enforcement Committee, Technical Committee, and Advisory Panel (M. Robson, J. Zimmerman, M. DeLucia)
  • Consider Final Approval of Addendum V
• Consider Maine Aquaculture Proposal Action
  • Maine Proposal for 2019 Fishing Season (S. Rademaker, P. Keliher)
  • Reports from the Law Enforcement Committee, Technical Committee, and Advisory Panel (M. Robson, J. Zimmerman, M. DeLucia)
• Update on North Carolina Aquaculture Plan: 2018 Fishing Season (C. Batsavage)
• Other Business/Adjourn

Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board  Presentations  Audio

• Welcome/Call to Order (A. Nowalsky)
• Board Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Proceedings from October 2017
• Public Comment
• Update on 5-Year Status Review of the Endangered Species Act Listing and Recovery Plan (J. Crocker)
• Review Technical Committee Report Regarding Highest Priority Data Sources for Stock Assessments (K. Drew) Possible Action
• Consider Approval of 2018 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance Reports (M. Appelman) Action
• Review Recommendation to Disband the Advisory Panel (T. Berger) Action
• Other Business/Adjourn

Coastal Sharks Management Board  Supplemental  Presentations  Audio

• Welcome/Call to Order (R. Miller)
• Board Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Proceedings from May 2018
• Public Comment
• Consider Draft Addendum V for Public Comment (K. Rootes-Murdy) Action
• Update on NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Draft Amendment 11 (K. Brewster-Geisz)
• Discuss Best Practices for Safe Handling and Release of Coastal Sharks from Shore Sites (K. Brewster-Geisz)
• Other Business/Adjourn

Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board  Supplemental  Presentations  Audio

• Welcome/Call to Order (R. Ballou)
• Board Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Proceedings from April and May 2018
• Public Comment
• Update on Strategic Plan for Black Sea Bass Management (C. Starks) 
• Consider Options for 2019 Black Sea Bass and Summer Flounder Recreational Management (C. Starks, K. Rootes-Murdy) Possible Action
• Consider Approval of 2018 Fishery Management Plan Reviews and State Compliance Reports for Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass (K. Rootes-Murdy, J. Kuesel) Action
• Other Business/Adjourn

Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board  Presentations  Audio

Thursday, August 9

Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board  Presentations  Audio

• Welcome/Call to Order (J. Gilmore)
• Board Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Proceedings from May 2018
• Public Comment
• Update from State Director’s Meeting and Executive Committee (J. Gilmore)
• Review Annual Performance of the Stocks (T. Kerns)
• Coordination Between ASMFC and NEFMC (J. Gilmore) Possible Final Action
  • Consider Changing the Atlantic Herring Section to a Management Board
• Update from the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership (L. Havel)
• Update on Risk and Uncertainty Policy (J. McNamee)
• Progress Update on Benchmark Stock Assessments
  • Shad (J. Kipp)
  • Horseshoe Crab (K. Anstead)
• Review Noncompliance Findings, If Necessary Action
• Other Business/Adjourn

Business Session

• Welcome/Call to Order (J. Gilmore)
• Committee Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Proceedings from October and November 2017
• Public Comment
• Review Noncompliance Findings, If Necessary Final Action
• Other Business/Adjourn

South Atlantic States/Federal Fisheries Management Board 
Supplemental  Presentations    Audio

• Welcome/Call to Order (P. Geer)
• Board Consent
  • Approval of Agenda
  • Approval of Proceedings from May 2018
• Public Comment
• Consider 2018 Traffic Light Analyses for Atlantic Croaker and Spot (C. McDonough)
• Consider Postponed Motion from May 2018 Board Meeting (P. Geer) Action
  Postponed Motion: “Move to initiate an addendum to the spot and croaker fishery management plans that incorporates the new traffic light analyses and management response to those analyses.” Motion made by Mr. Batsavage and seconded by Mr. Gary.
• Update on Revised SEDAR 58 Schedule (M. Schmidtke)
• Review Cobia Technical Committee Report on Recreational Landings (M. Schmidtke)
• Consider Draft Public Information Document for Amendment 1 to the Cobia Fishery Management Plan for Public Comment (M. Schmidtke) Action
• Consider 2018 Fishery Management Plan Reviews and State Compliance Reports for Atlantic Croaker and Red Drum (M. Schmidtke) Action
• Review and Populate Advisory Panel Membership (T. Berger) Action
• Elect Vice-Chair Action
• Other Business/Adjourn