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In October 2025, the Tautog Management Board initiated an addendum to address changes in stock status for the New Jersey-New York Bight (NJ-NYB) and Delaware/Maryland/Virginia (DMV) regions. The Draft Addendum will also consider allowing the Massachusetts-Rhode Island (MARI) and Long Island Sound (LIS) regions to modify management for precautionary purposes.
The Draft Addendum responds to the results of the 2025 regional stock assessments update, which found stock status varied by region. Tautog were not overfished nor experiencing overfishing in MARI and LIS; not overfished but experiencing overfishing in NJ-NYB; and overfished and experiencing overfishing in DMV.
Stock status remained unchanged for the MARI and LIS regions from the 2021 update but did change for the NJ-NYB and DMV regions. The NJ-NYB region went from being overfished but not experiencing overfishing in the 2021 update to not being overfished but experiencing overfishing in this update. The DMV region was previously not overfished nor experiencing overfishing but was considered overfished and experiencing overfishing in the 2025 update.
Since the 2021 update, recruitment has increased in the LIS and NJ-NYB regions, and MARI shows a slight increase in spawning stock biomass. In the DMV, fishing mortality had been low since 2012 before reaching a peak in 2021 followed by a sharp decline thereafter. Total removals have increased in all regions, driven primarily by increases in recreational harvest.
If the current fishing mortality exceeds the regional threshold level (i.e., overfishing is occurring), Amendment 1 directs the Board to initiate management action, via a management document, within one year of receiving an overfishing determination, with new management measures implemented in the second year.
To inform development of the Draft Addendum, the Board tasked the Technical Committee with providing projection scenarios to determine the harvest levels necessary to achieve the regional fishing mortality targets within 3 and 5 years.
Phase
Status
October 2025: Board initiated Draft Addendum I
Completed
Technical Committee develops projections for Board consideration
Active
Board reviews Technical Committee projections and provides guidance to the Plan Development Team to draft the addendum
2026 Spring Meeting
Plan Development Team develops Draft Addendum document for Board consideration for public comment
June/July 2026
Board considers Draft Addendum I for Public Comment
2026 Summer Meeting
Draft Addendum I Public Comment Period, including Public Hearings
September 2026
Board considers final approval of Addendum I
2026 Annual Meeting
State Implementation of Addendum I
TBD
Contacts
- James Boyle, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, JBoyle@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740
Action Development Timeline & Documents
October 2025
Board initiates development of Draft Addendum I in response to the results of the 2025 stock assessment update. The Draft Addendum will consider options to address changes in stock status for NJ/NYB and DMV and allow for the MARI and LIS regions to modify management for precautionary or alignment purposes.
Next Steps
The Board will meet at the Commission’s Spring Meeting (May 2026) to review the Technical Committee projections and provide guidance to the Plan Development Team to draft the options in the addendum.