On May 6, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented its Annual Awards of Excellence to a number of individuals for their outstanding contributions to the management, legislative, outreach, and law enforcement efforts along the Atlantic coast.
Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has initiated a benchmark stock assessment for Atlantic sturgeon to be completed in the fall of 2028. The goals of the assessment are to evaluate the health of stocks along the Atlantic coast and inform management of this species. The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data. The Commission welcomes the submission of data sources that will contribute to the goals of the assessment. This includes, but is not limited to, data on abundance trends (e.g., surveys), tagging data,…
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts met September 19 via webinar to set effort control measures for the 2024 Area 1A fishery for Season 2 (October 1 – December 31).
Proposals Due May 1, 2026 Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) and NOAA Fisheries are issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the planning, facilitation, and execution of the 2027 National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Summit. The Summit will be held during the weeks of March 15-19 or March 22-25, 2027 in Alexandria, VA. The Commission and NOAA Fisheries are committed to sustainable and collaborative management of fisheries resources and have jointly hosted four previous National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Summits, starting in 2010. Those Summits identified and described commonly held priorities of the saltwater recreational fishing community…
This report informs stakeholders on the use of federal and state funds provided to the Commission for FY 2025.
Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has released the latest installment in its Habitat Management Series, Atlantic States Shell Recycling. The report highlights the growing role of shell recycling programs in supporting oyster reef restoration, coastal resilience, and sustainable fisheries management along the US Atlantic coast. Oyster reefs are among the most valuable habitats in coastal ecosystems, improving water quality, stabilizing shorelines, and providing critical habitat for commercially and recreationally important species. However, the availability of suitable shell for restoration has become a limiting factor in many regions. Shell recycling programs address this need by collecting…
Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has initiated a benchmark stock assessment for Atlantic migratory group cobia to be completed in 2027. The goals of the assessment are to evaluate the health of the stock along the Atlantic coast from Georgia northward to inform management. While updating the stock assessment model and datasets used in the 2020 benchmark stock assessment (SEDAR 58) will be considered, additional data sources and potential new models will also be explored due to data limitations and changes in management. The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, except…
Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved a coastwide commercial quota for the 2026/2027 and 2027/2028 fishing seasons (May 1-April 30) of 9.2 million pounds (state-specific allocations are provided in table below), pending approval by NOAA Fisheries. The quota is consistent with the measures recommended to NOAA Fisheries by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils (Councils). The Board also maintained the commercial trip limit in state waters of 7,500 pounds for the northern region states of Maine through Connecticut. The states of New York through North Carolina have the ability to set state-specific trip limits…
Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Winter Flounder Management Board received the results of the 2025 Stock Assessment Updates for the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) winter flounder stocks and set specifications for the 2026-2028 fishing years. For the GOM stock, it is unknown if the stock is overfished. However, the exploitation rate is estimated to be 19% of the overfishing exploitation threshold proxy, indicating the stock is not experiencing overfishing. The commercial fishery has experienced sharp declines in landings since the peak in 1982 at just over 6 million pounds. Landings declined steadily to approximately 770,000…
Dive into the latest updates and catch all the important news by joining our newsletter mailing list. Stay in the loop with meeting agendas, fisheries management news, and more.