Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries

Commission

Press Releases

  • Joseph Cimino Elected ASMFC Chair

    Joseph Cimino Elected ASMFC Chair

    Beaufort, NC – Yesterday, member states of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) thanked Spud Woodward of Georgia for an effective two-year term as Chair and elected Joseph Cimino of New Jersey to succeed him. “I’m honored to be chosen by my fellow Commissioners to lead our efforts for the next two years. One of my priorities will be to work with my colleagues in the states and federal agencies to seek resources to fund fundamental fisheries data collection and science activities to support our management programs. Other topics that will be the focus over the next two years…

  • Robert H. Boyles, Jr. Named 2023 Captain David H. Hart Award Recipient

    Beaufort, NC – At its 81st Annual Meeting in Beaufort, North Carolina, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented Robert H. Boyles, Jr., Director of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Captain David H. Hart Award for 2023 for his longstanding contributions to and exceptional leadership towards the sustainable management of marine resources along the Eastern seaboard. The Commission instituted the Hart Award in 1991 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding efforts to improve Atlantic coast marine fisheries. The Hart Award is named for one of the Commission’s longest serving members, who dedicated himself to the advancement…

  • Jonah Crab Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Finds Population Abundance Remains Above Historic Lows but Needs to be Closely Monitored

    Beaufort, NC – The 2023 Jonah Crab Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report indicates the range- wide population of Jonah crab remains above historic lows of the 1980s and 1990s. However, evidence of declining catch per unit effort (CPUE) in the fishery presents substantial concern and uncertainty for the status of the stock. Based on life history and fishery characteristics, the assessment divided the population into four stocks: offshore Gulf of Maine (OGOM), inshore GOM (IGOM); offshore Southern New England (OSNE) and inshore SNE (ISNE). According to the stock indicators, IGOM, OGOM, and OSNE recruit, exploitable, and spawning abundance…

  • Horseshoe Crab Board Sets 2024 Specifications for Delaware Bay-Origin Horseshoe Crabs

    Beaufort, NC – The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved harvest specifications for Delaware Bay-origin horseshoe crabs. Taking into consideration the output of the Adaptative Resource Management (ARM) Framework Revision, the Board set a harvest limit of 500,000 male and zero female Delaware Bay-origin horseshoe crabs for the 2024 season. “The Board stands behind the ARM Framework Revision as the best available tool to set harvest limits for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay-origin. As a result of its use, the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population has been increasing, with abundance of both female and male horseshoe crabs in the Delaware…

  • ASMFC Coastal Pelagics Board Sets Atlantic Cobia Total Harvest Quota for 2024-2026 Fishing Seasons

    Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Coastal Pelagics Management Board approved a total harvest quota for the Atlantic migratory group of cobia of 80,112 fish for the 2024-2026 fishing seasons. This total quota results in a coastwide recreational quota of 76,908 fish and commercial quota of 73,116 pounds. The total quota level was first approved in February 2020 for the 2020-2022 fishing seasons. In 2021, the Board changed the cobia quota timeframe from 2020-2022 to 2021-2023. Based on the recommendation from the Technical Committee and in the absence of a new stock assessment, the Board has set the 2024-2026 total harvest…

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