The Commission’s Management Boards for Bluefish and Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass met jointly with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) to adopt 2022-2023 specifications for all four species. The Boards and Council reviewed the results of the June 2021 management track stock assessments for the four species, which incorporated fishery catch and fishery-independent survey data through 2019. They also considered recommendations from the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), Monitoring Committees and Advisory Panels, as well as comments from members of the public regarding the specifications for each species. The table below summarizes commercial quotas and recreational harvest…
Press Releases
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Development of Draft Amendment 7 Continues; Board Initiates Addendum to Amendment 6
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The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board) approved a 1% increase in New York’s black sea bass commercial allocation, bringing New York’s baseline share of the coastwide quota to 8%. This action modifies the state commercial quota allocations that had been previously approved through Addendum XXXIII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. The final 2022 state-by-state commercial shares can be found in the table on page 2. Addendum XXXIII, approved in February 2021, addressed significant changes in the distribution of black sea bass that have occurred since the original…
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The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board initiated Draft Addendum XXIX to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Draft Addendum considers implementing electronic tracking requirements for federally-permitted vessels in the American lobster and Jonah crab fishery, with the goal of collecting high resolution spatial and temporal effort data. “In my opinion, this is the single most important thing the American Lobster Board can do to ensure the viability of the American lobster fishery,” stated Board Chair Dan McKiernan from Massachusetts. “Through the proposed action, the Board seeks to significantly improve our understanding of stock status,…
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The Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board initiated an addendum to Amendment 3 to consider changes to commercial allocations, the episodic event set aside (EESA) program, and the incidental catch and small-scale fisheries provision. This action responds to the recommendations of a Board work group charged with evaluating provisions of the current management program and providing strategies to refine those provisions. Amendment 3 (2017) established commercial fishery allocations, allocating a baseline quota of 0.5% to each jurisdiction with the rest of the total allowable catch (TAC) allocated based on historic landings between 2009 and 2011. The work group report outlined landings…
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The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved the Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Bluefish: Allocation and Rebuilding Program. The Amendment updates the FMP goals and objectives, initiates a rebuilding plan, establishes new allocations between the commercial and recreational sectors, implements new commercial allocations to the states, revises the process for quota transfers between sectors, and revises how the management plan accounts for management uncertainty. The Commission’s Bluefish Management Board and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), who jointly manage bluefish, initiated the Amendment in December 2017 to consider revisions to the commercial and recreational fisheries…
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Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission announces the release of the Update to ASMFC’S Profiles of State Artificial Reef Programs and Projects. This document provides a summary for each state’s artificial reef program and features highlights that have occurred since the release of the first edition of this publication in 1988. Since then, many Atlantic states have expanded their programs; deployed a variety of artificial reefs using best management practices for construction, materials, and siting; and have monitored sites for use – both by fishers and divers, as well as by marine life. Artificial reefs have been…
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The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Bluefish Management Board (Board) jointly recommended approval of the Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment. The Amendment updates the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) goals and objectives, initiates a rebuilding plan, establishes new allocations between the commercial and recreational sectors, implements new commercial allocations to the states, revises the process for quota transfers between sectors, and revises how the management plan accounts for management uncertainty. The Council and Board initiated the Amendment in December 2017 to consider revisions to the commercial and recreational fisheries allocations and the state-specific commercial allocations.…
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The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board met to review public comments and Advisory Panel (AP) recommendations on the Public Information Document for Draft Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP), and provide guidance on which issues to include in the Draft Amendment. The purpose of the amendment is to update the management program in order to reflect current fishery needs and priorities given the status and understanding of the resource and fishery has changed considerably since implementation of Amendment 6 in 2003. The Board intends for the amendment to build upon the Addendum VI (2019) action to…
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