Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) has selected five aquaculture pilot projects to receive funding. Through these pilot projects, emphasis is being placed on promising but less commercially developed technologies for finfish and shellfish, and other industry needs like increased permitting efficiency. As part of its efforts to foster responsible aquaculture and seafood security in the US, NOAA Fisheries provided $575,000 in funding to the Commission to support these projects. Following a rigorous review, which included an evaluation of the technical aspects of the proposals as well as their compliance with environmental laws, the following five…
Press Releases
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Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board maintained the total allowable catch (TAC) of 216,000 mt for the 2020 fishing season with the option to revisit the 2020 TAC following review of the 2019 single-species and ecological reference point benchmark stock assessments and peer-review reports. The TAC will be made available to the states based on the state- by-state allocation established by Amendment 3 (see accompanying table). The 2019 benchmark stock assessments are scheduled for peer review at the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review process (SEDAR 69) in early November. It is expected the benchmark assessments and peer-review…
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Arlington, VA – Today, NOAA Fisheries published its status review of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) stocks (collectively referred to as river herring) along the U.S. coast. The status review, performed under the auspices of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), determined listing these species under the ESA is not warranted at this time. The review noted while river herring have declined from historical numbers and overutilization remains a risk while population numbers are low, fisheries management efforts at the federal and state levels have helped to reduce the risks from fishing mortality. In particular, state implementation of…
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Arlington, VA – The 2019 Horseshoe Crab Benchmark Stock Assessment evaluated the stock status of the resource by region, finding populations within the Delaware Bay and Southeast regions remaining consistently neutral and good, respectively, through time. The Northeast region population has changed from poor to neutral, while the status of the New York region population has trended downward from good, to neutral, and now to poor. The Benchmark Assessment was endorsed by the Peer Review Panel and accepted by the Horseshoe Crab Management Board (Board) for management use. To date, no overfishing or overfished definitions have been adopted for management…
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Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented its Annual Awards of Excellence to an esteemed group of fishery and data managers, scientists, law enforcement officers and environmental attorneys for their outstanding contributions to fisheries management, science and law enforcement along the Atlantic coast. Specifically, the award recipients are Robert Ballou for management and policy contributions; Geoffrey White, Coleby Wilt, Alex DiJohnson, Sarah Rains, Michael Celestino, and John Sweka for science and technical contributions; and Casey Oravetz, Sara Block, Banumathi Rangarajan, Lauren Steele, Shane Waller, Shennie Patel, and Joel La Bissonniere for law enforcement contributions. “Every year a…
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Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission unanimously approved its 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan at its 2019 Spring Meeting. The Strategic Plan revises the Commission’s long-term vision to “Sustainable and Cooperative Management of Atlantic Coastal Fisheries” and establishes eight major goals and related objectives to pursue this vision. The Strategic Plan will guide the Commission’s activities over the next five years and will be implemented through annual action plans. “The states recognize circumstances today make the work of the Commission more important than ever before. The Strategic Plan articulates the mission, vision, goals, and objectives needed to…
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Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Coastal Sharks Management Board approved changes to the recreational size limit for Atlantic shortfin mako sharks in state waters, specifically, a 71-inch straight line fork length (FL) for males and an 83-inch straight line FL for females. These measures are consistent with those required for federal highly migratory species (HMS) permit holders under HMS Amendment 11, which was implemented in response to the 2017 Atlantic shortfin mako stock assessment that found the resource is overfished and experiencing overfishing. Amendment 11 also responds to a recent determination by the International Commission on the Conservation Atlantic Tunas…
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Atlantic Striped Bass Benchmark Stock Assessment Finds Resource Overfished and Overfishing Occurring
Board Initiates Addendum to Reduce Total Fishing Mortality
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Addendum Increases Protection of Spawning Herring in the Inshore Gulf of Maine
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