Alexandria, VA – The Coastal Sharks Management Board approved Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Coastal Sharks. The Addendum amends the FMP to allow smooth dogfish carcasses to be landed with corresponding fins removed from the carcass as long as the total retained catch on board at the time of landing is composed of at least 25 percent smooth dogfish. Trips that do not meet the 25 percent catch composition requirement can land smooth dogfish, but the fins must remain naturally attached to the carcass. Naturally attached is defined as attached to the corresponding shark…
Press Releases
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board approved Addendum I to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The Addendum modifies the bycatch provision of Amendment 2 by allowing two permitted commercial fishermen working together from the same vessel using stationary multi‐species gear to land up to 12,000 pounds of menhaden per trip per day. In this case, stationary multi‐species gears are defined as pound nets, anchored/staked gillnets, and fyke nets. Interested states may implement the new bycatch provision as their regulatory processes allow, but no earlier than August 15. The practice of two…
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Portsmouth, NH – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section resumed development of Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp. The amendment was initiated in 2014 to address overcapacity in the fishery. Prior to closure of the fishery in 2014 due to a collapsed resource, overcapacity had been identified as an important issue to be addressed in order to effectively control harvest. Draft Amendment 3 explores state‐by‐state allocations, seasonal‐ and area‐based management to manage effort in the fishery, and the mandatory use of size sorting grate systems to minimize harvest of small shrimp…
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States Schedule Hearings for late June
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States Schedule Hearings for late June/early July
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Arlington, VA – In a May 9th letter to President Barack Obama, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) urged the President and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for transparency and a robust opportunity for public input as the Administration considers designating a National Monument through its authority under the Antiquities Act. While details on the specific location of the monument remain unknown, one potential area discussed centers around the New England offshore canyons and seamounts. Currently, the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is drafting an Omnibus Deep‐Sea Coral Amendment which considers protection of corals in…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Coastal Sharks Management Board approved Draft Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Coastal Sharks for public comment. The purpose of the Draft Addendum is to maintain consistency between federal and state FMPs, where possible, and to better incorporate into state regulations the intent of the limited fins‐attached exception for smooth dogfish in the Shark Conservation Act of 2010. Under current regulations, commercial fishermen with only a state commercial fishing license can land smooth dogfish with corresponding fins removed from the carcass. The Draft Addendum proposes amending the FMP to allow smooth…
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Alexandria, VA – The 2016 Weakfish Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report indicate weakfish is depleted and has been for the past 13 years. Under the new reference points, the stock is considered depleted when the stock is below a spawning stock biomass (SSB) threshold of 30% (15.17 million pounds). In 2014, SSB was 5.62 million pounds. While the assessment indicates some positive signs in the weakfish stock in the most recent years, with a slight increase in SSB and total abundance, the stock is still well below the SSB threshold. The assessment indicates natural mortality (e.g., the rate…
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Episodic Event Set Aside Program also Extended and Revised to Include New York
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