Portsmouth, NH – In response to the depleted condition of the northern shrimp resource, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section extended the moratorium on commercial fishing for the 2016 fishing season. The 2015 Stock Status Report for Gulf of Maine (GOM) Northern Shrimp indicates abundance and biomass indices for 2012‐2015 were the lowest on record for the 32‐year time series. The stock has experience failed recruitment for five consecutive years, including the three smallest year classes on record. As a result, the indices of fishable biomass from 2012‐2015 are the lowest on record. Recruitment of northern shrimp…
Press Releases
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In an effort to ensure the healthy population of the striped bass in the Mid-Atlantic region, NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) is raising awareness of the federal regulations governing striped bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and increasing targeted enforcement efforts to protect the species from illegal poaching activities. “Right now, the striped bass are beginning to migrate south from the northern states,” said Lt. Wynn Carney, OLE supervisory enforcement officer. “The striped bass will follow the bait south near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and in spring they will begin making their way up our streams…
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St. Augustine, FL – The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, the Board set a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2016 season. Based on the allocation mechanism established in Addendum VII, the following quotas were set for the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, which harvest horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin: Delaware Bay Origin Horseshoe Crab Quota (no. of crabs) Total Quota State Male Only Male Only Delaware…
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Board Initiates Draft Addendum for Regional Management of 2016 Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Recreational Fisheries
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St. Augustine, FL – Today, member states of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission acknowledged the many accomplishments of outgoing Chair, Dr. Louis B. Daniel of North Carolina and elected Douglas Grout as its new Chair. In assuming the chairmanship, Mr. Grout spoke enthusiastically about his new position, “I am honored to be elected by my colleagues from the 15 Atlantic coast states, and pledge to uphold the trust they have placed in me as I serve my term chairing the Commission. Under my watch, I will work to lead the Commission responsibly through the many challenges inherent in managing…
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St. Augustine, FL – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented Willard “Bill” Cole, formerly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Captain David H. Hart Award, its highest annual award, at the Commission’s 74th Annual Meeting in St. Augustine, FL. Throughout his nearly 40-year career as a state, university, and federal fishery manager and scientist, Bill Cole worked to protect, restore, and conserve fisheries resources and their habitats along the Atlantic coast. Bill graduated from North Carolina State University in 1966, and moved to Lake City, Florida, where he began his career with the Florida Game and Freshwater…
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St. Augustine, FL – The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved the Public Hearing Document for Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Herring for public comment. Draft Amendment 3 was initiated to strengthen spawning protections in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) and address concerns raised by the commercial fishing industry. The Public Hearing Document proposes (1) alternatives to the spawning monitoring program (protocol, default start dates, area boundaries, and length of the closure period); (2) removing the fixed gear set‐aside rollover provision, and (3) requiring a vessel’s fish hold to be emptied before leaving…
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Draft Addendum to Consider Changes to Non‐trap Bycatch Limit
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Portsmouth, NH – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section has postponed further development of Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp until next summer. The intent of the amendment was to address increased effort in the fishery through a variety of management options including limited entry. “Given the collapsed status of the resource and the fact that the fishery is currently under a moratorium, the Section decided to postpone further action on the amendment until Maine can address over‐capacity in its fishery,” stated Section Chair Mike Armstrong from Massachusetts. Maine has committed…
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