Draft Amendment 3 PID Approved for Public Comment
Press Releases
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Mystic, CT – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved Addendum V to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Spiny Dogfish. The Addendum ensures consistency in spiny dogfish management with the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 by prohibiting processing at-sea, including the removal of fins. Prior to approval, states could process spiny dogfish at-sea, so long as the ratio of fins aboard the vessel did not exceed 5% of the ratio of carcasses aboard the vessel. The Board set an implementation date of May 1, 2015 for states to promulgate this measure. In related business, the Coastal Sharks Management Board…
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Mystic, CT – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Addendum IV to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Addendum establishes new fishing mortality (F) reference points, as recommended by the 2013 benchmark stock assessment. In order to reduce F to a level at or below the new target, coastal states will implement a 25% harvest reduction from 2013 levels. Chesapeake Bay states/jurisdictions will implement a 20.5% harvest reduction from 2012 levels since their fisheries were reduced by 14% in 2013 based on their management program. All states/jurisdictions will promulgate regulations prior…
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Mystic, Connecticut – The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board has approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, the Board maintained a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2015 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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Mystic, CT – The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved the development of an Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Jonah Crab and initiated the development of Draft Addendum XXIV to Amendment 3 to the Interstate FMP for American Lobster. The Jonah Crab FMP was initiated in response to concern about increasing targeted fishing pressure for Jonah crab, which has long been considered a bycatch in the lobster fishery. However, growing market demand has doubled landings in the past seven years. Given the absence of state and federal management programs and a stock assessment for Jonah crab, there is concern…
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Mystic, CT – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented Mr. Patrick Augustine, long-time ASMFC Commissioner from New York and fisheries advocate, the Captain David H. Hart Award, its highest annual award, at the Commission’s 73rd Annual Meeting in Mystic, CT. For nearly two decades, Mr. Augustine has passionately committed his time and energy to the betterment of Atlantic coast fisheries at all levels of fisheries management – state, interstate, regional, and federal. Over the past 16 years, he served at the pleasure of four consecutive Governors to represent New York’s fishing constituents on the Commission. Over that time, he…
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Mystic, CT – The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board initiated the development of Draft Addendum XXVI to the Summer Flounder Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Draft Addendum will propose alternate regional management approaches for the 2015 recreational summer flounder fishery to continue to improve equity in recreational harvest opportunities along the coast. The Draft Addendum will include options to allow for the averaging of harvest estimates, mandatory regions, and the sharing of unused quota. Draft Addendum XXVI is initiated to continue the use of regional management to harvest the coastwide recreational harvest limit for summer…
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Mystic, CT – The Commission’s American Eel Management Board approved Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan. The Addendum establishes a 907,671 pound coastwide quota for yellow eel fisheries, reduces Maine’s glass eel quota to 9,688 pounds (2014 landings), and allows for the continuation of New York’s silver eel weir fishery in the Delaware River. For yellow eel fisheries, the coastwide quota will be implemented for the 2015 fishing year but will not initially include state-specific allocations. Instead, the Addendum establishes two management triggers: (1) exceeding coastwide quota by more than 10% in a given year, or (2) exceeding…
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