Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board approved two Addenda, one to the Omnibus Amendment for Spot and one to Amendment I to the Atlantic Croaker Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Addenda establish a new management framework (i.e., Traffic Light Approach or TLA) to evaluate fisheries trends and develop state-specified management actions (i.e., bag limits, size restrictions, time & area closures, and gear restrictions) when harvest and abundance thresholds are exceeded. The TLA is a statistically-robust way to incorporate multiple data sources (both fishery-independent and-dependent) into a single, easily understood metric for management advice. It is…
Press Releases
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s American Eel Management Board met to consider final approval of Draft Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Eel. Draft Addendum IV proposes a suite of options to address the commercial glass, yellow, and silver eel fisheries along the Atlantic coast. Management options under consideration include glass and yellow eel quotas, a catch cap for the yellow eel fishery, and a seasonal closure and license cap for the silver eel fishery in the Delaware River in New York. The Draft Addendum also includes glass eel harvest allowances for aquaculture purposes and…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Draft Addendum IV for Public Comment to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Draft Addendum proposes new fishing mortality (F) reference points, as recommended by the 2013 benchmark stock assessment, and associated management measures to reduce F to a level at or below the proposed target within one or three years. The Draft Addendum responds to results of the 2013 Atlantic striped bass benchmark assessment indicating F in 2012 was above the proposed F target, and female spawning stock biomass (SSB) has…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Board approved Draft Addendum V to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Spiny Dogfish for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes requiring fins remain naturally attached to spiny dogfish through landing in order to ensure consistency with the Shark Conservation Act of 2010. The Act was signed into law to close loopholes in the U.S. shark finning regulations. Specifically, the Act prohibits the removal of any fins of the shark (including the tail) while at sea (with an exemption for smooth dogfish). Fins must remain naturally attached to the corresponding carcass through…
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Arlington, VA – In June, NOAA Fisheries announced it will provide funding to the Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (NEAMAP) beginning in FY2015. NEAMAP is a cooperative state/federal fishery-independent survey and research program for coastal waters from Maine to North Carolina. Information from the NEAMAP surveys is critical to understanding the distribution, abundance, and condition of marine fish and shellfish populations throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The Program is comprised of three surveys: the Maine-New Hampshire Inshore Trawl Survey, the Massachusetts Inshore Trawl Survey, and the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) Nearshore Trawl Survey, which samples inshore waters from Martha’s…
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Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has begun work on a red drum benchmark stock assessment. The assessment will evaluate the health of the Atlantic coast red drum population and inform the management of the species. The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public (with the exception of discussion of confidential data). The Commission welcomes the submission of data sets that will improve the accuracy of the assessment. These include, but are not limited to data on growth, maturation, migration, genetics, stock enhancement, tagging, recruitment, natural mortality, and abundance/biomass. An essential need is…
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Portsmouth, NH – The Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section approved development of Draft Amendment 3 to consider establishing a limited entry program for the northern shrimp fishery. While the fishery is managed through a total allowable catch and defined season, it remains an open access fishery and has experienced significant fluctuations in participation over the last 30 years. This open access, coupled with continued concern about the health of the stock, led the Section to move forward on a limited entry program to further control effort in the fishery. A limited entry program will consider the appropriate number of participants in…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board met to review and consider approval of Draft Addendum IV to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass for public comment. The Draft Addendum will propose new fishing mortality reference points, as recommended by the 2013 benchmark stock assessment, and associated management measures to achieve the proposed target fishing mortality rate. While the Board did not approve the document for public comment, it approved substantive changes to the document and will reconsider a revised draft for public comment at the Commission’s Summer Meeting in August.…
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