Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved the Public Information Document (PID) for Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for public comment. Draft Amendment 3 was initiated to strengthen spawning sea herring protections in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) and address concerns raised by the commercial Atlantic herring industry. The PID presents four issues the Commission is seeking public input on to better inform the development of management measures for the Atlantic herring fishery. The issues focus on (1) spawning area boundaries and closures in Area 1A, (2) a fixed gear…
Press Releases
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Board initiated Draft Addendum V to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Spiny Dogfish. The Draft Addendum seeks 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 landing of the fish (including while aboard a fishing vessel or transferred at sea from…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s American Eel Management Board approved Draft Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Eel for public comment. 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, a moratorium on the glass eel fishery, and a seasonal closure and license cap for the silver eel fishery in the Delaware River (NY). The Draft Addendum also includes glass eel harvest allowances for aquaculture…
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Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved a combination of state and regional proposals for the 2014 summer flounder recreational fishery (see Table 1) and state proposals for the 2014 black sea bass recreational fishery in accordance with Addendum XXV to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. Table 1. Proposed 2014 Summer Flounder State Recreational Measures* STATE MINIMUM SIZE (INCHES) POSSESSION LIMIT (NO. OF FISH) SEASON LENGTH (DAYS) SEASON MASSACHUSETTS 16 5 132 May 22 – September 30 RHODE ISLAND 18 8 245 May 1 – December…
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Alexandria, VA –The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board has initiated the development of a Draft Addendum to the Fishery Management Plans for Spot and Atlantic Croaker. The Draft Addendum will propose replacing the current trigger analysis with the use of a traffic light approach in determining management measures for both species along the coast. The Draft Addendum will also include options that will allow for conservation equivalency measures to achieve reductions in catch and harvest when needed. The Board initiated the Draft Addendum in response to concerns over trends in the spot and Atlantic croaker fisheries. The current…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s American Eel Management Board approved a conservation equivalency proposal from the State of Maine to allow quota management of its glass eel fishery. A quota of 11,749 pounds will be in place for Maine’s 2014 glass eel fishing season, which begins on March 22nd. This quota, developed with input from Maine’s fishing industry and Tribal Nations, represents a 35% reduction from the 2013 Maine’s glass eel harvest. In addition to quota management, Maine will also be implementing a harvester swipe card system with daily dealer reporting in order to increase accuracy and timeliness of landings…
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Alexandria, VA –The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXV to the Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, establishing regional recreational management for both species for the 2014 fishing year. For summer flounder, the Addendum creates management measures by region with the intent of providing more equity in recreational harvest opportunities along the coast, especially between New York and New Jersey. The approved summer flounder regions are Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Connecticut through New Jersey; Delaware through Virginia; and North Carolina. For black sea bass, the Board also approved the continuation…
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