Board Initiates Draft Addenda to Adopt New Reference Points & Considers Management Measures to Address Declines in Spawning Stock Biomass
Press Releases
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St. Simons Island, GA – The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved Addendum XXII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for American Lobster and Draft Addendum XXIII for public comment. Addendum XXII implements Single Ownership and Aggregate Ownership Caps in Lobster Conservation Management Area 3 (LCMA 3, federal waters). These measures are intended to enhance the ability of lobster business owners to plan for their future fishing operations as trap reductions are initiated. Draft Addendum XXIII contains information on habitat needs for American lobster and does not include any proposed management changes. Under Addendum XVIII, approved…
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St. Simons Island, GA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented Dr. Alexi Sharov and Jim Gartland with Annual Awards of Excellence for their outstanding contributions to the field of fisheries science. Both recipients demonstrate exemplary leadership and expertise as they work to support programs that promote healthy, self- sustaining fisheries populations. “Every year a great many people contribute to the success of fisheries management along the Atlantic coast. The Commission’s Annual Awards of Excellence recognize outstanding efforts by professionals who have made a difference in the way we manage and conserve our fisheries,” said ASMFC Executive Director, Robert…
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St. Simons Island, GA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented G. Ritchie White, long-time ASMFC Commissioner from New Hampshire and fisheries advocate, the Captain David H. Hart Award, its highest annual award, at the Commission’s 72st Annual Meeting in St. Simons Island, GA. Mr. White contributed firsthand to the recovery of striped bass and the steady increase of recreational and commercial fishing opportunities as a member of the ASMFC Striped Bass Advisory Panel in the 1990s. In 2000, Mr. White was selected by Governor Jeanne Shaheen to officially join the Commission as his state’s Governor’s Appointee. During his…
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Philadelphia, PA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) have established commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish for the 2014 fishing season and beyond. The Commission’s actions are final, while the Council will forward its recommendations to NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Regional Administrator for final approval. The table below summarizes quotas and limits (2013 values are provided for comparison purposes). Please note that specifications for years beyond 2014 may be adjusted based on changes in the fishery or new scientific information. Species Year…
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At the end of September, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced that it will be considering the listing of red knot as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. In its press release, the USFWS acknowledged the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s recent actions with regards to horseshoe crab management, particularly the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework and its positive impact on the red knot. The ARM Framework takes into account the abundance of horseshoe crabs and red knots in order to determine a sustainable harvest level for crabs which will provide adequate food for migratory shorebirds…
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Arlington, VA – This winter, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will continue work on the 2014 benchmark stock assessment for Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus). The assessment will be used to evaluate the health of the Atlantic menhaden stock and inform the management of this species. The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room. The Commission welcomes the submission of data sources that will improve the accuracy of the assessment. These include, but are not limited to, data…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board approved Draft Addendum III to the Atlantic Coastal Sharks Fishery Management Plan for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes changes to the coastal shark species groupings for hammerhead and blacknose sharks and the establishment of a new commercial quota and recreational size limit for hammerhead sharks. Draft Addendum III was initiated to ensure consistency between the state and federal coastal shark plans. The federal Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan was amended to address recent findings that scalloped hammerhead, blacknose, and sandbar sharks are overfished and/or experiencing overfishing.…
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