Philadelphia, PA – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board approved spiny dogfish quotas for the 2013/14, 2014/15, and 2015/16 fishing seasons (May 1 – April 30), with a maximum possession limit of 4,000 pounds per day for the northern region states (Maine through Connecticut). The approved quotas represent an approximately five million pound increase in quota over the 2012/13 season. State-specific shares for the northern region and southern states (New York through North Carolina) are provided in the table below. Any overages from the previous fishing seasons will be paid back by the region or state in…
Press Releases
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Philadelphia, PA – The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board has approved the Draft Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Black Drum for public comment. The Draft FMP solicits comment on a range of issues, including management goals and objectives; recreational and commercial management measures; flexibility to react to new assessment information; de minimis levels and exemptions; monitoring requirements and recommendations; and recommended measures for implementation by NOAA Fisheries in federal waters. The FMP was initiated in response to concern regarding significant increases in harvest in recent years and the fact that the fishery primarily targets juveniles. Further, the…
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Philadelphia, PA – The Commission’s American Lobster Board has approved Draft Addendum XIX to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster for public comment and review. The Draft Addendum proposes to change the transfer tax for Lobster Conservation Management Area 3 (LCMA 3 – offshore waters) to a single conservation tax of 10% for full business or partial trap sales within the area. In approving Addendum XVIII in August 2012, the American Lobster Management Board inadvertently failed to include a proposed change to LCMA 3’s transfer tax. Since this issue will be considered in the upcoming…
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ME, NH, and MA Schedule Hearings for Early October
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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 2013 fishing season and beyond. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore). The Council will forward its recommendations to NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator for final approval. The table below summarizes those actions/recommendations (2012 values are provided for comparison purposes). Please note that specifications for years beyond 2013 may be adjusted based on changes in the fishery or…
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Addendum II to Amendment 1 Considers Increases to Commercial Trip Limit & Expansion of Recreational Season for Gulf of Maine State Waters Fisheries
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s American Lobster Board has approved Addendum XVIII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Addendum establishes a consolidation program for lobster conservation management areas (LCMAs) 2 and 3 (Southern New England and offshore waters, respectively) to address latent effort by reducing the overall number of traps allocated. It is estimated that latent effort is 40% and 30% in LCMAs 2 and 3, respectively. Implementation of the Addendum’s measures is contingent upon NOAA Fisheries’ implementation of transferability and trap reduction rules for federal waters. LCMA 2 trap allocation will be…
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ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Approves Mandatory Commercial Tagging Program through Addendum III
Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has approved Addendum III to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Addendum establishes a mandatory commercial tagging program for all states and jurisdictions with commercial striped bass fisheries and recommends increasing penalties for illegally harvested fish. The tagging program includes requirements for timely catch reporting, increased accounting of unused tags, improved standardization of tag type, and the use of biological metrics for determining state/jurisdiction tag quantity. These measures are intended to prevent commercial striped bass quota overages and the illegal harvest of striped…
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