Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Winter Flounder Management Board approved Addendum I to Amendment 1 the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for the Inshore Stocks of Winter Flounder. The Addendum establishes harvest reductions for both the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) inshore stocks of winter flounder (0 – 3 miles). This action is taken in response to the findings of the 2008 Groundfish Assessment Review Meeting (GARM III), which estimates that the SNE/MA stock is at 9% of the target biomass (overfished) with overfishing occurring and that the GOM stock is likely to be overfished with overfishing…
Press Releases
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Winter Flounder Management Board approved the development of Draft Addendum I to Amendment 1 the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for the Inshore Stocks of Winter Flounder. The Draft Addendum will propose a suite of management measures to reduce fishing mortality on the inshore stocks of winter flounder (0 – 3 miles). The range of management measures will include zero possession limits; commercial trip limits; recreational bag/size and seasonal limits; and measures to prevent an influx of effort in state waters for Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) and Gulf of Maine (GOM) stocks. his action is taken…
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Alexandria, VA – The Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board approved the initiation of Draft Addendum I to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks. Draft Addendum I will propose measures to allow commercial fishermen to remove smooth dogfish fins at sea and eliminate smooth dogfish recreational possession limits. Finning, the act of cutting off the fins and discarding the carcass at sea, will remain prohibited under all options of Addendum I. In October 2008, the Management Board eliminated a previously established 1,000 pound commercial trip limit for smooth dogfish due to concerns about the impacts of…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved an increase to the 2009 scup total allowable landings limit from 7.34 million pounds to 11.18 million pounds, with the commercial quota revised to 8.4 million pounds and the recreational harvest limit revised to 2.6 million pounds (after the research set aside was deducted). This increase is consistent with that taken by the National Marine Fisheries Service for federal waters. The Board’s action is based on the results of a recent review of the scup stock assessment which indicates that the scup resource is rebuilt…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s American Lobster Board approved Addendum XII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Addendum establishes protocols for the consistent application of individual trap transferability (ITT) programs for the plan’s lobster conservation management areas (LCMAs) that implement an ITT program. The measures allow for flexibility to the fishery, meet the conservation objectives of the plan, and ensure that effort does not increase as a result of trap allocation transfers. “The Addendum has been a long time in coming, having been initiated in late 2005 as a result of Addendum VII,…
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Addendum Provides Suite of Measures to Control Effort in Area 1A
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Gloucester, MA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section approved a 180-day fishing season for the 2008-2009 northern shrimp fishery, a 28-day increase from last year’s season. The season was based on favorable stock conditions, with the resource not overfished and not experiencing overfishing, and a recommendation of the Advisory Panel. “Our efforts to reduce fishing mortality in early 2000 has resulted in a high abundance of shrimp for the fishery,” stated Section Chair Pat White from Maine. “By approving a six-month fishing season, we hope new markets will open up for this wild-caught species.” The 2004…
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Rehoboth Beach, DE – The Spiny Dogfish & Coastal Sharks Management Board approved Addendum II to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Spiny Dogfish. The Addendum includes measures from both Draft Addenda II and III that were released for public comment throughout September and early October. Addendum II uses the regional management approach from Draft Addendum II and includes an allocation for North Carolina similar to options contained in Draft Addendum III. Under Addendum II, the annual quota will be divided regionally with 58% allocated to the states of Maine to Connecticut, 26% allocated to the states of New York…
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Rehoboth Beach, DE – The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved initiation of an addendum to explore additional options to control harvest in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine). Five specific measures will be considered for inclusion in the final draft: (1) monthly or bimonthly quotas with payback and carry over; (2) determination of landing and fishing days; (3) no fishing prior to June 1; (4) timely reporting of state-registered landings; and (5) restricted harvest of juvenile fish. Currently, effort in Area 1A is controlled through a days at sea restriction. However, a 25 percent decrease in the Area 1A total…
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