ASMFC’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved Addendum VII to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Spiny Dogfish. The Addendum implements measures to maintain consistency with the federal FMP in response to Spiny Dogfish Framework Adjustment 6.
ASMFC’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved Draft Addendum IX for public comment. The Draft Addendum considers allowing the Board to set specifications for male-only harvest for multiple years.
The Addendum will consider repealing all Addendum XXVII measures pertaining to gauge and escape vent size limits. This action responds to fervent industry concerns about the potential economic impacts of an increase to the minimum gauge size in the Gulf of Maine and uncertainty with trade issues with Canada.
Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission releases for public comment the Public Information/Scoping Document for the Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment for Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass and Bluefish. The document is a joint effort of the Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council given the species are managed cooperatively by the Commission in state waters (0-3 miles) and by the Council and NOAA Fisheries in federal waters (3-200 miles). As the first step in the amendment process, the document solicits public input on the potential development of an amendment to consider modifications to…
The Draft Amendment considers options for setting multi-year moratoria and implementing management triggers. Management trigger options include biologic and environmental triggers comprised of indicators that would signal improvement in stock conditions and the potential to re-open the fishery.
Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will hold the American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment Workshop at the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Discovery Center, 89 Depot Road, Greenland, NH. The stock assessment will evaluate the health of American lobster stocks and inform 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 February Stock Assessment Workshop will focus on evaluation of models and analyses developed to estimate stock status. The…
The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has initiated Draft Addendum III to consider recreational and commercial management measures for 2026 to support rebuilding the stock by 2029. Options will consider a range of reductions for the recreational and commercial fisheries. Recreational reductions will consider season and size limits that take into account regional differences, including no-harvest and no-targeting closures. Final action is planned for no later than October 2025 with implementation in early 2026.
Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section has maintained the current moratorium on northern shrimp fishing through the 2025 fishing year. This action responds to the findings of the 2024 Stock Assessment Update, which indicates the northern shrimp stock has been at low levels of biomass for over the past decade despite the fishery being under a moratorium since 2014. The Update found no improvement in stock status and 2023 summer survey indices of abundance, biomass, and recruitment were the lowest in the 1984-2023 time-series. Given the loss of the summer shrimp survey and continued…
States to Conduct Public Hearings in January
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