Portland, ME – The Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) selected final measures for Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Northern Shrimp and recommended Commission approval of the Amendment at its next Business Session meeting, likely in October in Norfolk, VA. The Amendment is designed to improve management of the northern shrimp resource in the event the fishery reopens (the fishery has been under moratorium since 2014). Specifically, the Amendment refines the FMP objectives and provides the flexibility to use the best available information to define the status of the stock and set the total allowable catch…
Management Measures and Pending Actions
A list of proposed regulatory changes or management actions currently under consideration by the Commission.
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Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden For Public Comment
At their May 2015 meeting, the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board (Board) initiated the development of Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Menhaden FMP to pursue the development of ecological reference points (ERPs) and revisit allocation methods.
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Arlington, VA – The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board approved the Draft Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Migratory Group (AMG) Cobia for public comment. The intent of the Draft FMP is to complement federal AMG cobia management actions and distribute catches among member states through a proposed allocation strategy. The Draft FMP was initiated in response to recent overages of the federal annual catch limit (ACL) for AMG Cobia. The Draft FMP addresses immediate management and conservation goals in anticipation of a new benchmark AMG cobia stock assessment in 2018. Management options include size, bag, and…
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Philadelphia, PA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) and the Mid‐Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) reviewed previously approved specifications for summer flounder, black sea bass and bluefish fisheries and modified 2018 and 2019 specifications for scup. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters. The Council will forward its federal waters recommendations regarding scup specifications to NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval. The table below summarizes commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits (RHL) for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish (2017 values are provided for comparison purposes). Please note the…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board approved Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Menhaden for public comment. The Draft Amendment seeks to manage the menhaden resource in a way that balances menhaden’s ecological role as a prey species with the needs of all user groups. To this end, the Draft Amendment considers the use of ecosystem reference points (ERPs) to manage the resource and changes to the allocation method. In addition, it presents a suite of management options for quota transfers, quota rollovers, incidental catch, the episodic events set aside program,…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board initiated Draft Addendum XXVII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Draft Addendum seeks to increase the resiliency of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GBK) stock by considering the standardization of management measures across Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMAs). This is a proactive management action and is in response to signs of reduced settlement. Initiating an addendum charges the Plan Development Team (PDT) with developing management alternatives for consideration in the Draft Addendum. The American lobster fishery is one of the largest and most valuable…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXIX to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. The Addendum shortens the length of the commercial scup summer period and extends the length of the winter II period (Table 1). Table 1. New Quota Periods approved in Addendum XXIX Winter I January 1‐April 30 (120 days) Summer May 1‐ September 30 (153 days) Winter II October 1‐December 31 (92 days) This action seeks to allow for the better utilization of the commercial quota, which has been under‐ harvested since…
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