Alexandria, VA –The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXV to the Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, establishing regional recreational management for both species for the 2014 fishing year. For summer flounder, the Addendum creates management measures by region with the intent of providing more equity in recreational harvest opportunities along the coast, especially between New York and New Jersey. The approved summer flounder regions are Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Connecticut through New Jersey; Delaware through Virginia; and North Carolina. For black sea bass, the Board also approved the continuation…
Management Measures and Pending Actions
A list of proposed regulatory changes or management actions currently under consideration by the Commission.
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Winter Flounder Management Board set specifications for the 2014 recreational fishing season for the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) stock. The season will extend from March 1 to December 31 with a two fish creel limit. This change is an expansion of the 60- day recreational open season. The action is intended to increase fishing opportunities in the southern range where other species’ availability may be limited later in the year. All other commercial and recreational management measures for the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and SNE/MA stocks will be maintained (see Table 1). Table 1. Minimum…
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Portland, ME – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section approved a moratorium for the 2014 northern shrimp fishing season. The results of the 2013 Assessment Report for Gulf of Maine Northern Shrimp indicate the northern shrimp stock is overfished and overfishing is occurring. Northern shrimp abundance in the western Gulf of Maine has declined steadily since 2006. Current biomass (500 mt) is the lowest value in recent history, estimated at 5.2% for the biomass reference period (1985-1994), and well below the biomass threshold of 9,000 mt and the biomass limit of 6,000 mt. Additionally, there has been…
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St. Simons Island, Georgia – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board increased its spiny dogfish quotas for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 fishing seasons (May 1 – April 30) in response to increases in spawning stock biomass. The 2014/2015 quota is now set at 49,370,000 pounds (previously 41,784,000 pounds) and the 2015/1016 quota is set at 50,612,000 pounds (previously 41,578,000 pounds), with a maximum possession limit of 4,000 pounds per day for the northern region states (Maine through Connecticut). Quotas for the northern region and southern states (New York through North Carolina) are provided in the table below.…
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St. Simons Island, Georgia – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board increased its spiny dogfish quotas for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 fishing seasons (May 1 – April 30) in response to increases in spawning stock biomass. The 2014/2015 quota is now set at 49,037,000 pounds (previously 41,784,000 pounds) and the 2015/1016 quota is set at 50,612,000 pounds (previously 41,578,000 pounds), with a maximum possession limit of 4,000 pounds per day for the northern region states (Maine through Connecticut). Quotas for the northern region and southern states (New York through North Carolina) are provided in the table below.…
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St. Simons Island, Georgia – The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board has approved the harvest specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin. Under the Adaptive Resource management (ARM) Framework, the Board set a harvest limit of 500,000 Delaware Bay male horseshoe crabs and zero female horseshoe crabs for the 2014 season. Based on the allocation mechanism established in Addendum VII, the following quotas were set for the states of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, which harvest horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin: Delaware Bay Origin Horseshoe Crab Quota (no. of crabs) Total Quota State Male Only…
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Maine Commits to Develop Plan with Industry to Control Glass Eel Harvest
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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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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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