Boston, MA – The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board has adopted a 10% reduction in exploitation by all fishing sectors and all gear types starting January 1, 2013 as the first phase in the Board’s efforts to rebuild the Southern New England stock. The 10% reduction would come from changes in the minimum size limit, maximum size limit, and/or closed seasons. State agencies will convene meetings of the Lobster Conservation Management Teams (LCMT) for Areas 2 through 6 to develop exploitation reduction plans consistent with the suite of approved options contained in Draft Addendum XVII. States are required to submit…
Management Measures and Pending Actions
A list of proposed regulatory changes or management actions currently under consideration by the Commission.
-
-
Portsmouth, NH – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section approved a total allowable catch (TAC) of 2,000 mt, with the season closing when landings are projected to reach 95% of the TAC (1,900 mt). The trawl season will start January 2, 2012 with three landing days a week (Monday, Thursday, Friday). Vessels may only land once a day. The trap season will start February 1, 2012 with a 1,000 pound landing limit per vessel per day. The Section will assess the pace of the fishery on January 18, 2012 to evaluate where total landings are relative to…
-
Preliminary Assessment Results Indicate Need for Significant Harvest Reductions for 2011/2012 Fishing Season
-
Wilmington, DE – The Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) have established the 2012 commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. The Commission’s actions are final and apply to state waters. The Council will be forwarding its recommendations to NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator for final approval. The table below summarizes those actions/recommendations (commercial quota and recreational harvest limits are in millions of pounds): Species Commercial Quota Commercial Minimum Fish Size (TL) Commercial Mesh Size Recreational Harvest Limit Summer Flounder 18.95 14″ 5.5″ 12.63 Scup 34.43 9″ 5″ 10.85 Black…
-
Alexandria, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has approved the Omnibus Amendment for Spot, Spotted Seatrout, and Spanish Mackerel. The Amendment updates all three plans with requirements under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (1993) and the Interstate Fishery Management Program Charter (1995). All three species represent a large draw for commercial and recreational fishermen in the Mid- and South Atlantic regions with a combined coastwide commercial catch of 12.6 million pounds and a recreational harvest of 14.3 million fish. The updates to the plans include commercial and recreational management measures and recommendations, adaptive management options, de…
-
New Framework will Incorporate Multispecies Management
-
Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board approved state- by-state shares for the 2011 black sea bass recreational season in order to mitigate potential disproportionate impacts to an individual state(s) that coastwide measures may cause. The 2010 regulations resulted in a preliminary estimated harvest of 2.98 million pounds, approximately 1.15 million pounds above the 2010 target. Given that the 2010 regulations were not effective in staying within the target, coastwide harvest will need to be reduced by 37% to achieve, but not exceed, the 2011 target of 1.78 million pounds. Under state-by-state shares the…
-
Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board has approved Addendum I to Amendment I to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Croaker. The Addendum changes the management unit to one region (New Jersey through the east coast of Florida) and modifies the biological reference points used to assess stock condition. Both measures stem from the recommendations of the 2010 benchmark assessment, which indicates that Atlantic croaker is not experiencing overfishing. Based on the findings of the assessment, Atlantic croaker is now considered to be a single stock on the Atlantic coast. The previous stock assessment,…
-
Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has initiated development of Draft Addendum III with the goals of reducing striped bass fishing mortality (F) up to 40% and further protecting spawning stock when it is concentrated and vulnerable. The addendum was initiated in order to allow managers to promptly respond to the results of the stock assessment update in the fall if necessary. Provisions of the addendum, if passed, could be implemented prior to the start of the 2012 fishing year. The Board’s action responds to recent trends in the fishery and resource, including a 66% decline…
Get Hooked on ASMFC News
Dive into the latest updates and catch all the important news by joining our newsletter mailing list. Stay in the loop with meeting agendas, fisheries management news, and more.