Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries

Commission

Management Measures and Pending Actions

A list of proposed regulatory changes or management actions currently under consideration by the Commission.

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    ASMFC Spiny Dogfish & Coastal Sharks Board Approves Addendum III

    Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board (Board) approved Addendum III to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Spiny Dogfish (Addendum III). The Addendum divides the southern region annual quota of 42% into state-specific shares (see table below). It also allows for quota transfer between states, rollovers of up to five percent and state-specified possession limits, and includes a three-year reevaluation of the measures. The Addendum’s provisions apply only to states in the southern region (New York through North Carolina) and do not modify the northern region allocation. The states of Maine to Connecticut will…

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    ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Closes Fishery Effective 2359 Hours (EST) February 28, 2011

    Arlington, VA – Effective 2359 hours (EST) on February 28, 2011, the Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section and its member states will close the 2010/2011 fishery. The decision to close the fishery prior to the season end of April 15 was based on preliminary landings data that indicate that harvest is already at 4,192 metric tons, 192 metric tons in excess of the Technical Committee recommended landings level. The Technical Committee projected landings could total 7,000 metric tons if harvest continued through April 15. Section members expressed concern over the lack of a timely and complete reporting system for northern shrimp…

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    ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Schedules Emergency Meeting to Consider Closing 2010/2011 Fishery

    Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section will hold a meeting and public hearing via conference call on Friday, February 18, 2011 at 2:00 PM. The purpose of the call is to review northern shrimp landings data and determine the appropriate closure date to prevent significant landings overages that might occur if the fishery continues through April 15. During a preliminary conference call held February 14 the Section members discussed potential closure dates ranging from February 20 through 28. The Northern Shrimp Section set the 2010/2011 fishing season at 136 days with the intention that landings would not exceed…

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    ASMFC & Mid-Atlantic Council Adopt 2011 Recreational Measures

    Virginia Beach, VA – The Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) initiated the recreational fisheries specification process for the 2011 summer flounder, scup, black sea bass seasons. The Council and Board adopted the use of conservation equivalency (state-by-state measures) to achieve the 2011 recreational harvest limit for summer flounder. The harvest limit (11.58 million pounds), approved in August by the Council and Board, represents a 33% increase relative to 2010. Conservation equivalency allows states to develop and implement state-specific management measures (i.e., possession limits, size limits, and seasons) to achieve the harvest limit for their state. The Board…

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    ASMFC Sets Spiny Dogfish 2011/2012 Fishing Year Quota at 20 Million Pounds

    Charleston, SC – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board (Board) approved a 20 million pound quota with a maximum possession limit of 3,000 pounds for the 2011/2012 fishing season (May 1 – April 30). As specified under Addendum II, the quota will be allocated with 58% to states from Maine through Connecticut, 26% to New York through Virginia, and 16% to North Carolina. Prior to setting the spiny dogfish quota, the Board approved new reference points based on information from the latest stock assessment. They include a target biomass of 351.23 million pounds (159,288 mt), a threshold…

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    ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Approves Addendum II & Sets 2011 Area 1A TAC Seasonal Distribution

    Charleston, SC – The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section has approved Addendum II to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Sea Herring. The Addendum modifies the process to set specifications and the definitions (and associated acronyms) used by the Commission in setting Atlantic herring specifications. It also establishes quota overage accountability measures. These changes were made in order to complement the New England Fishery Management Council’s Amendment 4 and will not affect the overall management scheme which allocates a total quota to Areas 1A, 1B, 2, and 3. The Section agreed to distribute the 2011 Area 1A…

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    2010/2011 Northern Shrimp Fishing Season Set at 136 Days

    Portsmouth, NH – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section approved a 136-day fishing season for the 2010-2011 northern shrimp fishery. The season was reduced from last year’s season of 180 days to account for a smaller population of northern shrimp. The Section also agreed to assess the pace of the fishery in late February to evaluate where the total landing are relative to the target harvest level of 4,000 mt. If necessary, the Section may adjust the closing date to prevent an overage of the target or extend the season to ensure sufficient opportunity to harvest the…

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