Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board initiated an addendum to address illegal striped bass harvest. The Board’s action is in response to recommendations of the Interstate Watershed Task Force (IWTF). The IWTF conducted a multi-year, multi-jurisdictional investigation on illegal striped bass harvest within Chesapeake Bay which resulted in over $1.6 million dollars in fines levied against 19 individuals and three corporations for more than one million pounds of illegal striped bass harvested estimated to be worth up to seven million dollars. The covert investigation determined that some Virginia commercial fishermen were illegally harvesting fish during the…
Management Measures and Pending Actions
A list of proposed regulatory changes or management actions currently under consideration by the Commission.
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Addendum Implements New Multispecies Management Framework
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s American Lobster Board approved Addendum XVII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Addendum establishes area-specific management measures for Lobster Conservation Management Areas (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) as the first step in initiating Southern New England (SNE) stock rebuilding. The measures are intended to reduce fishing exploitation on the SNE stock by 10% starting in July 2013 in response to the stock’s depleted condition, which has been at low levels of abundance and experiencing persistent low recruitment since 2002. The approved area-specific measures are as follows: LCMA…
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Portland, ME – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section has revised the total allowable catch (TAC) for the 2012 northern shrimp fishery to 2,211 mt, an increase of 211 mt from the originally established TAC. The Section modified the TAC to address harvester and processor concerns regarding their ability to maintain markets that have been established over the past few seasons. The Section maintained all other fishery specifications for the 2012 season, including the Monday/ Wednesday/Friday landing days and closure of the fishery when landings are projected to reach 95% of the TAC (2,100 mt). Maine may…
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Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section revised the three landing days for the upcoming trawl season to Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The action, taken during a November 30th conference call of the Section, was based on industry input that product would be easier to sell in local markets if landing days were spread throughout the week. Given this change, the 2011/2012 fishing season specifications are 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…
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Boston, MA – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board approved a 30 million pound quota for the 2012/2013 fishing season (May 1 – April 30), with a maximum possession limit of 3,000 pounds per day for the northern region states Maine through Connecticut. State-specific shares for the southern region states (New York through North Carolina) are provided in the table below. Any overages from the 2011/2012 fishing season will be paid back by region or state in the 2012/2013 season. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) forwarded a recommendation for a 35.6 million pound quota to the…
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Boston, MA – The 2011 Atlantic striped stock assessment update indicates that the resource remains in good condition with the female spawning stock biomass (SSB) estimate at 109% of the SSB target and 137% of the SSB threshold (see Figure 1). The estimated fishing mortality rate (F) in 2010 was 0.23, below both the target (0.30) and threshold (0.34). Striped bass are assessed as a single stock although there are at least three distinct stocks contributing to the coastal migratory group: Hudson River, Delaware River, and Chesapeake Bay and tributaries. The striped bass stock complex is not overfished and overfishing…
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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…
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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…
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