States Water Fisheries to be Closed by January 1, 2012 unless Sustainablity is Demonstrated through State-specific Management Plans
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 American Lobster Management Board approved Addendum XIV to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Addendum XIV modifies the Lobster Conservation Management Area (LCMA) 3 trap transfer program, including changes to the conservation tax and trap cap. Given the competitive nature of the fishery in LCMA 3 (offshore waters), it is expected that once transferability is implemented, all fishing entities will elect to fish the highest number of traps in order to remain competitive. There was concern the end result would be fewer participants in the fishery. The Board adopted…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Winter Flounder Management Board approved Addendum I to Amendment 1 the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for the Inshore Stocks of Winter Flounder. The Addendum establishes harvest reductions for both the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) inshore stocks of winter flounder (0 – 3 miles). This action is taken in response to the findings of the 2008 Groundfish Assessment Review Meeting (GARM III), which estimates that the SNE/MA stock is at 9% of the target biomass (overfished) with overfishing occurring and that the GOM stock is likely to be overfished with overfishing…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Winter Flounder Management Board approved the development of Draft Addendum I to Amendment 1 the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for the Inshore Stocks of Winter Flounder. The Draft Addendum will propose a suite of management measures to reduce fishing mortality on the inshore stocks of winter flounder (0 – 3 miles). The range of management measures will include zero possession limits; commercial trip limits; recreational bag/size and seasonal limits; and measures to prevent an influx of effort in state waters for Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) and Gulf of Maine (GOM) stocks. his action is taken…
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Alexandria, VA – The Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Sharks Management Board approved the initiation of Draft Addendum I to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks. Draft Addendum I will propose measures to allow commercial fishermen to remove smooth dogfish fins at sea and eliminate smooth dogfish recreational possession limits. Finning, the act of cutting off the fins and discarding the carcass at sea, will remain prohibited under all options of Addendum I. In October 2008, the Management Board eliminated a previously established 1,000 pound commercial trip limit for smooth dogfish due to concerns about the impacts of…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved an increase to the 2009 scup total allowable landings limit from 7.34 million pounds to 11.18 million pounds, with the commercial quota revised to 8.4 million pounds and the recreational harvest limit revised to 2.6 million pounds (after the research set aside was deducted). This increase is consistent with that taken by the National Marine Fisheries Service for federal waters. The Board’s action is based on the results of a recent review of the scup stock assessment which indicates that the scup resource is rebuilt…
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s American Lobster Board approved Addendum XII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Addendum establishes protocols for the consistent application of individual trap transferability (ITT) programs for the plan’s lobster conservation management areas (LCMAs) that implement an ITT program. The measures allow for flexibility to the fishery, meet the conservation objectives of the plan, and ensure that effort does not increase as a result of trap allocation transfers. “The Addendum has been a long time in coming, having been initiated in late 2005 as a result of Addendum VII,…
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Addendum Provides Suite of Measures to Control Effort in Area 1A
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Gloucester, MA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section approved a 180-day fishing season for the 2008-2009 northern shrimp fishery, a 28-day increase from last year’s season. The season was based on favorable stock conditions, with the resource not overfished and not experiencing overfishing, and a recommendation of the Advisory Panel. “Our efforts to reduce fishing mortality in early 2000 has resulted in a high abundance of shrimp for the fishery,” stated Section Chair Pat White from Maine. “By approving a six-month fishing season, we hope new markets will open up for this wild-caught species.” The 2004…
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