Galloway, NJ – The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board has approved establishment of a multi-jurisdictional effort control program for Lobster Conservation Management Area 2 (state and federal waters off of Massachusetts and Rhode Island), through adoption of Addendum VII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Addendum requires Area 2 jurisdictions to cap effort (traps fished) at or near recent levels and maintains a minimum size limit of 3 3/8”. Initial trap allocations will be determined in 2006 for implementation in 2007. This action responds to advice of the Technical Committee regarding stock decline,…
Management Measures and Pending Actions
A list of proposed regulatory changes or management actions currently under consideration by the Commission.
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Galloway, NJ – The Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board authorized development of an addendum to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Horseshoe Crab to reduce or eliminate harvest of Delaware Bay horseshoe crabs. The Draft Addendum will propose a two-year harvest moratorium in New Jersey and Delaware, with an exemption for harvest for biomedical use. It will also present options to restrict harvest of horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin in jurisdictions outside of the Bay. The proposed action responds to public concern regarding the horseshoe populations and their ecological role in the Delaware Bay. While there are a…
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Galloway, NJ – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Shark Management Board approved specifications for the 2006/2007 fishing year, setting a four million pound annual quota with trip limits of 600 pounds in quota periods one (May 1 to October 31) and two (November 1 to April 30). The specifications are limited to one fishing year to allow for the incorporation of the results from the upcoming 2006 benchmark assessment. The Spiny Dogfish Technical Committee recommended a two million pound bycatch cap for fishing years 2006/2007, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009. As a result of their deliberations, the Board decided to maintain…
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Philadelphia, PA – The Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) met this week to finalize the total allowable landings (TAL) limits for bluefish, scup and black sea bass, and establish 2006 commercial management measures for the respective fisheries. The TALs are provided below in millions of pounds. Species 2004 TAL 2005 TAL 2006 TAL Bluefish 31.9 30.8 24.8 Black Sea Bass 8.0 8.2 8.0 Scup 16.5 16.5 16.27 The 2006 black sea bass quota decreased slightly from 8.2 million pounds in 2005 to 8.0 million pounds, due to a decrease in the survey index used to evaluate the…
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Plans Pave Way for Rebuilding of SNE/MA Stock
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Weakfish Management Board authorized development of an addendum to Amendment 4 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Weakfish to address stock declines. The action is taken in response to the latest stock assessment, which indicates that total mortality has risen substantially since 1995, and biomass has sharply declined from 2000 to 2003. Weakfish biomass has fallen below Amendment 4’s biological reference points, triggering the requirement of state action to rebuild biomass to 30 percent of an unfished stock in six years or less. “Amendment 4 requires the states to reduce weakfish mortality once the…
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Plan Seeks to Rebuild Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Stock and Sustain Gulf of Maine Stock
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Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s American Lobster Management Board has approved Addendum VI to the American Lobster Plan. The Addendum directs Area 2 jurisdictions to work with their Lobster Conservation Management Team (LCMT) to modify the effort control plan as specified under Addendum IV. The effort control plan must be designed so that all jurisdictions are capable of implementation and effort will not increase if and when the resource recovers in Area 2. In December 2003, the Commission’s American Lobster Board passed Addendum IV, establishing an effort control plan for Area 2 (inshore southern New England). The Addendum was initiated…
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New Castle, NH – The Commission’s Spiny Dogfish and Coastal Shark Management Board approved specifications for the 2005-2006 fishing year, setting a four million pound annual quota with trip limits of 600 pounds in quota period one (May 1 to October 31) and 300 pounds in quota period two (November 1 to April 30). These actions were taken in response to the results of the latest stock assessment information and recommendations to Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Technical Committee. The coastwide spiny dogfish population is considered overfished, but overfishing is not occurring. The 2004 Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s trawl survey data shows…
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