Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries

Commission

Fishery Management Plans

Comprehensive plans detailing the strategies and regulations for managing specific fishery resources, aimed at ensuring their sustainability and productivity.

  • Spiny Dogfish Addendum VI

    This addendum allows quota to be transferred between all regions and states to enable full utilization of the coastwide commercial quota and avoid quota overages. Additionally, this addendum extends the timeframe for when quota transfers can occur up to 45 days after the end of the fishing year to allow for late reporting of landings data.

  • Atlantic Striped Bass Addendum VI to Amendment 6

    The Board approved Addendum VI in October 2019. The Addendum implements measures to reduce total striped bass removals by 18% relative to 2017 levels in order to achieve the fishing mortality target in 2020. The Addendum applies the needed reductions equally (proportionally) to both commercial and recreational sectors. Specifically, the Addendum reduces all commercial quotas by 18% and changes recreational bag and size limit requirements to achieve an 18% reduction in recreational removals relative to 2017 levels. Additionally, since recreational release mortality contributes significantly to overall mortality, Addendum VI implements the mandatory use of circle hooks when fishing with bait…

  • Cobia Amendment 1

    The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission) South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board (Board) initiated Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Migratory Group Cobia (Atlantic cobia) to reflect the transition from complementary to sole management of Atlantic cobia by the Commission and establish processes for efficiently managing this stock in the absence of a federal management plan.

  • Atlantic Herring Addendum II to Amendment III

    This Addendum strengthens the protections provided to spawning herring in Area 1A by: 1) lowering the threshold that triggers initial spawning closure; 2) increasing the length of the initial spawning closure; and 3) lowering the threshold that triggers a re-closure due to spawning activity, in order to provide greater protection to the stock.

  • Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Addendum XXXI

    Addendum XXXI, and the complementary framework action developed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), modify both bodies’ Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) to allow the use of conservation equivalency for black sea bass recreational management. Both documents also include recommendations to NOAA Fisheries to implement transit provisions in the Exclusive Economic Zone in Block Island Sound.

  • Northern Shrimp Addendum I to Amendment 3

    The Section initiated Addendum I to consider providing states the authority to allocate their state-specific quota between gear types. Amendment 3 specifies that, in jurisdictions with historical trawl and trap fisheries, a state’s quota must be divided such that 87% is allocated to the trawl fishery and 13% is allocated to the trap fishery. This addendum changes this regulation by transferring the authority to states to annually determine the split of northern shrimp quota between gear types, rather than having the split be specified in the management plan.

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