Fishery Management Plans

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

  • The Board initiated Addendum IV to the FMP to propose consistent management measures for smoothhound sharks between state and federal waters with the following motion: Move to initiate an addendum to the coastal sharks FMP to address a disconnect of the processing at sea. Commercial fisherman can fully dress (remove head and fin and gut at sea) smooth dogfish if at least 25% of retained catch is smooth dogfish.

  • The purpose of this Addendum is to further modify the bycatch provision for Atlantic menhaden. Currently, Amendment 2 (Section 4.2.1.7) provides for a 6,000 pound per vessel per day bycatch limit. This addendum adds flexibility to the current bycatch provision by allowing two licensed individuals, who are allowed to separately harvest up to 6,000 pounds of menhaden on different vessels, to harvest up to 12,000 pounds of menhaden bycatch when working together from the same fishing vessel using stationary multi‐species gear.

  • The Jonah Crab FMP established a 200 crab per calendar day, 500 crab per trip incidental bycatch limit for non‐trap gear. However, an investigation of data found, while the majority of non‐trap trips from 2010 through 2014 were within the current limit, there were several trips above the bycatch limit. Furthermore, while Jonah crab are also caught as bycatch in non‐lobster traps, there are no effort controls for these gears, raising concern about the potential for trap proliferation. Since the goal of the FMP is to cap landings of Jonah crab while ensuring the inclusion of current participants in the…

  • The Commission has developed an Interstate Fishery Management Plan (or FMP) for Jonah crab under the authority of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (ACFCMA 1993). The development of the FMP was prompted by the American Lobster Board’s concern for potential impacts to the status of the Jonah crab resource given the recent and rapid increase in landings.