The following are responses of the Technical Committee to questions regarding slot limits for summer flounder posed to them at a meeting held in NH on June 24, 2008. The questions were designed to explore the biological and management implications of a slot limit in the coast wide recreational summer flounder fishery.
Technical Committee Reports and Summaries
Detailed analyses and recommendations from technical committees, including working groups, sub-committees, plan development teams, and plan review teams, on specific scientific and management issues related to fisheries.
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Recent declining trends in spot landings have raised some concern about the long-term health of the stock. In the absence of a coast wide stock assessment, the South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board requested that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Spot Plan Review Team compile and summarize catch per unit effort (CPUE) data for spot in 2007.
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The TC convened to give feedback on the various options contained in the Final Draft Interstate Fisheries Management Plan for Atlantic Coastal Sharks. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for federal Amendment 2 to the Consolidated HMS FMP was presented to the TC at the beginning of the meeting allowing them to consider how the various management options would relate to new federal regulations.
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The Technical Committee (TC) met via conference call to address three main issues: 1) committee leadership and membership, 2) a task from the Striped Bass Management Board (Board) to update the biological reference points as recommended by the peer review panel for the 2007 stock assessment, and 3) an update on the otolith collection program. Des Kahn also added a discussion on the peer review panel and Commission publications.
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The Lobster Technical Committee (TC) evaluated the Connecticut proposal to extend the v-notch program evaluation date by one month and to include “shorts and eggers” in the v-notched calculations.
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The lobster TC believes the proposed conservation equivalency change in the Massachusetts Vnotch definition from zero tolerance to 1/8″ inch with or without setal hairs could result in an increase in fishing mortality in Area 514 (Massachusetts Bay)
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The TC reviewed proposals from Maine and Massachusetts that requested the data requirement of dealers reporting NMFS statistical area fished be collected in alternate methods.
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The Technical Committee (TC) met on January 17th to review recent research, monitoring, and landings in anticipation of a Management Board discussion about starting a new addendum. Several researchers from the Virginia Tech Horseshoe Crab Research Center presented updates on their work.
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The Weakfish Stock Assessment Subcommittee met for two days with the following objectives: review an independent project to improve weakfish stock assessment, update the assessment timeline, draft Terms of Reference, review the updated catch-at-age and survey indices, discuss the measure of central tendency for trawl surveys, review model updates and analyses, update the stock tracking measures for the Board if necessary, and assign responsibilities.
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