Meeting Information
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 83rd Annual Meeting will be held October 27-30, 2025, at Hyatt Place Dewey Beach, 1301 Coastal Highway, Dewey Beach, Delaware. This will be a hybrid meeting to allow for remote participation by Commissioners and interested stakeholders in all meetings. The Law Enforcement Committee, Habitat Committee and Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership Steering Committee will have unique webinar links that will be available as part of the individual committee materials. A brief, preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines follow.
Registration
All of the business meetings scheduled during this week (with the exception of scheduled closed sessions) are open to the public, free of charge. However, if you plan on attending any of the Annual Meeting events, please help us prepare for these events by completing the Registration, Attendance, and Accommodations Form. Only those who will not be reimbursed for travel by the Commission (see travel authorization form) will need to pay the registration fee (e.g., guests and federal participants). The meeting registration fee is $200 for participants and $150 for spouses or guests if you register by October 10, 2025. After October 10th and in Dewey Beach, Delaware, the fees will be $225 and $175, respectively. The registration fee covers the Monday night welcome reception, the Tuesday night dinner, Wednesday Hart Award Luncheon, and event materials.
Background Materials
- Official Roster
- Travel Authorization Form
- Travel Reimbursement Guidelines
- Travel Voucher
- Proxy Form
- AP Nomination Form
- Financial Disclosures and Conflict of Interest Policy & Form
- Compact, Rules and Regulations
- ISFMP Charter
- 2024-2028 Strategic Plan
- 2025 Action Plan
- Appeals Process
- Conservation Equivalency Guidance Document
- Status of the Stocks
- Assessment Schedule
- 2025 Summer Meeting Summary
Contact
Tina Berger, 703.842.0749
Pending Actions
Public Comment
To ensure fair opportunity for public input, ASMFC meetings offer opportunities for verbal comments on non-agenda and agenda items. Written comments are accepted following a specific timeline for inclusion in meeting materials. Read the guidelines for more information.
Comment Guidelines
To provide a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:
For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunities to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comments will not provide additional insight to the board.
For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.
In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comments for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action).
- Comments received three weeks prior to the start of a meeting week (October 6) will be included in the briefing materials.
- Comments received by 5 PM on Tuesday, October 21 will be included in supplemental materials.
- Comments received by 10 AM on Friday, October 24 will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting.
The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution. As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail and email.
Meeting Agenda
The agenda is subject to change. Bulleted items represent the anticipated major issues to be discussed or acted upon at the meeting. The final agenda will include additional items and may revise the bulleted items provided below. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein.
Monday, October 27, 2025
9 – 11 AM — Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program Coordinating Council
- Consider 2026 Proposals for Funding
- Program and Committee Updates
10 AM – 5 PM — Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership Steering Committee
- Review Project Updates, and Fundraising and Outreach Strategies
- Updates on Project Monitoring Survey and Arc GIS Story Map Development
- Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Workshop Planning
11:15 – 11:45 AM — Atlantic Herring Management Board
- Set Quota Periods for the 2026 Area 1A Fishery
- Consider Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance for the 2024 Fishing Year
11:45 AM – 1 PM — Lunch Break
1 – 2:30 PM — Tautog Management Board
- Consider 2025 Tautog Stock Assessment Update
- Consider Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance for the 2024 Fishing Year
2:45 – 5 PM — American Lobster Management Board
- Consider 2025 Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report
- Consider Reports from Gulf of Maine States on Industry Surveys and Meetings
- Update on Alternative Gear Marking Framework
- Consider American Lobster and Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan Reviews and State Compliance for the 2024 Fishing Year
6 – 7:30 PM — Welcome Reception
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
8:30 – 10 AM — Horseshoe Crab Management Board
- Set Delaware Bay Bait Fishery Specifications for 2026 or Up to Three Years
- Review Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework Output
- Update on Stakeholder Engagement Process Planning for Evaluating ARM Reward, Utility, and Harvest Policy Functions
- Review Work Group Recommendations and Populate Advisory Panel Membership
- Consider Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance for the 2024 Fishing Year
9 AM – 5 PM — ACFHP Steering Committee (continued)
10:15 AM – 11 AM — American Eel Management Board
- Technical Committee Report on Task to Review Aquaculture Provisions
- Consider Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance for the 2024 Fishing Year
- Consider Florida Proposal to Discontinue Young-of-Year Sampling
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM — Commission Business Session
- Consider Approval of 2026 Action Plan
- Elect Commission Chair and Vice-Chair
12:15 – 1:30 PM — Lunch Break
1 – 5 PM — Law Enforcement Committee
1:30 – 5:15 PM — Atlantic Menhaden Management Board
- Consider 2025 Atlantic Menhaden Single-Species Stock Assessment Update and Ecological Reference Points Benchmark Stock Assessment
- Set Specifications for 2026-2028 Fishing Year
- Consider Commercial Quota Re-allocation (FMP Three-Year Trigger)
- Consider Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance for the 2024 Fishing Year
- Consider Guidance to Plan Development Team on Chesapeake Bay Management
- Consider Technical Committee Direction on Changing Environmental Conditions
6:30 – 8:30 PM — Annual Dinner
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
8 – 9:30 AM — Executive Committee
8:30 – 11:30 AM — Law Enforcement Committee (continued)
9 AM – 5 PM — Habitat Committee
- Habitat Management Series Updates
- 2025 Habitat Hotline Atlantic Development
- State Highlights on Habitat and Restoration Activities
9:45 AM – Noon — Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board
- Consider Report from the Law Enforcement Committee on Commercial Tagging
- Consider Addendum III for Final Approval
Noon – 1:30 PM — Captain David H. Hart Award Luncheon
1:30 – 5 PM — Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board (continued)
Thursday, October 30, 2025
8:30 AM – 10 AM — Sciaenids Management Board
- Consider Red Drum Addendum II for Final Approval
- Consider Black Drum and Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan Reviews and State Compliance for 2024 Fishing Year
- Progress Update on 2026 Atlantic Croaker Benchmark Stock Assessment
10:15 AM – 11:15 AM — Marine Recreational Information Program Presentation
11:30 AM – 1:15 PM — Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board
- Consider Reports from the Executive Committee, Assessment Science Committee, Law Enforcement Committee, Habitat Committee, and Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership
- Set Coastal Sharks Specifications for the 2026 Fishing Year
- Update on North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound Trawl Survey
- Update on Ongoing Stock Assessments
- Review Noncompliance Findings, if necessary
1:15 – 1:30 PM — Commission Business Session
- Consider Noncompliance Recommendations, if necessary