Arlington, VA – Atlantic coastal states from Maine through Florida have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum V to the American Eel Fishery Management Plan. The details of those hearings are attached.
Since the implementation of Addendum IV in 2014, states have raised several concerns about the current management program. Currently, the yellow eel fishery is managed to an annual coastwide landings cap (referred to as the coastwide cap) of 907,671 pounds and evaluated against two management triggers: (1) the coastwide cap is exceeded by more than 10% in a given year; or (2) the coastwide cap is exceeded in two consecutive years, regardless of the percent overage. If either of these triggers are met, state-by-state quotas are required to be implemented. 2016 landings exceeded the coastwide cap by less than 10%. If landings in 2017 exceed the coastwide cap, state-by-state quotas will need to be implemented. These current management provisions are concerning to some jurisdictions given uncertainty in the landings data.
The Board initiated Draft Addendum V to address these concerns and consider a number of changes to the current management program. Specifically, changes are being considered for the coastwide cap, management triggers, state-by-state allocations, and quota transfer provisions for the yellow eel commercial fishery; as well as the current Maine glass eel commercial quota and the aquaculture provisions of the plan.
If approved, the proposed alternatives to the current management program would be implemented starting in the 2019 fishing season. Since the four management issues related to the yellow eel fishery are linked (e.g., coastwide cap, management trigger, state-by-state allocations, quota transfers), the public is encouraged to specify their preferred alternatives for each issue.
The Draft Addendum is available here or on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org, under Public Input. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on June 15, 2018 and should be forwarded to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum V).
Final action on the Addendum is scheduled to occur at the Commission’s Summer Meeting. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.