This release revises the one distributed on May 23rd with the addition of the location details for the South Carolina in-person hearing and the link to Draft Addendum II for public comment.
Arlington, VA – The Atlantic coastal states of New York through Georgia have scheduled hearings to gather public input on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Cobia, which considers recreational allocation, harvest target evaluation, and the timeline for setting management specifications.
Some hearings will be conducted in-person, and some hearings will be conducted via webinar. If you are unable to participate in your state’s scheduled hearing, you are welcome to participate in any of the virtual hearings.
The Commission’s Coastal Pelagics Management Board initiated the Draft Addendum to consider updating recreational allocations using more recent harvest data, which reflects increased cobia landings in some Mid-Atlantic states in recent years. Draft Addendum II presents options for Atlantic cobia management, including a framework for recreational allocation, ways to account for data uncertainty and respond to quota overages, and an extended multi-year specification setting. For the recreational allocation framework, Draft Addendum II considers options for the data timeframe to form the basis for allocations, and options for the geographic scope of allocations (state-by-state, regional, or coastwide).
Submitting Comments
The Draft Addendum is available at https://asmfc.org/resources/management-actions/draft-addendum-ii-to-amendment-i-to-the-interstate-fishery-management-plan-for-atlantic-migratory-group-cobia/ or on the Commission’s Public Input webpage at https://asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. All those interested in the management of Atlantic cobia are encouraged to provide input either by participating in public hearings, which may be conducted in-person or via webinar, or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 11:59 PM (EST) on July 8, 2024 and should be sent to Emilie Franke, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Cobia Draft Addendum II).
If your organization is planning to release an action alert in response to the Draft Addendum, please contact Emilie Franke at efranke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740, so she can work with you to develop a unique subject line to enable us to better organize and summarize incoming comments for Board review.