Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section revised the three landing days for the upcoming trawl season to Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The action, taken during a November 30th conference call of the Section, was based on industry input that product would be easier to sell in local markets if landing days were spread throughout the week.
Given this change, the 2011/2012 fishing season specifications are a total allowable catch (TAC) of 2,000 mt, with the season closing when landings are projected to reach 95% of the TAC (1,900 mt). The trawl season will start January 2, 2012 with three landing days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Vessels may only land once a day. The trap season will start February 1, 2012 with a 1,000 pound landing limit per vessel per day.
The Section will meet on January 19, 2012 to assess where total landings are relative to the TAC. If necessary, the Section may adjust the closing date or modify management options (e.g., trip limit, days out) at the meeting in order to prevent an overage of the TAC. The details of this meeting will be posted to the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/meetings.htm when they become available.
The Section also tasked its Technical Committee with reviewing an independent analysis that explores an alternative assessment modeling scenario. The Technical Committee’s findings will be presented to the Section at its January 19th meeting.
For more information, please contact Michael Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or mwaine@asmfc.org.