Galloway, NJ – The Commission’s Weakfish Management Board has approved the biological sampling and reporting provisions of Addendum I to Amendment 4 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Weakfish to bolster data collection and improve future stock assessments. It also agreed to send the 2005 weakfish stock assessment forward for peer review. The Commission received extensive public comment in opposition to management measures proposed within the Addendum during public hearings and at the Board’s meeting.
The collection of weakfish age and length data from the recreational and commercial fisheries is critical for use in conducting stock assessments. The biological sampling program under Addendum I makes several improvements over the Amendment 4 program. The new program was crafted to be more responsive to year-to-year changes in landings, which proportionately affect a state’s required level of sampling. Addendum I also establishes criteria for determining non-compliance, consequences of non-compliance, and how states can get back into compliance with the biological sampling requirement. States are required to implement Addendum I for the 2006 season.
Copies of Addendum I will be available by December and can be obtained via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400. For more information, please contact Braddock Spear, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, at (202)289-6400 or bspear@asmfc.org.