Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2013


Commercial Fishing News ASMFC 2013 WINTER MEETING SUMMARY


Continued from Page 11.


May. For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, Senior Fishery Management Coordinator, at ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740. Motions: Main Motion - Move to


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approve Draft Addendum III for public comment. Motion made by Mr. Augustine and seconded by Mr. Adler. Motion tabled. Motion to Table Move to table the original motion. Motion made by Mr. Augustine and seconded by Mr. Abbott. Motion carries. Move to add Subsection 3c under Option 4 for Section 4.1.2 YellowEels to include a 2002-2011 time series option for quota de- velopment. Motion made by Mr. O’Connell and seconded by Mr. Abbott. Motion carries. Move to amend Section4.1.2 Commercial Fishery Management options – yelloweel fi sheries by adding an Option 6 – two week closure. This option would require that each state close its yellow eel fi shery for two consecutive weeks in September through October and the closure must occur after the estimated start of each state’s silver eelmigration. All gear tar- geting yelloweels must be removed from the water during this two week closure. Motion made by Mr. Clark and seconded Mr. O’Reilly. Motion carries (11 in favor, 5 opposed, 1 abstention). Move to amend Section4.1.2 Option 3 to include a Sub-op- tion A for status quo, a Sub-option B for a ½” by ¾” 4 by 4 cull panel, Sub-option C ½” by 1” 4 by 4 cull panel. Motion made by Mr. Carpenter and seconded by Dr. Daniel. Motion carries. Move to replace in 4.1.3 Option 2 amending the language to read “any gear type other than baited traps/ pots” as opposed to the original language included in the document. Motion made by Mr. Feigenbaum and seconded by Mr. Clark. Motion carries. Move to add an option to allowa glass eel fi shery coast wide. Motion made by Dr. Daniel and seconded by Mr. Feigenbaum. Motion fails (Roll Call Vote: In favor – ME, RI, VA, NC, FL; Opposed – NH, MA, CT, NY,NJ, PA, DE, MD, GA, USFWS, NMFS; [????]. Move to add Option 3 under Section 4.2 RecreationalFisheries, same language as Option 2with the addition of one sentence following “25 fi sh/ angler creel” add “li- censed party and charter boats would be limited to 25 fi sh per person multiplied by the number of passengers the vessel is authorized to carry”. Motion made by Mr. Bellavance and seconded by Mr. Augustine. Motion fails (1 in favor, 17 opposed). Move to in Section 4.1.1 develop Option 7 a maximumsize limit for glass eels that will a) allowno more than 5%of pigmented eels, or b) createa minimum size eels for pigmented eels that will allow no more than 5%of glass eels. Motion made by Mr. Feigenbaum and seconded by Mr. McElroy. Motion carries (15 in favor, 3 abstentions). Move to add to Option4 in Section 4.1.1 that would require a trip level hail system for fi shers that will includereporting all sales or movement of eels.


Motion made by Mr. Feigenbaum and sec- onded by Rep. Kumiega. Motion carries. Main Motion, Move to reinsert into sec- tion 4.1.1 Sub-options 3c and 3d. Motion made by Mr. Feigenbaum and seconded by Mr. Carpenter. Motion to Amend Move to amend to delete 3d from the main motion. Motion made by Mr. Abbott and seconded by Rep. Kumiega. Motion carries. Main Motion as Amended Move to reinsert into Section 4.1.1 Sub-option 3c. Motion made by Mr. Feigenbaum and seconded by Mr. Carpenter. Motion carries. Move to approve Draft AddendumIII for public comment as amended. Motion made by Mr. Augustine and seconded by Mr. Adler. Motion carries (17 in favor). Move the Board approve nominations Sam Veach and Jimmy Livingston to the American Eel Advisory Panel. Motion made by Mr. Augustine and seconded by Mr. Adler. Mo- tion carries. Move that the Eel Board send a request to the Policy Board directingthe Executive Director to send a letter to the Chairs of the Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resourc- es. The letter shall describe ASMFC’s compliance criteria and clearly lays out whatlevel of increased effort within the glass eel fi shery (licenses orgear), would put Maine out of compliance for the 2013 season. The letter should also state what the impact to a state being found out of compliance. Motion made by Mr. R White and seconded by Mr. McElroy. Motion carries.


INTERSTATE FISHERIES MANAGE- MENT PROGRAM POLICY BOARD 20-21 February


The Interstate Fisheries Management Program(ISFMP)Policy Board met to consider a number of issues. It discussed coordination betweenthe Commission and NMFS Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Division with a focus on Amendment 5 to the HMS 2006 Consolidated FMP. The Board expressed its desire to better coordinate the timing of HMS public comment deadlines with Commission meetings in order forthe Board to provide substantive comments and improve the coordination of data sharing. Brian Hooker, a biologist fromthe Bureau of Ocean EnergyManagement (BOEM), presented information on sev- eral wind energy areas along the Atlantic Coast that are under lease consideration by BOEMfor offshore renewable energy projects. The Board expressed its interest in understanding theimpacts of these projects on commercial and recreational fi sheries as well as the data that is used by BOEM to show both fi shing effort and transport through the proposed areas.


The Board reviewed the results fromthe


AnnualCommission Survey thatmeasures Commissioners’ opinions regarding the progress and actions of the Commission in the previous year. Commissioners were gen- erally satisfi ed with performance in 2012. Therewas agreement that the Commission should continue to work on partnerships and provide resourcesto support Commis- sion activities. In 2013, the Commission will update the strategicplan. A facilitated Commissioner workshop will be held during theCommission’s Spring Meeting in May toassist staff in developing the fi rst draft of the strategic plan. This will be followed by a series of public meetings throughout the summer to seek stakeholder input onthe fi rst draft. The Plan will be fi nalized at the Annual Meeting in October.


The Board approved the new Technical SupportGroup Guidance and Benchmark Stock Assessment Process document. The document is to improve thefunction of the Commission by providing guidance to all Commission technical support groups on the structure, function, roles, and responsibili- ties of the committees and their members. It will be available on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Breaking News by mid-March.


The Board reviewed and took action on three species-related activities. At the request of the Horseshoe Crab Board, it forwarded a recommendation to the Com- mission to send aletter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging its expedited review and action on the importation of all Asian horseshoe crab species (see the Business Session press release for information on arelated ASMFC resolution on Asianhorse- shoe crabs). At the request of the Ameri- canEel Board, the Policy Board tasked the Executive Director with sending a letter to the Chairs ofthe Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources regarding required management measures under the American Eel FMP. Further, the letter would specify what level of increased effortwithin Maine’s glass eel fi shery (li- censes or gear)would lead the state to being found out of compliance with the FMP for the 2013 season. The letter would also identify the potential impacts toa state for being found out of compliance. The Board also agreed to send a letter to the sponsors of New Jersey legislation S.2376 and A.2653 (both bills seeks to end the state’s horseshoe crab moratorium). The letter would present the output of the Commission’s Adaptive Resource Management Framework, which includes asustainable harvest level for New Jersey of 162,136 male horseshoe crabs, and the potential negative consequences in theU.S. and abroadas a result ofl imited domestic horseshoe crab availability for bait purposes.


The Board approved a new direction for the Commission’s Habitat Programto establish a solid organizational and func- tional foundation, ultimately leading to a focused and prioritized workload for the Programand the Habitat Committee. With this foundation, the Habitat Programwill be better aligned with the Commission’s vision, mission, goals, and objectives. The Board approved the Habitat Management Series on Harbor Deepening, which describes potential impacts to informdecision-mak- ing on future harbor deepening projects. Staff updated the Board on activities of the AtlanticCoastal Fish Habitat Partnership (ACFHP) including its strengthened part- nershipwith 2012 North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative Priority Science Programand details about a proposal ACF- HP submitted to National Fish and Wildlife Foundation River Herring Conservation Initiative.


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