Maine Coastal News: 2014 01

Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS January 2014 Commercial Fishing News MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS Continued From Page 1.

workshop focused on comparing method- ologies used by laboratories ageing black sea bass to evaluate the consistency of age data available for future stock assessments. This was the fi rst meeting between labora-

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tories ageing northern stock fi sh to compare ageing methodologies. An exchange of ageing structures was completed prior to the workshop to inform discussions on ageing interpretation criteria. Workshop recom- mendations, results of the exchanges, and summaries of the discussions and working sessions during the workshop are included in the report. The workshop was funded by the Partnership for Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Science and was held at the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Field Station in Gloucester. Proceedings of the 2013 Black Sea

Bass Ageing Workshop as well as similar reports on tautog, winter fl ounder, bluefi sh, Atlantic croaker, red drum, Atlantic striped bass, American shad and American eel can be found on the Commission website on its Research page at http://www.asmfc.org/ fi sheries-science/research. Click here for a direct link to the black sea bass report. For more information, please contact Jeff Kipp, Stock Assessment Scientist.

ASMFC Approves Draft Addendum XXV for Public Comment Addendum Proposes Management Options for the 2014 Summer Floun- der and Black Sea Bass Recreational Fisheries

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ANNAPOLIS, MD – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Man- agement Board approved Draft Addendum XXV for public comment on proposed 2014 management approaches for summer fl ounder and scup recreational fi sheries. For summer fl ounder, the Draft Addendum includes options that allow for manage- ment measures by region and the sharing

of unused quota – both with the intent of providing more equity in recreational harvest opportunities along the coast. The specifi c regions being considered are (1) Massachusetts; Rhode Island through New Jersey; Delaware through Virginia; and North Carolina and (2) Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Connecticut through New Jersey; Delaware through Virginia; and North Carolina. Draft Addendum XXV was initiated to address a growing concern that current summer fl ounder management measures (as established under the Fishery Management Plan) are not providing recreational fi sher- men along the coast with equitable access to the resource. Those measures, involving state-specific recreational management measures under conservation equivalency are increasingly being viewed as problem- atic due to several factors. These factors include: reliance upon recreational harvest estimates for a single year (1998) as the basis for individual state targets; a change in the abundance and distribution of the re- source; and changes in the socio-economic characteristics of the fi shery. The impact of the management program seemed to affect New York the most, with a 21” size limit (by 2009) and a very short season including mid-season closure. In 2013, with a fully recovered stock, New York’s minimum size (19”) was at least one inch higher than any other state, one and a half inches higher than its bordering states. The Draft Addendum proposes a

more fl exible and equitable conservation approach that allows the management pro- gram to adjust to past, current, and future changes to the resource and the fi shery. The biological characteristics of the summer fl ounder have changed with the restoration

of this stock. In particular, there has been a substantial expansion in the size and age composition, with greater overall abun- dance and increased numbers of larger fi sh. The Draft Addendum also proposes two options for the 2014 black sea bass recre- ational fi shery (1) coastwide measures (cur- rently proposed at 13” TL minimum size, a 5 fi sh possession limit, and a season from June 1 to September 30) or (2) the continued use of management measures by northern (MA – NJ) and southern regions (DE – NC). The regional management approach has been used since 2011 and offers some advantages over coastwide regulations, which can disproportionately impact states within the management unit. Specifi cally, regional measures can address geographic differences in the stock (size, abundance and seasonality) while maintaining the con- sistent application of management measures by neighboring states.

It is anticipated that several states will be conducting public hearings on Draft Addendum XXV. Information on those hearings will be released when it is fi nalized. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum XXV, either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum will be posted to the Commission website (wwww. asmfc.org) by December 20, 2013. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on January 24, 2014 and should be forwarded to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or via email at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum XXV).

Areas off southern New England to re- open for groundfi shing for remainder of fi shing year 2013

As part of its efforts to mitigate some of the challenges facing New England groundfi shermen this season, today, NOAA Fisheries announced that some areas that have been closed to fi shing since 1994 will re-open. Two sections on the eastern and western side of the Nantucket Lightship Closed Area will open through April 30, 2014, the end of the current fi shing year. “We know some fi shermen are really struggling, so we’ve come up with a variety of measures that on their own don’t solve the problem for everyone, but can collectively help the industry endure,” said John Bullard, NOAA Fisheries northeast regional admin- istrator. “This measure, along with approved fi shing gear modifi cations to target healthy groundfi sh stocks and quota increases on abundant fi sh species, should keep more fi shermen on the water.”

Following requests earlier this year from a segment of the groundfi sh industry, known as sectors, the New England Fish- ery Management Council provided NOAA Fisheries with the authority to consider re-opening the Nantucket Lightship Area and two other closed areas on Georges Bank. In July, NOAA Fisheries issued a proposal to allow access to these areas for fi sher- men, while also maintaining protections for vulnerable fi sh stocks and harbor porpoise. Specifi cally, the agency proposed that the openings be limited in area and time, include gear restrictions, and at-sea monitoring of every fi shing trip paid for by the vessel. NOAA Fisheries received thousands of public comments and input to this proposal; the majority opposed re-opening the areas. Many fi shermen expressed concern that the cost of the required trip monitoring would effectively negate the value of fi shing in those areas. In addition, many environmen-

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