Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2014 Commercial Fishing News MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS Continued from Page 1.
to the resource. Its adaptive regional man- agement approach is designed to allow the management program to adjust to past, cur- rent, and future changes to the resource and the fi shery. Under this approach, all states
within a region will be required to have the same possession limit, size limit, and season length. The Technical Committee will work with the states to develop, for Board con- sideration and approval, measures for each region that will collectively achieve, but not exceed, the recreational harvest limit. The adaptive regional management approach has been approved for the 2014 fi shing year only.
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For black sea bass, the Board approved the continuation of ad hoc regional manage- ment measures by northern (Massachusetts – New Jersey) and southern regions (Dela- ware – North Carolina). This approach has been used since 2011 and offers some ad- vantages over coastwide regulations, which can disproportionately impact states within the management unit. Specifi cally, regional measures address geographic differences in the stock (size, abundance and seasonality) while maintaining the consistent application of management measures by neighboring states. States in the northern region will reduce their catch based on the region’s performance in 2013. The Technical Com- mittee will work with the states to develop regional management measures for Board consideration and approval. States in the southern region will implement measures consistent with federal regulations (cur- rent recommended federal measures are a 12.5 inch TL minimum fi sh size, 15 fi sh possession limit, and open season from May 19 – September 18 and October 18 – December 31). The regulations of the two regions combined will achieve the required coastwide harvest reduction in order to not exceed the 2014 recreational harvest limit. The Board approved the ad hoc regional measures approach for the 2014 fi shing year, with the option of extending it through 2015
by Board action.
Addendum XXV will be available on the Commission website by the end of Feb- ruary. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asm-
fc.org or 703.842.0740.
ASMFC Approves 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission unanimously approved its 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan at its 2014 Winter Meeting. The Plan revises the Com- mission’s long-term vision to “Sustainably Managing Atlantic Coastal Fisheries” and establishes seven major goals and related strategies to pursue this vision. The Strategic Plan will guide the Commission’s activities over the next fi ve years and will be imple- mented through annual action plans. “This Strategic Plan is the culmination of extensive and thoughtful strategic plan- ning by my fellow Commissioners,” states Commission Chair Dr. Louis B. Daniel, III of North Carolina. “The document revises the Commission’s long-term vision, values, driving forces, and goals to better respond to new challenges and opportunities in Atlantic coast fi sheries management. The Commis- sioners’ goal, through the review process, was to strengthen the Strategic Plan to make it more effective, concise, and accessible to the public. We are deeply grateful for the thoughtful input we received from our stakeholders, with more than 4,500 com- ments submitted during the public comment period. Commissioners were pleased to learn that an overwhelming majority of the public’s comments supported the direction of the Commission and we are committed to addressing the other issues raised through
our annual action plans.” The Plan’s seven goals are: 1. Rebuild, maintain, fairly allocate, and promote Atlan- tic coastal fi sheries; 2. Provide the scientifi c foundation for and conduct stock assess- ments to support informed management actions; 3. Promote compliance with fi shery management plans to ensure sustainable use of Atlantic coast fi sheries; 4. Protect and enhance fi sh habitat and ecosystem health through partnerships and education; 5. Strengthen stakeholder and public support for the Commission; 6. Advance Commis- sion and member states’ priorities through a proactive legislative policy agenda; and 7. Ensure the fi scal stability & effi cient administration of the Commission. The 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan is avail- able on the Commission website at http://
www.asmfc.org/fi les/pub/2014-2018Stra- tegicPlan_Final.pdf.
Department of Interior Certifi es that Iceland’s Commercial Whaling Under- mines International Wildlife Conserva- tion Treaty
WASHINGTON - The Department of the Interior has certifi ed to President Obama un- der the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967 that Iceland’s inter- national trade in whale meat and products diminishes the effectiveness of the Conven- tion on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Iceland resumed commercial whaling in 2006 and since then has exported whale meat and products despite a ban on inter- national commercial trade. As provided under the Pelly Amendment, within 60 days following certifi cation by the Secretary the President will determine what actions are appropriate in response to the certifi cation. “Just 25 years ago, commercial whaling had nearly driven whales to extinction, but thanks to a global effort to conserve whale stocks and end over-harvesting, several whale species have begun to recover,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “Iceland’s whaling activities undermine these world- wide efforts to conserve whales and we encourage Iceland to work to achieve sus- tainable catch levels.” Hvalur, the sole Icelandic company engaged in harvesting fi n whales, resumed fi n whale hunting in 2013, following a two- year hiatus due to market decline in Japan following the 2011 earthquake. The 2013 whaling season ran from mid-June until the end of September with a total of 134 fi n whales killed. Iceland sets its own catch quotas for commercial whaling and has signifi cantly increased those quotas over the last several years. For example, in 2006, the annual quota was set at just nine fi n whales, while the 2013 annual quota authorized the hunting of up to 184 fi n whales. Iceland has recently announced a new
fi ve-year quota for fi n whales, to begin with the 2014 whaling season, which will allow a total of up to 770 fi n whales to be hunted in the next fi ve years. Fin whales are hunted solely for export to the Japanese market. From 2008 to 2012, trade reports show that more than 1.6 million kilograms of fi n whale meat and products were exported from Iceland to Japan. Fin whales are listed in Appendix I of CITES, which prohibits trade for primarily commercial purposes. Iceland also does not follow the proce- dure laid out by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to assess sustainable catch levels. The IWC was established to manage whaling activities for the conser- vation of whale populations and is viewed as the global body with expertise for the management of whale stocks. In July 2011, then-Secretary of Com-
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