Page 20. MAINE COASTAL NEWS July 2014 MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS Continued from Page 13.
silver eel life stages) American eel fi sheries. Draft Addendum IV is the second manage- ment document to respond to the fi ndings of the 2012 benchmark stock assessment indicating the American eel population in U.S. waters is depleted.
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum IV by either attending public hearings or providing written comments. The Draft Addendum will be available by June 4th
on the Commission website (wwww.
asmfc.org) under Public Input or by contact- ing the Commission at 703.842.0740. The public comment deadline is 11:59 PM (EST) on July 17, 2014. Comments should be submitted to Kate Taylor, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Ar- lington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at
comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: American Eel). Final action on the Adden- dum is scheduled to occur in August. For more information, please contact Kate Tay- lor at
ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Ini- tiates Amendment to Consider Limited Entry in the Northern Shrimp Fishery PORTSMOUTH, NH – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section approved development of Draft Amendment 3 to consider establishing a limited entry program for the northern shrimp fi shery. While the fi shery is managed through a total allowable catch and defi ned season, it remains an open access fi shery and has experienced signifi cant fl uctuations in participation over the last 30 years. This open access, coupled with continued con-
cern about the health of the stock, led the Section to move forward on a limited entry program to further control effort in the fi sh- ery. A limited entry program will consider the appropriate number of participants in the fi shery given biological, environmental, and economic considerations.
The Section had previously considered limited entry in Amendment 2 (2011) and Addendum I (2012). Based on submitted public comment, the Section established a control date of June 7, 2011 but did not im- plement a limited entry program. As the fi rst step in the Draft Amendment 3 development process, a Public Information Document (PID) will be developed to gather informa- tion concerning the northern shrimp fi shery and provide an opportunity for the public to identify and comment on major issues rela- tive to the management of the species with an emphasis on limited entry, state-by-state allocations and multi-year specifi cations. Northern shrimp underwent a bench- mark stock assessment in 2013. As part of this assessment, all current data inputs were evaluated, new data sources were considered, and new modeling approaches were explored. The fi nal assessment was re- viewed by a panel of independent experts in January 2014 through the Northeast Region- al Stock Assessment Workshop process. The Peer Review Panel concluded the results of the assessment models used were not appropriate for management use at this point. The estimates of fi shing mortality and overfi shing status were sensitive to how the data were weighted within the model. The Panel recommended that Technical Com- mittee continue to develop the presented models, as well as incorporate environmen- tal variables and estimates of fi shing effort into the models to increase the stability of the
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results. However, the Panel agreed that all the survey data and fi shery-dependent data examined indicate the northern shrimp stock is at very low levels and there is signifi cant uncertainty about when the stock might recover.
The Northern Shrimp Section will meet News from Maine's DMR Continued from Page 12.
2000, the Atlantic salmon is one of Maine’s iconic fi sh species, long the favorite of rec- reational anglers. However factors includ- ing overexploitation, degradation of water quality, and damming of rivers have been associated with the decline in abundance. The populations of Atlantic salmon present in the Gulf of Maine represent the last wild populations of U.S. Atlantic salmon. “Our efforts to preserve and protect
the Atlantic salmon population in Maine include the spring trapping and evaluation of both wild and hatchery grown smolts to assess their abundance and related manage- ment actions, as well as adult returns,” said Oliver Cox, Director of DMR’s Division of Sea-run Fisheries and Habitat. “Our objec- tive is to increase the population of smolts through management actions including stocking and habitat restoration. Data from these assessments, which will be reviewed over the next year, will help us determine future management actions.”
On their way to the sea, migrating smolts were captured for DMR assessments in rotary screw traps which were suspended from a cable and fl oat on pontoons. A “cone” portion of the traps has vanes inside that prevent fi sh from swimming out. The fi sh were directed to the back of the trap where they end up in a container called a live car. During May and June DMR scientists tended the traps on the four rivers daily, counting trapped fi sh, recording biological data such as length, weight, age, and origin before releasing the smolt to continue their migration.
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The scientists estimated the total num- ber of smolts passing by the traps since all the smolts leaving the river cannot be captured. “Use of smolt traps gives the best estimate of smolt production in salmon hab- itat located above trapping sites,” said Cox. Data obtained during the smolt trapping season is used by DMR scientists to estimate freshwater and marine survival when used in conjunction with the juvenile or adult abundance of the same year class. Since 1996, Atlantic salmon smolts have been monitored on the Narraguagus River in Cherryfi eld. “This is the longest series of smolt data Maine currently has,” said Cox. “This project is part of a long term program of monitoring Atlantic salmon in
the Narraguagus River. The data collected from the smolt trapping activities combined with juvenile assessments and adult trap data form a complete picture of salmon biology in the Narraguagus River and can be used to indicate the health of Atlantic salmon across Maine.”
For a second year, assessment on the East Machias River was done in partnership with the Downeast Salmon Federation as part of a larger project that uses juvenile salmon known as fi ngerling parr which are raised at the East Machias Aquatic Resource Center. The project, an effort to increase juvenile salmon production in the drainage, uses two rotary screw traps located down- stream of the Route 191 bridge in Jackson- ville.
The population in the East Machias River is comprised of 2 and 3 year old wild smolts resulting from natural reproduction, as well as hatchery smolts resulting from fall fi ngerling parr stocking. Since 2008, Atlantic salmon smolt production has also been evaluated in the Upper Piscataquis River to understand how smolt produced from direct adult releases compared to previous fry stocking efforts. In 2009, adult Atlantic salmon were trapped at the Veazie Dam and transported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery. The fi sh were held at the hatchery until October when they were released in to the Upper Piscataquis to spawn on their own. “Since 2012, smolts handled at this site have been the result of adults spawning in the wild. Preliminary results indicate that this management action can successfully produce smolts at densities equal to what we would expect for a healthy Atlantic salmon run,” said Cox. The Sheepscot River Atlantic salmon smolt trapping project has been operated annually since 2001 to document smolt migration timing and run size. “Since 2009, population estimates for smolts have been used to assess management changes,” said Cox. “In 2004, we started stocking parr in the fall instead of fry in the spring. The population estimates from parr releases in- dicated that smolt production double due to this change.”
“More recently, smolt population estimates have been used to evaluate a
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mhawk@asmfc.org.
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