March 2015 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 21.


ATLANTIC STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION MEETING Continued from Page 10.


ment and peer review will be posted to the Commission website the week of February 9th, www.asmfc.org, on the Atlantic Menha- den webpage. For more information, please contact Mike Waine, Senior Fishery Man- agement Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or mwaine@asmfc.org.


ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section Releases the Public Information Docu- ment for Draft Amendment 3 for Public Comment


The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries


Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) approved the Public Information Document for Draft Amendment 3 for Northern Shrimp for public comment. The Draft Amendment was initiated to consider establishing a limited entry program for the northern shrimp fi shery for use in the future if and when the stock recovers and the fi sh- ery is re-opened. 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 significant fluctuations in participation over the last 30 years. This open access, coupled with concern about the health of the stock, led the Section to move forward on a limited entry program to


further control effort in the fi shery. A limited entry program will consider the appropriate number of participants in the fi shery given biological, environmental, and economic considerations. As the fi rst step in the Commission’s amendment process, the PID is intended to gather information concerning northern shrimp and provide an opportunity for the public to identify and comment on major issues relative to the management of this species. Following the initial phase of infor- mation-gathering and public comment, the Section will evaluate potential management alternatives and develop Draft Amendment 3 for public review. After the public com- ment period, the Section will specify the management measures to be included in Amendment 3. A tentative schedule for the completion of Amendment 3 is included in PID.


Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the PID either by attending public hearings or pro- viding written comments. It is anticipated Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts will be conducting public hearings on the PID; a subsequent press release will an- nounce the details of the scheduled hearings. The PID can be obtained at http://www. asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/NShrimp- DraftAm3PID_PublicComment.pdf or via


Continued from Page 13.


selects approximately one-third of the total of 72 appointed members to the eight re- gional councils. NOAA Fisheries annually solicits nominations from the governors of fi shing states and oversees the annual appointment process. The Secretary selects council members from the list of nominees provided by the governors to fi ll obligatory and at-large seats that have become available due to an expiring term, a resignation or other reasons.


Obligatory seats are state-specific,


while at-large seats can be fi lled by a person from any of the states in the region. Council members serve three-year terms, and may be reappointed to serve up to three consecutive terms.


United States continues global leader- ship to address illegal, unreported, and unregulated fi shing


Reaffi rms commitment to level playing fi eld for legitimate U.S. fi shermen In its 2015 biennial report to Congress on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fi sh- ing (IUU), NOAA has identifi ed six nations -- Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Nigeria, Nicaragua, and Portugal -- as engaging in the practice. IUU fi shing and seafood fraud un- dermine international efforts to sustainably manage and rebuild fi sheries, and creates unfair market competition for fi shermen playing by the rules, like those in the United States.


“Protecting our country’s reputation as a leader in sustainable fi shing is at the heart of the President’s efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fi shing and seafood fraud around the world,” said Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, and NOAA administrator, during remarks she made at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit in New Orleans. “As one of the largest import- ers of seafood in the world, the United States has a global responsibility and economic duty to ensure that the fi sh we import is caught sustainably and legally. Tackling this challenge will require sustained collabora- tion between industry, conservation groups,


and government.”


the Commission’s website, www.asmfc. org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on April 15, 2015 and should be forwarded to Mike Waine, Senior FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at com- ments@asmfc.org


(Subject line: Shrimp


PID). For more information, please contact Mike Waine at mwaine@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board Continues Sum- mer Flounder Recreational Regional Management for 2015 & Approves State Plans for 2015 Recreational Black Sea Bass & Scup Fisheries The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXVI to the Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, continuing adaptive regional management for the 2015 recreational summer fl ounder fi sheries. The approved regions are Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Connecticut through New Jersey; Delaware through Virginia; and North Car- olina. The Addendum provides the option for the Board to extend the adaptive regional management approach into 2016 through Board action.


The report also highlights U.S. fi ndings and analyses of foreign IUU fi shing activi- ties and of bycatch of protected species and shark catch on the high seas where nations do not have a regulatory program comparable to the United States.


IUU activity of the identifi ed nations in- cluded violations such as fi shing in restricted areas, tuna discards, misreported catch, and improper handling of turtle entanglement. NOAA Fisheries will work with each of the cited nations to address these activities and improve their fi sheries management and enforcement practices. If the nation does not take suffi cient action and does not receive a positive certifi cation in the next biennial report, the U.S. may prohibit the import of fi sheries products from that nation and deny port privileges to their fi shing vessels. The 2013 report identified ten na- tions—Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Panama, Spain, Tanzania, Venezuela—whose vessels engaged in IUU fi shing activities. Over the last two years, the United States worked with these 10 nations and determined that each took appropriate action by adopting new laws and regulations or amending existing ones, sanctioning the offending vessels, improving monitoring and enforcement, or asking for a reexam- ination of the activities of certain vessels. While all 10 nations took appropriate action to address IUU activity in the 2013 report, three (Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico) have been reidentifi ed in the 2015 report for new IUU activity.


No countries were identifi ed for by- catch of protected living marine resources or for shark catch on the high seas in the 2015 biennial report. However, Mexico was identifi ed in the 2013 report for a lack of management measures for mitigating bycatch of North Pacifi c loggerhead sea turtles in the gillnet fi shery in Mexico’s Gulf of Ulloa. Mexico has since made meaningful progress in developing a regulatory program to address this issue. NOAA Fisheries will continue to work with Mexico and will delay its certifi cation decision until May 2015. “The United States is committed to working with all nations to combat illegal


fi shing, and to ensure the effective manage- ment of bycatch of protected species and shark catch on the high seas,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “We are encouraged by the positive steps these nations took to address IUU fi shing and will continue to explore all avenues to combat IUU activity on a global scale.”


In addition to undermining interna-


tional fi sheries efforts, IUU fi shing can also devastate fi sh populations and their pro- ductive marine habitats, threatening global food security and economic stability. Global losses attributable to IUU fi shing have been estimated to be between $10 billion and $23 billion annually, undermining the ability to sustainably manage fi sheries as well as economic opportunities for U.S. fi shermen. The report is a requirement of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, as amended by the Mag- nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and


Addendum XXVI was initiated to consider a continuation of regional man- agement approved in Addendum XXV. Both addenda address concern that summer fl ounder management measures under state- by-state conservation equivalency were not providing recreational fi shermen along the coast with equitable harvest opportunities to the resource. The adaptive regional man- agement approach is designed to respond to changes in resource availability and effort in the fi shery. The Board decided to continue 2014 management measures for the 2015 fi shing season.


For black sea bass, the Board approved the methodologies used by the states of Mas- sachusetts through New Jersey to establish their minimum size, bag limits, and season lengths to achieve a 33% reduction in the 2015 recreational harvest levels from the 2014 harvest level. The 33% reduction is required in order to achieve but not exceed that 2015 recreational harvest limit. For scup, the Board approved the main- tenance of 2014 recreational management measures for the 2015 fi shing season, with the exception of Connecticut which will increase its size and possession limit to be consistent with the other states’ private and for-hire fi sheries. States will fi nalize their


Continued on Page 22. MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS


Management Reauthorization Act and the Shark Conservation Act. At the State Department’s Our Ocean conference in June 2014, the White House announced a Presidential Task Force on IUU fi shing, co-chaired by the departments of state and commerce and made up of a broad range of other federal agencies. The Task Force, which was was directed to report to the President within six months with “recommendations for the implemen- tation of a comprehensive framework of integrated programs to combat IUU fi shing and seafood fraud that emphasizes areas of greatest need,” made 15 recommendations in December which, if implemented, would combat IUU fi shing and seafood fraud, strengthen enforcement, Create and expand partnerships with industry and state and local governments, and track seafood from harvest to entry into the United States.


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