Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS December 2016
Commercial Fishing News Continued from Page 11.
fi shermen from NY and ME were identifi ed. Currently, these fi shermen are required to land whole crabs. As a result, jurisdictions have expressed concern regarding the equity of this provision as some fi shermen with a history of claw landings are allowed to continue this practice while others must land whole crabs. In order to address concerns regarding
the expansion of a small-scale fi shery, con- sideration of a bycatch defi nition was added as a second issue in the Draft Addendum. Addendum I established a bycatch allow- ance of 1,000 crabs per trip for non-trap gears and non-lobster trap gears (i.e., fi sh pots, crab pots, whelk traps). Fishermen using these gears are not required to have other species on Board when harvesting Jonah crab. As a result, fi shermen harvesting Jonah crab under the bycatch limit may, in fact, directly target Jonah crab by landing 1,000 crabs per trip and nothing else. This does not refl ect the intention of the bycatch allowance which is to account for Jonah crab caught while targeting another species. The Draft Addendum will be available
on the Commission website,
www.asmfc. org (under Public Input) by mid-November. It is anticipated that the majority of states of Maine through Maryland will be conducting public hearings; the details of those hear- ings will be released in a subsequent press release. The Board will review submitted public comment and consider fi nal action on the Draft Addendum at the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February. For more information, please contact Megan Ware at
mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
M C F N
Atlantic Menhaden Draft Amendment 3 Public Information Document Released for Public Comment
ARLINGTON, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board releases for public comment the Public Information Document (PID) for Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. As the fi rst step in the amendment process, the document seeks input from stakeholders and those interested in Atlantic menhaden about changes ob- served in the fi shery/resource and potential management measures. Draft Amendment 3 was initiated fol-
lowing Board review and acceptance of the 2015 Stock Assessment and Peer Review report, which found the menhaden resource in good condition -- not overfi shed nor expe- riencing overfi shing. Population fecundity, a measure of reproductive capacity, was estimated to be roughly double the threshold value (86.8 trillion eggs). Additionally, total fi shing mortality was estimated to be 0.22, below both the fi shing mortality threshold (1.26) and target (0.38). “The healthy condition of the resource
combined with our expanding knowledge of ecosystem-based fi sheries management has provided us a unique opportunity to reeval- uate how this important fi shery and resource can best be managed,” stated Robert Ballou, Atlantic Menhaden Board Chair. The PID outlines a number of issues in
the fi shery and solicits feedback on how the resource should be managed. Specifi cally, the PID presents a suite of tools to manage the menhaden resource using ecological ref- erence points and provides options to allo- cate the resource among the states, regions,
and user groups. In addition to the specifi c issues identifi ed in the PID, commenters are welcome to provide input on all aspects of the fi shery and resource, including recom- mendations for future management. Stakeholders are encouraged to provide
input on the PID either by attending state public hearings or providing written com- ment. The PID can be obtained at http://
www.asmfc.org/fi les/PublicInput/AtlMen- hadenAmend3PID_PublicComment.pdf or via the Commission’s website,
www.asmfc. org, under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on January 4, 2017 and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at
comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Menhaden PID). If your organization is planning to release an action alert related to the Amendment 3 PID, please contact Megan Ware at 703.842.0740 prior to its release. It is anticipated the majority of states
will be conducting public hearings over the next couple months. A subsequent press release will provide the details of those hearings. The Management Board will meet at the Commission’s 2017 Winter Meeting to review and consider public comment and provide direction to staff for items to be included in the Draft Amendment 3.
Moratorium on Northern Shrimp Com- mercial Fishing Maintained for 2017 Season
PORTSMOUTH, NH – In response to the depleted condition of the northern shrimp resource, the Atlantic States Marine Fisher- ies Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section extended the moratorium on commercial fi shing for the 2017 fi shing season. The Section also approved a 53 metric ton (mt) research set aside (RSA) to allow for the continued collection of much needed bio- logical data.
The 2016 Stock Status Report for Gulf of Maine (GOM) Northern Shrimp indi-
cates abundance and biomass indices for 2012–2016 are the lowest on record of the thirty-three year time series. Recruitment indices for the 2010–2015 year classes are also poor and include the three smallest year classes on record. As a result, the 2012–2016 indices of harvestable biomass are the low- est on record. Current harvestable biomass is almost entirely composed of the 2013 year class.
“By increasing the 2017 RSA, which
is above last year’s 22 mt quota and that recommended by the Technical Committee for 2017 (13.6 mt), the Section sought to strike a balance between providing limited fi shing opportunities to the industry while collecting valuable data to allow for the continued monitoring of the northern shrimp resource,” stated Section Chair Dennis Ab- bott of New Hampshire. Recruitment of northern shrimp is relat-
ed to both spawning biomass and ocean tem- peratures, with higher spawning biomass and colder temperatures producing stronger recruitment. Ocean temperatures in western GOM shrimp habitat have increased over the past decade and reached unprecedented highs within the past several years. This suggests an increasingly inhospitable envi- ronment for northern shrimp and the need for strong conservation eff orts to help restore and maintain a fi shable stock. The Northern Shrimp Technical Committee considers the stock to be in poor condition with limited prospects for the near future. The 2016 Stock Status Report is available at http://
www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5823782c- 2016NorthernShrimpAssessment.pdf. To maintain the time series of data
collected from northern shrimp commer- cial fi shery catches, a cooperative winter sampling program was approved with a 53 mt RSA quota. This program allows for the continued collection of biological data (e.g. size composition, egg hatch timing) from GOM northern shrimp fi shery catches in the absence of a directed fi shery. The RSA will include the participation of 10 trawlers (8 Maine trawlers, 1 Massachusetts
2016 LOBSTER BOAT RACE CD
Over 800 photographs from all ten 2016 lobster boat races. $12.50, which includes postage.
To order: Maine Coastal News, P.O. Box 710, Winterport, ME, 04496 or call (207) 223-8846 and charge to your credit card.
120
7530 Olympic View Dr. Unit 105, Edmonds, WA 98026 · (425) 774-7595
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31