Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2017


Commercial Fishing News Continued from Page 1.


ceive an update on the development of Draft Addendum XXVI at the Commission’s Spring Meeting in May 2017. For more information, please contact


Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


ASMFC American Lobster Board Ap- proves Jonah Crab Addendum II The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries


Commission’s American Lobster Man- agement Board approved Addendum II to the Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Addendum establishes a coastwide standard for claw harvest and a defi nition of bycatch, based on a percent composition of catch, in order to minimize the expansion of a small-scale fi shery under the bycatch allowance. The Addendum responds to concerns


regarding the equity of the claw provision established in the 2015 FMP, which institut- ed a whole crab fi shery with the exception of fi shermen from New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia who have a history of claw landings prior to June 2, 2015. Fol- lowing approval of the FMP, claw fi shermen from New York and Maine were identifi ed and, while these fi shermen had a history of claw landings, they were required to land whole crabs under the provisions of the FMP. Addendum II permits claw harvest coastwide. Specifi cally, the Addendum al- lows Jonah crab fi shermen to detach and har- vest claws at sea, with a required minimum claw length of 2.75” if the volume of claws landed is greater than fi ve gallons. Claw landings less than fi ve gallons do not have


M C F N


to meet the minimum claw length standard. Fishermen may also harvest whole crabs which meet the 4.75” minimum carapace width.


Addendum II also establishes a defi -


nition of bycatch in the Jonah crab fi shery, whereby the total pounds of Jonah crabs caught as bycatch must weigh less than the total amount of the targeted species at all times during a fi shing trip. The intent of this defi nition is to address concerns regarding the expansion of a small-scale fi shery under the bycatch limit. Prior to this Addendum, a non-trap or non-lobster trap fi sherman could land 1,000 crabs as bycatch but was not required to have any other species of catch on-board. Through Addendum II, fi shermen harvesting under the bycatch limit must have another species on board of greater weight than landed Jonah crabs. For more information, please contact


Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Region- al Management for 2017 Recreational Summer Flounder Fisheries


The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries


Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXVIII to the Sum- mer Flounder and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, maintaining regional management for the 2017 recreational summer fl ounder fi shery. Specifi cally, the Addendum requires a one-inch increase in size limit and reduced possession limits to stay within the 2017 recreational harvest limit (RHL). These measures are broadly ap-


plied across all states to reduce harvest and provide for more coastwide consistency in regulations. The summer fl ounder regions, which are continued from 2016, are: Massa- chusetts; Rhode Island; Connecticut through New York; New Jersey; Delaware through Virginia; and North Carolina. In August 2016, the Board and Mid-At-


lantic Fishery Management Council ap- proved an approximate 30% reduction in catch limits for both the commercial and recreational fi sheries in response to the 2016 stock assessment update, which indicated the resource is experiencing overfi shing but is not overfi shed. In order to not exceed the reduced 2017 RHL, a 41% reduction relative to the 2016 preliminary harvest estimates is needed. To achieve the reduction, the Addendum implements a one-inch increase in size limit from 2016 measures for all regions with the exception of North Caro- lina. Additionally, all regions are required to constrain their possession limits to 4 fi sh or less and maintain 2016 season lengths. The approved management program also allows for the continuation of the Delaware Bay specifi c management measures for New Jersey anglers west of the COLREGS line. In 2016, New Jersey had separate manage- ment measures for anglers east and west of the Delaware Bay COLREGs line. “The Board’s decision took into ac-


count the fi ndings of the 2015 and 2016 stock assessment updates, both of which found summer fl ounder abundance is declining and is experiencing overfi shing; the need to take harvest reductions to end overfi shing immediately through our joint management process with the Mid-Atlantic Council and as prescribed by the Magnuson-Stevens Act; and with the recognition that the confi dence intervals around the harvest estimates limit our ability to precisely project the impacts of diff ering management measures,” stated Mike Luisi, Board Chair. “By our action, we struck a balance between the need to reduce harvest, while taking into account the socio- economic impacts to our stakeholders.” In its report to the Board, the Technical


Committee (TC) supported the 2013 sum- mer fl ounder benchmark stock assessment and its updates through 2016 as the best available science. Further, it agreed with the fi ndings of the recent stock assessments, indicating the resource is declining in abundance and that associated management changes are needed to address this issue; in this case, a reduction in the RHL. The TC recommended uniform adjustments from 2016 management measures (as were ap- proved in the Addendum) to reduce harvest and fi shing mortality in an equitable manner. Once the states have selected fi nal man-


agement measures, the Commission will submit a letter to NOAA Fisheries detailing how the measures will constrain fi shing to the 2017 RHL. The Commission annually submits this letter as part of the conservation equivalency process that allows for federal coastwide management measures to be


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waived and for state management measures to be applied in both state and federal waters. Addendum XXVIII will be available on


the Commission website, www.asmfc.org. For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asm- fc.org or 703.842.0740.


ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Scup Draft Addendum XXIX for Public Comment


The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries


Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Draft Addendum XXIX to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes shortening the length of the commercial scup summer period and extending length of the winter period(s) to better allocate the commercial quota, which has been under-harvested since 2011. The quota al- location for each period is not being altered. The Draft Addendum was initiated


jointly with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to address concerns raised by Advisory Panel members that commercial landings have been lower than the annual limits in recent years and the quota periods could be better utilized. The changes are intended to allow higher pos- session limits for a longer period of time each year, thus increasing the likelihood the commercial fi shery will fully harvest the quota. The Draft Addendum proposes changes to the three scup commercial quota periods (Winter I, Summer, and Winter II), specifi cally a change in the start and end dates for the Summer Period. The options propose to shorten the Summer Period by 31 or 46 days. The Draft Addendum also proposes


options to continue allowing state permit- ted fi shermen to begin fi shing early in state waters when the Winter I quota closes prior to April 15. These options include extend- ing the number of days the earlier fi shing can occur as well as the start date when earlier fi shing can occur. Allowing access prior to the start of the Summer period state permitted fi shermen provides access to the resource when scup are highly available to nearshore (state) fi sheries. The Draft Addendum will be available


on the Commission website, www.asmfc. org (under Public Input) by February 10. It is anticipated some states 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 Spring Meeting in May. For more informa- tion, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coor- dinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


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.


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