Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS May 2017


Commercial Fishing News N   D  M R


ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section


Approves Public Hearing Document on Draft Amendment 3 for Public Com- ment


New England States Schedule Public Hearings


ARLINGTON, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) releases Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Man- agement Plan (FMP) for Northern Shrimp for public consideration and input. The states of Maine, New Hampshire and Mas- sachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Draft Amend- ment. The details of those hearings follow.


Maine Department of Marine Resources Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at 6 PM Maine Department of Marine Resources Conference Room #118 32 Blossom Lane Augusta, Maine Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553


Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 6 PM Ellsworth City Hall Conference Room 1 City Hall Plaza Ellsworth, Maine Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553


New Hampshire Fish and Game Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 7 PM Urban Forestry Center 45 Elwyn Road


Portsmouth, New Hampshire Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095


Massachusetts Department of Marine Fish- eries


Monday, June 5, 2017 at 6 PM MA DMF Annisquam River Station 30 Emerson Avenue Gloucester, Massachusetts Contact: Kelly Whitmore at 978.282.0308


The Section initiated Draft Amendment


3 with the intention of considering a limited entry program to address overcapacity in the fi shery. In the 2010 and 2011 fi shing sea- sons, increased fi shing eff ort and untimely reporting resulted in early season closures and an overharvest of the total allowable catch (TAC). The 2012 fi shing season was further restricted, resulting in a 21-day trawl season and a 17-day trap season. In the 2013 fi shing season, despite the fact that only 55% of the TAC was harvested, the fi shing mortality rate (0.53) was estimated above the target (0.38). In December 2013, the Section established a moratorium for the 2014 fi shing season due to recruitment fail- ure and a collapsed stock. The moratorium


was maintained each year, through 2017, in response to the continued depleted condition of the stock. Due to the uncertainty about if and when


the resource would rebuild and the fi shery reopen, the Section shifted the focus of Draft Amendment 3 to consider measures to im- prove management of the northern shrimp fi shery and resource. Proposed options in the Draft Amendment include state-by-state allocations and accountability measures to better manage eff ort in the fi shery. The Draft Amendment also explores the mandatory use of size sorting grate systems to minimize harvest of small (presumably male) shrimp, as well as reporting measures to ensure all harvested shrimp are being reported. Fishermen and other interested groups


are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Amendment either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. The Draft Amendment can be obtained at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/ NShrimpDraftAmd3_PublicComment.pdf or via the Commission’s website, www. asmfc.org, under Public Input. Public com- ment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on June 21, 2017 and should be forwarded to Max Appelman, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mappel- man@asmfc.org (Subject line: Northern Shrimp). For more information, please con- tact Max Appelman at mappelman@asmfc. org or 703.842.0740.


ASMFC Releases Report on Sciaenid Fish Habitat


The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has released the 14th


report


in its Habitat Management Series entitled, Atlantic Sciaenid Habitats: A Review of Uti- lization, Threats and Recommendations for Conservation, Management and Research. Prepared by ASMFC staff , sciaenid experts, and a subset of the Commission’s Habitat Committee, the report is the most compre- hensive compilation of habitat information to date on Commission-managed and other common sciaenid species found throughout the Western Atlantic. These species include Atlantic croaker, black drum, red drum, spot, spotted seatrout, weakfi sh, northern king- fi sh, southern kingfi sh and Gulf kingfi sh. The report provides a habitat description for all stages of each species’ life cycle, their associated Essential Fish Habitats and Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (when applicable), threats and uncertainties to their habitats, and recommendations for habitat management and research. It was developed to serve as a resource for fi sheries managers to use when amending existing fi shery man- agement plan (FMPs).


Sciaenids are found throughout the


Western Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Mex- ico, in shallow coastal waters and larger bays and estuaries, including their tributaries. They utilize a variety of habitats throughout their life stages, including estuaries, salt marshes, freshwater marshes, oyster reefs, sea grasses and mud banks/shores. Because of the way diff erent species of sciaenids use various types of habitats throughout their life, several diff erent habitats are key for maintaining healthy populations. Estuarine habitats are particularly


important to many sciaenids at every life stage. In the Mid-Atlantic Bight, as many as 14 species can be present in estuaries as larvae, juveniles, or adults over the course of a year. Weakfi sh, for example, use estuaries as primary spawning habitat, while Atlantic croaker and spot use them as nurseries and seasonal adult foraging grounds. Young sci- aenids play important roles as both predators and prey in these habitats. Temperature, salinity, and dissolved


oxygen vary considerably in estuarine environments and these factors are known to aff ect sciaenid growth rates, spawning, and spatial and temporal distribution. As a group, sciaenids are habitat generalists rather than specialists and may therefore be relatively resilient to changes in envi- ronmental factors. However, Atlantic coast estuaries have been profoundly altered. Despite their ability to take advantage of a range of habitats, sciaenids are not im- mune to habitat degradation or suboptimal conditions, especially in the face of climate change.


Increasingly dense human populations


along our coastlines threaten the health of estuaries and coastal waters, including sciaenid habitats. Widespread development, beach renourishment, dredging, overfi sh- ing, coastal armoring, pollution, and other human impacts have signifi cantly altered the physical and chemical environments of estuarine and marine waters. Changes in hy- drologic processes and runoff characteristics can increase turbidity and sedimentation and decrease light transmittance, which may lead to the loss of submerged aquatic vegetation. Human-caused alterations to the estuarine environment have been linked to changes in hydrography and salinity regimes, as well as food web modifi cation, which can eventually reduce the quality of habitat for sciaenids and other estuarine-de- pendent fi sh. The Commission would like to thank


the following individuals for their con- tributions to the report: Jay Odell, Brian Boutin and Kate M. Wilke with The Nature Conservancy; Douglas H. Adams and Kent Smith with Florida Fish and Wildlife Con- servation Commission; William Collier II, South Atlantic Fishery Management Coun- cil; Alison Deary, University of Southern


Mississippi; James A. Johnson, Jr., North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality; Stephen R. Midway, Louisiana State University; January Murray, Georgia Department of Natural Resources; and Lisa N. Havel and Melissa W. Yuen, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The report is available online at http://


www.asmfc.org/fi les/Habitat/HMS14_At- lanticSciaenidHabitats_Winter2017.pdf. Species-specifi c chapters are also available on the Commission’s website, www.asmfc. org, on the respective species pages (on the left navigation bar under Quick Links). For more information, please contact Lisa Havel, Habitat Coordinator, at LHavel@ asmfc.org.


Retention Limit of Aggregated Large Coastal Shark and Hammerhead Shark Management Groups Reduced to 3 Sharks per Vessel per Trip The National Marine Fisheries Service


(NMFS) has reduced the retention limit for the commercial aggregated large coastal shark and hammerhead shark management groups (see Appendix 1 below) for directed shark limited access permit holders in the Atlantic region from 25 to 3 sharks per vessel per trip eff ective 11:30 p.m. April 15, 2017. The revised retention limit will remain in eff ect for the rest of the 2017 fi shing season or until NMFS announces another adjust- ment to the retention limit, which is expected around July 15th


. NMFS takes this action because 19.5%


or 32.9 mt dressed weight of the available quota for the aggregated large coastal shark fi shery has been harvested. The adjusted retention limit is intended to promote equi- table fi shing opportunities throughout the Atlantic region. As agreed upon by the Commission’s


Coastal Sharks Management Board (in December 2015), the Commission will follow NMFS for in-season changes to the commercial retention limit, therefore, no more than 3 sharks per vessel per trip may be retained from the aggregated large coastal and hammerhead management groups by a state licensed fi shermen eff ective 11:30 p.m. April 15, 2017. Attached and accessible via the following link is the ASMFC Memo and NMFS Notice -- http://www.asmfc.org/ uploads/fi le/58ed308cLCSAdjustedReten- tionLimits_April2017.pdf. The Federal Register commercial re-


tention limit notifi cation will be published on April 13 at https://www.federalregister. gov/d/2017-07495. Shark landings can be found at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/ hms/species/sharks/Landings/index.html. Please contact Ashton Harp, Fish-


ery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or aharp@asmfc.org for more information.


120


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2016 LOBSTER BOAT RACE CD


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