June 2017 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 21. M C F N Continued from Page 13.
Law Enforcement Contributions Lieutenant Conservation Offi cer Zane Batten with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of law En- forcement
Lieutenant Conservation Offi cer Zane
Batten has been with the New Jersey Divi- sion of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Law Enforcement for nearly 25 years. First as a volunteer Deputy Conservation Offi cer, next as a Lt. C.O. for the Special Investigations Unit, where he served for fi ve years and lastly as District supervisor. Lt. Batten is being recognized for his eff orts on behalf of the Special Investigation Unit, where he worked on several cases of magnitude that resulted in both domestic and international charges. Two cases in particular exemplify Lt. Batten’s perseverance, self-sacrifi ce and dedication to resource conservation. In the fi rst case, Lt. Batten was instru-
mental in identifying fi shermen involved in the illegal commercialization of elvers. As he worked to document the activities of the fi shermen, Lt. Batten was also able to gain the trust of a number of large buyers who were knowingly purchasing illegally harvested eels for export overseas. Spanning three years, the investigation uncovered a multi-million dollar black market in elvers and exposed the identities of numerous fi sh- ermen and buyers, from Florida to Maine, that were involved in the black market. The charging and prosecution of those involved is still pending. During another case, Lt. Batten co-
ordinated a joint investigation with the Pennsylvania Game Commission involving the illegal commercialization of striped bass from Delaware Bay. The investigation, which spanned two years, identifi ed an organized ring of 8 commercial fi shermen illegally selling striped bass to a seafood store. Both criminal and civil charges were fi led, with the maximum fi ne for all charges fi led in excess of $3.4 million. Named New Jersey’s Conservation
Offi cer of the Year in 2014, Lt. Batten is widely respected by his fellow offi cers and colleagues. His commitment to ensuring our fi sheries management regulations are being upheld is notable and worth recognition.
ASMFC American Lobster Board Approves 5% Increase in Egg Production for the Southern New England Lobster Stock
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved moving forward with the goal of increas- ing egg production for the Southern New
England (SNE) stock of American lobster by 5%. This increase in egg production can be achieved through a suite of management tools including gauge size changes, trap reductions, and seasonal closures. The rec- reational fi shery is only subject to changes in the gauge size should any be proposed. In making its decision, the Board took into consideration the extensive public com- ment, which overwhelmingly supported status quo, and the fact that stock declines are largely a result of climatic changes, in- cluding increasing water temperatures over the last 15 years. The next step in the process will be
for the Lobster Conservation Management Teams (LCMTs) in Areas 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 to develop area-specifi c proposals on how to achieve the 5% increase in egg production. As established through Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster, LCMTs are composed of lobster industry members who are charged with recommending area-specifi c measures for Board consideration and approval. The LCMT proposals will be submitted for Tech- nical Committee review in June and Board consideration in August. Once area-specifi c measures have been approved, the Board will consider fi nal approval of Addendum XXV.
In its deliberation on the SNE lobster stock, the Board discussed the need to con- sider changes to the current management goals and reference points, noting changes in the marine environment may limit the ability to rebuild the stock to levels seen in the 1990s. The Board will continue to discuss these issues, particularly as the Commission’s Climate Change Work Group develops recommendations regarding the management of stocks impacted by chang- ing climate conditions. For more information, please contact
Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at
mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Withdraws Draft Addendum V & Maintains Current Measures until Completion of 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board chose to not advance Draft Addendum V to Amend- ment 6 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Striped Bass forward for public comment. Instead, it decided to wait until the release of the results of the 2018 benchmark stock assessment before it considered making changes to the manage- ment program.
U. S. NAVY N E W S Continued from Page 20.
TRCSG completed during Group Sail were indicative of deployed operations and we performed well.” Crescitelli said there is a thorough
process of debriefi ng evolutions, learning lessons and incorporating those lessons into future events. “We have a solid foundation from
which to develop into a lethal combat force ready to execute COMPTUEX with preci- sion,” said Crescitelli. “The road will be long and not without struggle and hardship, but the resilience of our Sailors was readily apparent during Group Sail.” These real-world evolutions allowed
the ships to execute many quality events that were indicative of deployed operations.
“We spent the second half of this un-
derway in integrated training with the air wing, embarked staff s, and ships of the carrier strike group during Group Sail,” said Clapperton. “Together we did very well and established the foundation of operations that we will build on for deployment. We com- pleted several highly technical evolutions, successful fl ight operations and communi- cation exercises. The Sailors and Marines on board performed very well, and I’m incredibly proud of the eff ort by this entire team. Their precise seamanship, airmanship and professionalism is impressive!” With TSTA and FEP complete, Theo-
dore Roosevelt returned to its homeport of San Diego and will begin preparations for its next test: COMPTUEX.
EFFORT AND ART PRIDE AND JOY
SEA HISTORY ALIVE
mysticseaport.org/stories
The Draft Addendum was initiated to
consider liberalization of commercial and recreational regulations to bring fi shing mortality to the target based on the fi ndings of the 2016 assessment update. The Draft Addendum proposed alternative measures aimed to increase total removals (commer- cial and recreational) by approximately 10% relative to 2015 to achieve the fi shing mortality target in 2017. However, 2016 har- vest estimates increased without changing regulations. Additionally, fi sh from the 2011 year class, which was the largest recruitment event since 2004, will become increasingly available to ocean fi sheries in the coming years, possibly resulting in further increases to harvest along the coast. The Board also expressed concern that changing the man- agement program could result in fi shing mortality exceeding the target. In preparation for the 2018 stock as- sessment, the Board approved the Terms of Reference for the assessment, which will explore new biological reference points for management use. For more information, please contact
Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at
mappelman@asmfc.org or 703-842-0740.
ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board Approves Scup Addendum XXIX & Finalizes 2017 Black Sea Bass Recreational Manage- ment Measures
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Manage- ment Board approved Addendum XXIX to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. The Adden- dum shortens the length of the commercial scup summer period and extends the length of the winter II period (Table 1). New Quota Periods approved in Addendum XXIX Winter I January 1-April 30 (120 days) Summer May 1- September 30 (153 days) Winter II October 1-December 31 (92 days) This action seeks to allow for the better
utilization of the commercial quota, which has been under-harvested since 2011. Spe- cifi cally, the change in quota period length allows for higher possession limits for a lon- ger period of time each year, thus increasing the likelihood the commercial fi shery will fully harvest the quota. The quota allocation for each period remains unchanged. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) also took the same action through Framework 10. The Council will forward its recommendation to NOAA Fisheries for fi nal approval. The Board and Council’s action will not aff ect the 2017 quota peri- od start and end dates; these changes will likely be implemented for 2018 commercial quota. The Addendum will be fi nalized and available on the Commission website, www.
asmfc.org (on the Scup webpage), within the next few weeks. The Board also reviewed the fi nal 2016
black sea bass recreational harvest estimates and considered changes to current measures to meet the 2017 RHL. Based on the perfor- mance of the 2016 fi shery, which indicated a reduction is needed to stay within the 2017 RHL, the Board set the possession limit for wave 6 (November/December 2017) at fi ve fi sh in state waters from Rhode Island through New Jersey. All other state mea- sures remain unchanged from 2016. For more information, please contact
Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Man- agement Plan Coordinator, at krootes-mur-
dy@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
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