September 2017 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 11. Commercial Fishing News M C F N
ASMFC American Lobster Board Initi- ates Addendum to Increase Resiliency of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank Stock ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board initiated Draft Addendum XXVII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster. The Draft Addendum seeks to increase the resiliency of the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank (GOM/GBK) stock by considering the standardization of manage- ment measures across Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMAs). This is a pro- active management action and is in response to signs of reduced settlement. Initiating an addendum charges the Plan Development Team (PDT) with developing management alternatives for consideration in the Draft Addendum. The American lobster fi shery is one of
the largest and most valuable fi sheries along the Atlantic coast. In 2016, over 158 million pounds were landed coastwide totaling $666 million in ex-vessel value. The vast majority of harvest occurs within the GOM/GBK stock area, with over 130 million pounds landed in Maine alone. Since 2012, settle- ment surveys for the GOM/GBK stock have indicated a consistent decreasing trend in young-of-year lobster. This decrease could foreshadow a decline in recruitment and landings. Given the high value of the fi shery and the economic importance of the fi shery to coastal communities throughout New England, the Board initiated Draft Adden- dum XXVII as a proactive response to build resiliency in the stock. The Draft Addendum will consider,
to the extent possible, the development of consistent management measures for the GOM/GBK stock, including gauge size and v-notch defi nitions. Currently, disparate regulations allow lobsters protected in one LCMA to be harvested in another LCMA.
A uniform set of regulations would add an additional biological buff er to the stock through the protection of spawning stock biomass across LCMAs. In addition, this action may address enforcement concerns, particularly regarding the sale and transfer of lobsters across state lines which are sub- ject to diff erent minimum gauge sizes. The PDT will provide an update on the devel- opment of Draft Addendum XXVII at the Commission’s Annual Meeting in October. Regarding the Southern New England
stock, the Board decided to not move for- ward with Addendum XXV for management use at the current time. After considering the proposals put forth by the Lobster Con- servation Management Teams (LCMTs) and Technical Committee input, the Board was divided in its support of the Draft Ad- dendum. Some members felt the proposed measures did not go far enough to protect the stock, while others were concerned the ma- jority of LCMT proposals would not achieve the required 5% increase in egg production. Others believed signifi cant reductions have already occurred in the fi shery and no further action was needed. Ultimately, the Board decided to establish a Workgroup to discuss ways to manage SNE lobster.
Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Update Finds Resource Not Overfi shed and Overfi shing Not Occurring The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Manage- ment Board reviewed the results of the 2017 Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Up- date, which indicates the resource remains healthy; it is not overfi shed nor experiencing overfi shing relative to the current biological reference points. In 2016, population fecun- dity, a measure of reproductive capacity, is estimated to be 83,486 billion eggs which is well above the threshold (57,295 billion eggs) but below the target (99,467 billion
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eggs). Additionally, total fi shing mortality is estimated to be 0.51, below both the fi shing mortality threshold (1.85) and target (0.80). The stock assessment update uses the same modeling approach as the 2015 Atlantic Menhaden Benchmark Stock Assessment but added additional years of data from 2014-2016. While the stock status was assessed in
the same way as the 2015 benchmark report, the reference point values have changed. Adding additional years of data to the model resulted in generally higher fi shing mortality values throughout the times series which changed the scale of the reference points. While the scale is diff erent and the trend diff ers in some years, the stock status for both fi shing mortality rate and fecundity has been similar over the past decade. Atlantic menhaden is harvested by both
commercial reduction and bait fi sheries. In 2013, Amendment 2 to the Fishery Manage- ment Plan implemented a total allowable catch (TAC) of 170,800 metric tons (mt). The coastwide TAC was increased by 10% to 187,880 mt for the 2015-2016 fi shing years and by another 6.45% to 200,000 mt for the 2017 fi shing year. In 2016, reduction landings were 137,400 mt and accounted for approximately 76% of coastwide landings and bait landings were 43,100 mt and com- prised 24% of coastwide landings. For a more detailed description
of the stock assessment results, go here –
http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/ fi le/59822ab4MenhadenAssessmentOver-
view_Aug2017.pdf. To obtain the Stock Assessment Update go here – http://www.
asmfc.org/uploads/file/59832ee0Menha- denStockAssessmentUpdate_Aug2017. pdf. For more information, please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or mware@
asmfc.org
ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Board Ap- proves Draft Amendment 3 for Public Comment
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Manage- ment Board approved Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Menhaden for public comment. The Draft Amendment seeks to manage the menhaden resource in a way that balances menhaden’s ecological role as a prey species with the needs of all user groups. To this end, the Draft Amendment considers the use of ecosystem reference points (ERPs) to manage the resource and changes to the allocation method. In ad- dition, it presents a suite of management options for quota transfers, quota rollovers, incidental catch, the episodic events set aside program, and the Chesapeake Bay reduction fi shery cap. The 2015 Benchmark Stock Assess-
ment Report identifi ed the development of ERPs as a high priority for Atlantic menha- den management. Menhaden serve an im-
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