Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS November 2017


Commercial Fishing News ASMFC American Lobster Board


Approves Draft Addenda XXVI & III to the American Lobster and Jonah Crab FMPs for Public Comment


NORFOLK, VA – The Atlantic States Ma- rine Fisheries Commission’s American Lob- ster Management Board approved American Lobster Draft Addendum XXVI/Jonah Crab Draft Addendum III for public comment. Given the same data collection needs ap- ply to both American lobster and Jonah crab fi sheries, Draft Addendum XXVI and Draft Addendum III are combined into one document that would modify management programs for both species upon its adoption. The Draft Addenda seek to improve harvest reporting and biological data collection in the American lobster and Jonah crab fi sh- eries. The Draft Addenda propose using the latest reporting technology, expanding the collection of eff ort data, increasing the spatial resolution of harvester reporting, and advancing the collection of biological data, particularly off shore. Recent management action in the


Northwest Atlantic, including the protec- tion of deep sea corals, the declaration of a national monument, and the expansion of off shore wind projects, have highlighted defi ciencies in current American lobster and Jonah crab reporting requirements. These include a lack of spatial resolution in harvester data and a signifi cant number of fi shermen who are not required to report. As a result, eff orts to estimate the economic impacts of these various management ac- tions on American lobster and Jonah crab fi sheries have been hindered. States have been forced to piece together information from harvester reports, industry surveys, and fi shermen interviews to gather the in- formation needed. In addition, as American lobster and Jonah crab fi sheries continue


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to expand off shore, there is a greater dis- connect between where the fi shery is being prosecuted and where biological sampling is occurring. More specifi cally, while most of the sampling occurs in state waters, an increasing volume of American lobster and Jonah crab are being harvested in federal waters. The lack of biological information on the off shore portions of these fi sheries can impede eff ective management. The Draft Addenda present three


questions for public comment: (1) what percentage of harvesters should be required to report in the American lobster and Jo- nah crab fi sheries; (2) should current data elements be expanded to collect a greater amount of information in both fi sheries; and (3) at what scale should spatial information be collected. In addition, the Draft Addenda provide several recommendations to NOAA Fisheries for data collection of off shore American lobster and Jonah crab fi sheries. These include implementation of a harvester reporting requirement for federal lobster permit holders, creation of a fi xed-gear VTR form, and expansion of a biological sampling program off shore. It is anticipated the majority of states


from Maine through New Jersey will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addenda. The details of those hearings will be released in a subsequent press release. The Draft Addenda will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc. org (under Public Input) by October 27th


.


Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addenda either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on January 22, 2017 and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, FMP Coor- dinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N,


2017 LOBSTER BOAT RACE CD


Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addenda XXVI & III).


Atlantic Herring Massachusetts/New Hampshire Spawning Closure in Eff ect Starting October 1 through October 28, 2017


The Atlantic Herring Area 1A (inshore


Gulf of Maine) fi shery regulations include seasonal spawning closures for portions of state and federal waters in Eastern Maine, Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved a forecasting method that relies upon at least three sam- ples, each containing at least 25 female herring in gonadal states III-V, to trigger a spawning closure. Fifteen samples of female herring were


collected to evaluate spawning condition. Based on the analysis of the samples, the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area will be closed starting at 12:00 a.m. on October 1, 2017 extending through 11:59 p.m. on October 28, 2017. Vessels in the directed Atlantic herring fi shery cannot take, land or possess Atlantic herring caught within the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area during this time and must have all fi shing gear stowed when transit- ing through the area. An incidental bycatch allowance of up to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip/ calendar day applies to ves- sels in non-directed fi sheries that are fi shing within the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area. The Massachusetts/New Hampshire


spawning area includes all waters bounded by the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine coasts, and 43° 30’ N and 70° 00’ W. For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Director, at 703.842.0740 or tkerns@asmfc.org.


Over 860 photographs from all ten 2017 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.


ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel to Meet November 29th to Consider 2018 Fishery Specifi cations Arlington, VA - The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section (Section) and Advisory Panel (AP) will meet on November 29, 2017 to consider specifi cations for the 2018 fi shing season. The AP will meet in the morning (10 - 11:30 a.m.) to formulate recommendations for the Section’s consideration, and the Section will meet in the afternoon (1 - 3:30 p.m.) to set the specifi cations. Both meetings are scheduled to take place at the Westin Portland Har- borview, Hotel 157 High Street, Portland, Maine; 207.517.8822. In 2016, the Section approved a mor-


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atorium for the fourth consecutive fi shing season (2014-2017) based on the status of the resource, which is considered at record low levels and experiencing low recruitment since 2012. The Northern Shrimp Technical Committee is currently updating the 2017 Northern Shrimp Stock Status Report, the fi ndings of which will form the basis of the Section’s determinations for the 2018 season. This Report will be included in the meeting materials, which will be available in early November. For more information, please contact


Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc. org<mailto:mappelman@asmfc.org> or 703.842.0740.


ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Launches New Website on Atlantic Herring Area 1A Spawning Monitoring System


Arlington, VA – In May, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved the continued use


when the population will be spawning and when spawning closures should be set based on the development of herring gonads (re- productive organs) in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine). GSI stands for gonadosomatic index and in its simplest terms assesses the onset of spawning based on the ratio of the weight of a female herring’s ovaries to its body weight. This new system, which was successfully piloted in 2016, uses the observed rate of increase in GSI to predict when spawning will occur and when the fi sh- ery will be closed. This replaces an earlier system that simply closed the fi shery when the observed GSI was above a threshold value.


of the GSI30-based forecast system to predict Stakeholders can see the spawning fore-


cast model in real time here: https://www. massmarinefi sheries.net/herring/. Atlantic herring spawn in the late sum-


mer or early fall of each year. The timing of this event can vary by several weeks, which necessitates sampling the population each year to determine when the spawning closure should occur. Once three samples have been collected that show a positive progression in gonadal development, a forecasted closure date can be determined by projecting forward when the population is likely to cross the spawning threshold. This forecasted closure date is continuously updated as new samples are acquired, and the closure is fi nally set within 5 days of the forecast date. If not enough samples can be collected


to forecast a closure date, a default closure date will go into eff ect. This date varies slightly by region: Eastern Maine: August 28th


; Western Maine: October 4th


chusetts-New Hampshire: October 4th Whether initiated by the forecast model


; Massa- .


or a default date, the spawning closure lasts four weeks. If more than 25% of sampled fi sh are still in spawning condition when the fi shery is reopened, the fi shery will reclose for another two weeks. For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Director, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


Council Endorses 2018 U.S./Canada TACs; Receives Progress Report on Groundfi sh Framework 57, Monitoring Amendment The New England Fishery Management


Council today accepted 2018 total allowable catches (TACs) for three groundfi sh stocks on Georges Bank (GB) that the U.S. shares with Canada – Eastern GB cod, Eastern GB haddock, and GB yellowtail fl ounder. The TACs were recommended by the U.S./Can- ada Transboundary Management Guidance Committee (TMGC) based on advice from the U.S./Canada Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC). The U.S. has members on both the TMGC and the TRAC. The TACs will be included in Frame-


work Adjustment 57 to the Northeast Mul- tispecies Fishery Management Plan, which is still under development. The National Marine Fisheries Service must approve the TACs before they are implemented. The allocation shares for 2018 are based


on the following formula: historical catches weighted 10%; and resource distribution based on trawl surveys weighted 90%. The TACs refl ect the following changes


from 2017 levels for U.S. quotas: Eastern Georges Bank Cod: 111 mt increase; Eastern Georges Bank Haddock: 13,900 mt decrease; and Eastern Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder: 6 mt increase. The TMGC recommended that 40,000


mt also be used as the “upper bound” when determining 2019 catch advice for Eastern Georges Bank haddock. Furthermore, the


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