Page 20. MAINE COASTAL NEWS December 2017 M C F N Continued from Page 13.


at the Westin Portland Harborview, Hotel 157 High Street, Portland, ME, to review the 2017 stock status report and set spec- ifi cations for the 2018 fi shing season. For more information, please contact, Max Ap- pelman, FMP Coordinator, at mappelman@ asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment Indicates Slow Recovery Since Moratorium; Resource Remains Depleted


NORFOLK, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board reviewed the results of the 2017 Atlantic Sturgeon Bench- mark Stock Assessment, which indicate the population remains depleted coastwide and at the distinct population segment (DPS) level relative to historic abundance. How- ever, on a coastwide basis, the population appears to be recovering slowly since implementation of a complete moratorium in 1998. Despite the fi shing moratorium, the population still experiences mortality from several sources but the assessment indicates that total mortality is sustainable. The “depleted” determination was used in- stead of “overfi shed” because of the many factors that contribute to the low abundance of Atlantic sturgeon, including directed and incidental fi shing, habitat loss, ship strikes, and climate changes. Atlantic sturgeon are a long lived, slow


to mature, anadromous species that spend the majority of their life at sea and return to natal streams to spawn. While at sea, extensive mixing is known to occur in both ocean and inland regions. The Commission manages Atlantic sturgeon as a single stock, however, NOAA Fisheries identifi ed fi ve DPSs of Atlantic sturgeon based on genetic analysis as part of a 2012 Endangered Spe- cies Act listing: Gulf of Maine, New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay, Carolina, and South Atlantic. Accordingly, this benchmark as- sessment evaluated Atlantic sturgeon on a coastwide level as well as a DPS-level when possible.


Atlantic sturgeon are not well moni-


tored by existing fi shery-independent data collection and bycatch observer programs,


and landings information does not exist after 1998 due to implementation of a coastwide moratorium. Because of this, Atlantic stur- geon are considered a “data-poor” species which hindered the Stock Assessment Sub- committee’s ability to use complex statisti- cal stock assessment models, particularly at the DPS-level. Based on the models used, the stock assessment indicated the Atlantic sturgeon population remains depleted rela- tive to historic levels at the coastwide and DPS levels. Since the moratorium, the prob- ability that Atlantic sturgeon abundance has increased coastwide is high and total mo- rality experienced by the population is low. The results are more mixed at the DPS-level due to sample size and limited data, but the Gulf of Maine and Carolina DPS appear to be experiencing the highest mortality and abundance in the Gulf of Maine and Ches- apeake Bay DPS is not as likely to be at a higher level since the moratorium. The Board approved the 2017 Atlantic


Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Reports for management use and discussed the need to support man- agement actions that have contributed to recovery seen to date (e.g., the moratorium, habitat restoration/protection, better by- catch monitoring) and continue to work on improving them (e.g., identifying bycatch and ship strike hotspots and ways to reduce those interactions). It is important to note there has been a tremendous amount of new information about Atlantic sturgeon collect- ed in recent years. Although this does not re- solve the issue of the lack of historical data, it certainly puts stock assessment scientists and fi sheries managers on a better path go- ing forward to continue to monitor stocks of Atlantic sturgeon and work towards its restoration. Atlantic sturgeon are managed through


Amendment 1 and Addenda I-IV to the Inter- state Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Sturgeon. The primary goal of the amendment is to achieve stock recovery via implementation of a coastwide moratorium on Atlantic sturgeon harvest and by pro- hibiting the possession of Atlantic sturgeon and any parts thereof. The moratorium is to remain in eff ect until 20-year classes of spawning females is realized and the FMP is modifi ed to reopen Atlantic sturgeon fi sh-


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eries. The Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark


Stock Assessment, as well as the Stock Assessment Overview (which is intended to aid media and interested stakeholders in better understanding the Commission’s stock assessment results and process), will be available the week of October 23rd


on the


Commission website, www.asmfc.org, on the Atlantic Sturgeon webpage under stock assessment reports. For more information on the stock assessment, please contact Dr. Katie Drew, Senior Stock Assessment Scientist, at kdrew@asmfc.org and for more information on management, please con- tact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


ASMFC Approves Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Tautog


NORFOLK, VA – The Atlantic States Ma- rine Fisheries Commission has approved Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Tautog, which includes new management goals and objectives, biological reference points, fi shing mortality targets, and stock rebuild- ing schedules. The Amendment institutes a fundamental change in tautog management, moving away from coastwide management towards regional management. Specifi cally, the Amendment delineates the stock into four regions due to diff erences in biology and fi shery characteristics: Massachusetts – Rhode Island (MARI); Long Island Sound (LIS); New Jersey – New York Bight (NJ- NYB); and Delaware – Maryland – Virginia (DelMarVa). The 2016 stock assessment update in-


dicated that all regions except MARI were overfi shed, and overfi shing was occurring in the LIS and NJ-NYB regions in 2015. As such, LIS and NJ-NYB would be required to take harvest reductions, while MARI and DelMarVa would not have to take harvest reductions, but are proposing regional mea- sures.


Amendment 1 replaces the goal of the


FMP to sustainably manage tautog over the long-term using regional diff erences in biology and fi shery characteristics as the basis for management. Additionally, the Amendment seeks to promote the conserva- tion and enhancement of structured habitat to meet the needs of all stages of tautog’s life cycle. The plan objectives were modifi ed to achieve this new goal. Under Amendment 1 the four regions


will implement measures to achieve the regional fi shing mortality target with at least a 50% probability. No consistent schedule is required to achieve targets, but if the current fi shing mortality exceeds the regional threshold, the Board must initiate corrective action within one year. A stock rebuilding schedule can be established via an addendum. In addition, Amendment 1 establishes


a commercial harvest tagging program to address an illegal, unreported and undoc- umented fi shery. The tagging program will be implemented in 2019. Reports of illegally harvested fi sh have been documented in cases against fi shermen, fi sh houses, and at retail markets and restaurants. The tagging program, which will accommodate both the live and dead commercial markets, was recommended by the Commission’s Law Enforcement Committee to increase accountability in the fi shery and curb illegal harvest. Tags will be applied by the commer- cially-permitted harvester at harvest or prior to offl oading. Tautog must be landed in the state that is identifi ed on the tag. The states will submit implementation


proposals by December 1, 2017 and all measures in the Amendment except for the commercial tagging program will be imple- mented by April 1, 2018. The commercial tagging program must be implemented by January 1, 2019. The fi nal Amendment will be posted


to the Commission’s website on the Tautog webpage the week of October 31st


. For more


information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.


NOAA Fisheries Recommends Actions to Help Right Whales


Announces the Release of the North Atlantic Right Whale Five-Year Review Coming at the end of a devastating summer for right whales, the North Atlantic Right Whale Five-Year Review and its list of rec- ommended actions to promote right whale recovery is particularly timely. Twelve dead endangered North Atlantic


right whales were found fl oating in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence. These deaths account for nearly 3 percent of the total population. In addition, there were four confi rmed live right whale entanglements, two of which were disentangled. In U.S. waters, at least one right whale has died from a ship strike and two other carcasses were spotted this year. These recent mortalities and entan- glements, particularly the high numbers in Canada, have experts in both countries con- cerned for the future of this species. These documented deaths represent a minimum; an updated estimate of population size will provide a clearly understanding of the num- ber of whales that died in 2017. In July 2016, we initiated this Review,


as we do every fi ve years, to make sure that species are accurately listed as “endan- gered” or “threatened” under the Endan- gered Species Act. Our Five-Year Review is now complete


and provides updates on the right whale population in U.S. waters. The Five-Year Review recommends, not surprisingly, that North Atlantic right whales continue to be listed as endangered, and confi rms that they experiencing a low rate of repro- duction, longer calving intervals, declining population abundance, continued mortality from vessel and fi shing gear interactions, changes in prey availability, and increased transboundary movement and risk. As part of the Five-Year Review, we


recommend actions to help the species recover. The actions highlighted in the Five- Year Review report are based on the latest scientifi c information and include steps to increase our understanding of the threats facing North Atlantic right whales and ways to address them. Read more about our Five-Year Re-


view, and the actions we are recommending on our website. Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel,


Regional Public Aff airs Offi cer, 978-290- 0203 or at jennifer.goebel@noaa.gov.


ASMFC Approves Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden


Atlantic Menhaden Board Sets TAC at 216,000 MT for 2018 and 2019


LINTHICUM, MD – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has approved Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Men- haden. The Amendment maintains the man- agement program’s current single-species biological reference points until the review and adoption of menhaden-specifi c eco- logical reference points as part of the 2019


Continued on Page 21.


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