Public Comment
Feb. 3: NOAA Fisheries is proposing regulations to implement Amendment 18 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. Amendment 18 was developed by the New England Fishery Management Council to promote fleet diversity in the groundfish fishery and enhance sector management. This action proposes to limit the number of permits and annual groundfish allocation that an entity could hold. This action also removes several effort restrictions to increase operational flexibility for limited access handgear vessels.
(Find more information here.)
Feb. 10: SAFMC seeks public comment for item
s identified in the the Snapper Grouper Vision Blueprint addressing recreational management measures.
Potential actions in the amendment may include re-evaluation of the shallow water grouper closure, re-evaluation of aggregate bag limits, removal of minimum size limits for deepwater species, changes to the jacks complex and its bag limits, and modification of the recreational minimum size limit for black sea bass.
(Find more information here.)
Feb. 14:
NOAA Fisheries seeks public comment for proposed rule to require turtle excluder devive use for skimmer trawls, pusher-head trawls and wing nets (butterfly trawls). The rule, if implemented, would require all skimmer trawls, pusher-head trawls and wing nets (butterfly trawls) to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in their nets.
(Find more information here.)
Feb. 16: NOAA Fisheries seeks public comment on the issuance of an exempted fishing permit to Dr. David Kerstetter of Nova Southeastern University to evaluate pelagic longline (PLL) catch and bycatch rates from within two different sub-areas in the northern portion of the East Florida Coast (EFC) PLL Closed Area and compare those rates to rates obtained by authorized samplers from outside the EFC PLL Closed Area and the availability of a draft Environmental Assessment analyzing the impacts of granting the application to conduct the research using commercial PLL vessels with certain terms and conditions. (
Find more information here.)
Feb. 17: NOAA Fisheries seeks public comment on the proposed rule to implement Amendment 36 to the Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region as prepared and submitted by the SAFMC. If implemented, this proposed rule would modify the FMP framework procedures to allow spawning special management zones (SMZs) to be established or modified through the framework process. (
Find more information here.)
Mar. 6: NEFMC seeks public comment for a scoping document for Amendment 5 to the Northeast skate complex FMP. The purpose of this scoping document is to inform the public of the Council's intent to gather information necessary for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement that will analyze the impacts of this amendment on the affected biological, physical and human environments (
Find more information here.)
Mar. 10: NOAA Fisheries invites public comments on the information collection requirements mandated in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. Specifically, (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
(Find more information here.)
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Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO)
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
Southeast Regional Office (SERO)
Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC)
USFWS - Northeast Office (Region 5)
USFWS - Southeast Office (Region 4)
New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC)
Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC)
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC)
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC)
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Featured Stories for the Week of February 1
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ASMFC: Atlantic Herring Section Approves Draft Addendum I for Public Comment
Alexandria, VA - The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Atlantic Herring Section approved Draft Addendum I to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (ISFMP) for Atlantic Herring for public comment. Draft Addendum I includes management options to ensure the seasonal quota is distributed throughout Trimester 2, are applied consistently by the states adjacent to Area 1A, and address excessive capacity.
The Draft Addendum was initiated in response to the accelerated rate of Area 1A Trimester 2 (June through September) landings in recent years and the increasingly dynamic nature of days out measures to control effort
that have varied across states. The Section utilizes days out of the fishery to slow the rate of Area 1A catch by restricting the number of available landing days. Landing reports indicate vessels are harvesting herring on days
out of the fishery and transferring fish at-sea to carrier or larger vessels until landing is permitted. The practice of fishing outside of landing days has limited the effectiveness of the days out program in controlling the rate of
harvest.
Find more information
here.
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ASMFC: American Lobster Board Approves Draft Addendum XXV for Public Comment
The ASMFC's American Lobster Management Board approved Draft Addendum XXV to Amendment 3 to the ISFMP for American Lobster for public comment. The Draft Addendum seeks to address the depleted condition of the Southern New England (SNE) stock while preserving a functional portion of the SNE lobster fishery. The document presents a suite of management measures to increase egg production and lower fishing mortality through a combination of management tools including gauge size changes, season closures, and trap reductions.
The Draft Addendum responds to the results of the 2015 American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment which found the SNE stock is severely depleted and experiencing recruitment failure. Declines in population abundance were
most pronounced in the inshore portion of the stock where environmental conditions have remained unfavorable to lobster since the late 1990s. These stock declines are largely in response to adverse environmental conditions, including increasing water temperatures over the last 15 years, combined with continued fishing mortality.
Find more information
here
.
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NJ DFW: Releases Studying River Herring 2016 Report
River herring are anadromous (lives in saltwater and returns to freshwater to spawn) and spawn in coastal rivers during the spring. River herring refers to alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis).
In 2012, the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's Bureau of Marine Fisheries received mitigation funding from the El Paso Corporation for a three-year research program to collect biological data and determine indices for adult and juvenile river herring abundance on the Rancocas Creek and Maurice River watersheds.
During the first year of the program staff performed test-sampling at different sites on both river systems with several gear types including gill netting, seining, fish ladders, and electrofishing. When the third and final year of the grant was completed, limited funds were obtained from a Federal grant.
Read the full report
here
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NY DEC: $1 Million in Grants Available for Culvert and Dam Removal Projects in Hudson Tributaries
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced the availability of the 2017 competitive Hudson River Estuary Grants Program for Tributary Restoration and Resiliency to help communities in the Hudson River estuary watershed improve water quality, increase flood resiliency, and conserve natural resources.
These grants will help communities remove dams or replace or right-size culverts to improve stream flow and to restore habitat connectivity in tributary streams of the estuary. Removal of these barriers and constrictions also will help with existing and projected impacts of localized flooding.
Tributary Restoration and Resiliency grants will fund three specific project types: construction projects to remove dams; engineering and planning to remove dams; and construction projects to remove/ right-size culverts.
To be eligible, projects must conserve or restore habitat connectivity for American eel or river herring in tributary streams of the Hudson River estuary watershed. Projects also must be designed to pass, at a minimum, a 1% annual chance storm (100-year flood) to promote flood resiliency.
Find more information
here
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NEFMC: Council Approves Witch Flounder Specifications; Recommends 2017 Gulf of Maine Cod and Haddock Recreational Measures
The New England Fishery Management Council has approved new witch flounder specifications for the 2017-2019 groundfish fishing years. Allocations will be based on an acceptable biological catch (ABC) of 878 metric tons (mt). When adjusted for management uncertainty, the ABC results in an annual catch limit (ACL) of 839 mt. This value is almost double the 441 mt ACL currently in place for the 2016 fishing year, which ends April 30, 2017.
The specifications are part of Framework Adjustment 56 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The Council approved other framework measures in November (see list next page) but held off on witch flounder specifications pending the completion of a new benchmark stock assessment.
During its Jan. 24-26 meeting in Portsmouth, NH, the Council: (1) received a briefing on the new assessment; (2) made several decisions related to the assessment itself and witch flounder specifications; (3) approved revised 2017-2019 annual catch limits; and (4) voted to submit Framework 56 to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for approval. The target implementation date is May 1, the start of the 2017 fishing year.
Find more information
here.
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SAFMC: Atlantic Spanish Mackerel Southern Zone Commercial Trip Limit Reduction to 1,500 pounds on February 6, 2017
What/When:
- The daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of Atlantic Spanish mackerel in the southern zone is reduced from 3,500 to 1,500 pounds, effective 6:00 a.m. on February 6, 2017.
- The southern zone includes federal waters off the states of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The boundary for the southern zone is the North Carolina/South Carolina border and the Monroe/Miami-Dade Counties, Florida, border.
Why this trip limit reductions is happening:
 When landings of Atlantic Spanish mackerel in the southern zone reach or are projected to reach 75 percent of the adjusted quota, accountability measures are in place to reduce the daily trip limit.- The trip limit reduction is necessary to slow the rate of commercial harvest to avoid exceeding the adjusted quota.
Find more information here.
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NOAA: ONMS Seeking Advisory Council Applicants
Currently, six national marine sanctuaries and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve are seeking applicants for vacant seats on their advisory councils.
National marine sanctuaries are a type of Marine Protected Area (MPA) managed for the conservation of their natural and cultural resources, while supporting sustainable recreation, tourism and compatible commercial activities.
The Sanctuary Advisory Council(s) are community - based groups whose insight guides management decisions and community relations for each sanctuary site. Candidates are selected based on expertise and experience in relation to the particular role for which they are applying, as well as relevant community or professional affiliations.
Find more information
here
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| A scuba diver swims amid a school of fish at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Credit: G.P. Schmahl/NOAA |
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NOAA Fisheries: Atlantic Cobia (Georgia through New York) Recreational Fishing Season is Closed in Federal Waters
Recreational harvest of Atlantic migratory group cobia (from Georgia through New York) closed at 12:01 a.m. on January 24, 2017, in federal waters. Recreational harvest of cobia will remain closed until January 1, 2018.
Why this closure is happening:
- In 2016, the recreational and total annual catch limits of Atlantic migratory group cobia were exceeded. Therefore, the 2017 recreational season must account for this overage.
- When landings of Atlantic migratory group cobia exceed annual catch limits, accountability measures are in place to ensure overfishing (rate of removal is too high) does not occur. If total landings (commercial and recreational) for the Atlantic migratory group cobia exceed the total annual catch, NOAA Fisheries is required to reduce the length of the recreational fishing season in the following fishing year.
- With the understanding that recreational harvest of cobia will remain
open in some state waters during the federal closure, NOAA Fisheries has determined that the annual catch limit in 2017 will likely be exceeded as the majority of cobia landings come from state waters.
- NOAA Fisheries will reevaluate the federal closure if state regulations change in 2017.
Find more information here.
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info@accsp.org.
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Upcoming Meetings and Events
Feb. 14-16: MAFMC (Kitty Hawk, NC)
Apr. 11-13:
MAFMC (Avalon, NJ)
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Maine Department of Marine Fisheries (ME DMR)
New Hampshire Fish & Game Department (NH FGD)
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF)
Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife (RI DFW)
Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CT DEEP)
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC)
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC)
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJ DFW)
Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife (DE DFW)
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Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR)
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District Department of the Environment (DC DOEE)
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Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC)
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North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NC DMF)
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR)
Georgia Department of Natural Resources - Coastal Resources Division (GA CRD)
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC)
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