Virginia Saltwater Fishing

The States of Maine and Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Virginia have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum IV to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow. Please note that some states will also be conducting hearings on other ASMFC proposed species management actions.

Maine Department of Marine Resources
October 5, 2009; 6 PM
Freeport Community Library
10 Library Drive
Freeport, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at (207) 624-6553
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Striped Bass Draft Addendum II

Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources
October 6, 2009; 5:30 – 9:00 PM
Tawes State Office Building, C1 Conference Room
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland
Contact: Alexei Sharov 410-260-8288
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Striped Bass Draft Addendum II

Virginia Marine Resources Commission
September 29, 2009; 6 PM
2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor
Newport News, Virginia.
Contact: Jack Travelstead at (757) 247-2247

Draft Addendum IV proposes extending the Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery harvest cap, established through Addendum III, for an additional three years (2011 – 2013). Under the proposed Addendum, the Board would annually review measures to determine if they are appropriate given the most recent information available about the stock and fishery.

The Board’s action was requested by the Commonwealth of Virginia in order to accommodate its legislative process as well as ensure that the current management program is extended while menhaden research efforts continue. Virginia’s legislature, which meets January through March each year, is responsible for regulating the menhaden reduction fishery in state waters. With a new Addendum in place this year, Virginia state administrators can work with the legislature in early 2010 to amend Virginia law to extend the harvest cap without the current cap expiring.

Addendum III established the current annual cap of 109,020 metric tons on reduction fishery harvests in Chesapeake Bay as a precautionary measure while research was conducted to address the question of menhaden abundance in the Bay. The cap has been in place since 2006 and will extend through 2010. Harvest for reduction purposes is prohibited in the Chesapeake Bay when 100 percent of the cap is landed. Over-harvest in any given year would be deducted from the next year’s quota. Addendum III also includes a provision allowing under-harvest in one year to be credited only to the following year’s cap, not to exceed 122,740 metric tons. Since Addendum III was implemented, reduction landings of menhaden from Chesapeake Bay has not exceeded the cap.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum IV, by attending public hearings or providing written comments. Copies of Draft Addendum IV can be obtained by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400 or via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM EST on October 9, 2009 and should be forwarded to Braddock Spear, Senior FMP Coordinator for Policy, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at bspear@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum IV).

source: ASMFC press release

Atlantic coast states from Maine through North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow. Please note that some states will also be conducting hearings on other ASMFC proposed species management actions.

Maine Department of Marine Resources
October 5, 2009; 6:00 PM
Freeport Community Library
10 Library Drive
Freeport, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at (207) 624-6553
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Menhaden Draft Addendum IV

New Hampshire Fish and Game
October 8, 2009; 7:00 PM
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Contact: Doug Grout at (603) 868-1095
* Public comment will also be gathered on Lobster Draft Addendum XV (6:30 PM) and Shad Draft Amendment 3 (7:30 PM)

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
September 30, 2009; 7:00 PM
Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Contact:  Melanie Griffin at (617) 626-1528
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3

Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
October 1, 2009; 6:00 PM
URI, Narragansett Bay Campus, Corless Auditorium
215 South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Jason McNamee at (401) 423-1943
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection
October 6, 2009; 7:00 PM
Marine Headquarters (Boating Education Center)
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson at (860) 434-6043
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation

September 24, 2009; 7:00 PM
Marine Resources Headquarters
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at (631) 444-0435
* Public comment will also be gathered on Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
October 6, 2009; 7:00 PM
Toms River Township Clerk’s Office
L. Manuel Hirshblond Room
33 Washington Street
Toms River, New Jersey
Contact: Tom McCloy at (609) 292-7794
* Public comment will also be gathered on Weakfish Draft Addendum IV (8:00 PM)

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
September 29, 2009; 7:00 PM
Tyler State Park
101 Swamp Road
New Town, Pennsylvania
Contact: Leroy Young at (814) 359-5177

* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3

Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
October 7, 2009; 6:00 PM
Richardson and Robbins Building Auditorium
89 Kings Highway
Dover, Delaware
Contact: Craig Shirey at (302) 739-9914
* Public comment will also be gathered on Weakfish Draft Addendum IV (6:30 PM) and Shad Draft Amendment 3 (7:30 PM)

Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources
October 6, 2009; 5:30 PM
Tawes State Office Building, C1 Conference Room
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland
Contact: Harry Hornick at (410) 260-8305
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Menhaden Draft Addendum IV

Virginia Marine Resources Commission
September 28, 2009; 6:00 PM
2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Jack Travelstead at (757) 247-2247
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
October 14, 2009; 6:00 PM
Roanoke Island Festival Park
1 Festival Park
Manteo, North Carolina
Contact: Michelle Duval at (252) 808-8011
* Public comment will also be gathered on Weakfish Draft Addendum IV (7:00 PM)

Draft Addendum II proposes to allow unused coastal commercial quota of striped bass to be rolled over from one year to the next. Options include state eligibility and the amount of unused quota that may be carried over. The Draft Addendum also outlines procedures for implementing and monitoring quota roll over.

The existing management program addresses coastal commercial quota overages, requiring payback of an overage in the subsequent year, yet it is silent on coastal commercial quota underages.  While avoiding a quota overage signifies managerial success, a quota underage represents lost opportunity to commercial harvesters. Quota underages may result from changes in fish abundance or distribution, environmental factors, fishing effort, and regulatory measures.

The Draft Addendum presents a hypothetical situation to analyze the potential effect of allowing roll over. Had all unused coastal commercial quota in 2003 through 2007 been rolled over and then harvested in 2004 through 2008, the average increase in the total coastal commercial quota would have been less than 15 percent and the average increase in the total coastwide harvest less than two percent. An analysis by the Technical Committee indicated that a 15 percent increase in the coastal commercial quotas would have a limited effect on the fishing mortality rate, and that large fluctuations in recreational harvest, which is not regulated by quota, present a greater level of risk of exceeding the fishing mortality target or threshold. However, the Technical Committee also noted that the potential effect of roll over on the stock increases if quota underages occur due to population decline. Other concerns included the two to three year lag in reporting the fishing mortality rate estimate for any given year and that allowing roll over could provide an incentive to under report harvest.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum II, either by attending public hearings or providing written comments.  Copies of Draft Addendum II are available via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News.  Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 16, 2009 and should be forwarded to Nichola Meserve, FMP Coordinator, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at nmeserve@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Draft Addendum II).

source: ASMFC press release

Atlantic coast states from New York through Florida have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum IV to Amendment 4 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Weakfish. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow. It is anticipated that South Carolina will also be scheduling a public hearing. The details of this hearing will be released when available. Please note that some states will also be conducting hearings on other ASMFC proposed species management actions.

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

October 5, 2009; 7:00 PM
Marine Resources Headquarters
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at (631) 444-0435

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
October 6, 2009; 8:00 PM
Toms River Township Clerk-s Office
L. Manuel Hirshblond Room
33 Washington Street
Toms River, New Jersey
Contact: Tom McCloy at (609) 292-7794
* Public comment will also be gathered on Striped Bass Draft Addendum II (7 PM)

Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
October 7, 2009; 6:30 PM
Richardson and Robbins Building Auditorium
89 Kings Highway
Dover, Delaware
Contact: Craig Shirey at (302) 739-9914
* Public comment will also be gathered on Striped Bass Draft Addendum II (6:00 PM) and Shad Draft Amendment 3 (7:30 PM)

Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources
October 13, 2009; 5:30 PM
Tawes State Office Building, C1 Conference Room
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland
Contact: Jim Uphoff at (410) 642-6785 ext. 2106
* Public comment will also be gathered on Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

Virginia Marine Resources Commission
October 7, 2009; 6:00 PM
2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Rob O’Reilly at (757) 247-2236
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
October 14, 2009; 7:00 PM
Roanoke Island Festival Park
1 Festival Park
Manteo, North Carolina
Contact: Michelle Duval at (252) 808-8011
* Public comment will also be gathered on Striped Bass Draft Addendum II (6:00 PM)

Georgia Coastal Resources Division
October 6, 2009; 6:30 PM
Holton’s Restaurant
Exit 76 – Interstate 95
13711 Highway 84
Midway, Georgia
Contact: Spud Woodward at (912) 264-7218

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
October 15, 2009; 6:00 PM
Jacksonville Public Library, Southeast Branch
10599 Deerwood Park Blvd
Room B
Jacksonville, Florida
Contact: Jessica McCawley at (850) 487-0554

The Draft Addendum will propose a range of options to reduce fishing mortality, including complete harvest moratoria and limited bycatch only fisheries. It was developed in response to the findings of the 2009 weakfish stock assessment which shows weakfish stocks at an all time low and current fishery removals unsustainable under existing stock conditions. Specifically, the assessment indicated that weakfish abundance has declined markedly, total mortality is high, non-fishing mortality has recently increased, and the stock is currently in a depleted state. The assessment report was reviewed and approved for management use by an independent panel of fisheries scientists.

The weakfish stock is depleted at an all-time low of 2.9 million pounds (1,333 metric tons), far below the proposed biomass threshold of 22.4 million pounds (10,179 metric tons). At this stock size, recent fishery removals (landings and dead discards combined) represent a significant proportion of the remaining biomass. While the decline in the stock primarily results from a change in the natural mortality of weakfish in recent years, it is further exacerbated by continued removals by the commercial and recreational fisheries.

Natural mortality has risen substantially since 1995, with factors such as predation, competition, and changes in the environment having a stronger influence on recent weakfish stock dynamics than fishing mortality. Given current high natural mortality levels, stock projections indicate that the stock is unlikely to recover rapidly, even under a harvest moratorium. In order to rebuild the stock, total mortality will need to be reduced, although this is unlikely to occur until natural mortality decreases to previous levels. On a positive note, juvenile abundance surveys indicate that young-of-the-year weakfish continued to be present in numbers similar to previous years, suggesting that recruitment at this point has not been severely limited in spite of low stock size.

The Board has placed the Draft Addendum on a faster timeline than standard addenda. Staff and the Plan Development Team will prepare a draft for Board review and consideration on September 28th. If approved, the draft will then be made available for public review and comment shortly thereafter. The Board will meet again in November to consider public comment and take final action on the Draft Addendum. Under Commission procedures, the Board may opt to implement the Addendum under emergency action, with approved measures taking effect immediately upon Board action.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum IV, by attending public hearings or providing written comments. Copies of Draft Addendum IV will be available shortly after September 28th via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. Public comment will be accepted until late October (final deadline to be set upon the Draft Addendum’s release) and should be forwarded to Nichola Meserve, FMP Coordinator, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at (Subject line: Weakfish Draft Addendum IV).

source: ASMFC press release

Atlantic coast states from Massachusetts through Virginia have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum XX to Amendment 13 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow. Please note that some states will also be conducting hearings on other ASMFC proposed species management actions.

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
September 30, 2009; 4:30 PM
Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Contact:  Melanie Griffin at (617) 626-1528
* The meeting will begin with public comment related to Lobster Draft Addendum XV; comment will be gathered on Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX immediately following lobster

Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
October 1, 2009; 6:00 PM
URI, Narragansett Bay Campus, Corless Auditorium
215 South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Jason McNamee at (401) 423-1943
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Striped Bass Draft Addendum II

Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection
October 6, 2009; 7:00 PM
Marine Headquarters (Boating Education Center)
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson at (860) 434-6043
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Striped Bass Draft Addendum II

New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

September 24, 2009; 7:00 PM
Marine Resources Headquarters
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at (631) 444-0435
* Public comment will also be gathered on Striped Bass Draft Addendum II

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
October 5, 2009; 7:00 PM
Marine Enforcement Office
Route 9, Mile Marker 51
Port Republic, New Jersey
Contact: Tom McCloy at (609) 292-7794

* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 (8:00 PM)

Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources
October 13, 2009; 5:30 PM
Tawes State Office Building, C1 Conference Room
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland
Contact:  Carrie Kennedy at (410) 260-8235
* Public comment will also be gathered on Weakfish Draft Addendum IV

Virginia Marine Resources Commission

September 28, 2009; 6:00 PM
2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Jack Travelstead at (757) 247-2247
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Striped Bass Draft Addendum II

Draft Addendum XX proposes changes to the transfer provisions for the commercial fisheries for both black sea bass and scup summer period (May 1-October 31) managed under the Commission’s plans.  The current FMP does not provide adequate guidance for Commission-only state-by-state quota management. As a practical matter, states routinely under harvest or slightly overharvest their state-specific allocations due to delays in reporting, inconsistencies in the data collection processes, unanticipated changes in catch rates, and implementation delays in trip limit changes or fishery closures. The FMP requires that each state deduct overages from the following year’s quota when they occur. The Draft Addendum proposes a process to reconcile quotas to address states’ unintended minor overages.

Specifically, the Draft Addendum proposes to establish clear policies and administrative protocols to guide the allocation of transfers from states with underages to states with overages. It also proposes to automatically reconcile a state’s overage in its entirety in a year where the coastwide quota or fishing period (e.g., scup summer period) quota was not exceeded. The proposed options would allow Commission staff to streamline and coordinate the transfers of quota as well as allow for quota transfers to reconcile overages after year’s end.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum XX, either by attending public hearings or providing written comments.  Copies of Draft Addendum XX are available via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News.  Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 9, 2009 and should be forwarded to Toni Kerns, Senior FMP Coordinator for Management, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at tkerns@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum XX).

source: ASMFC press release