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