Tag Archives: ASMFC
Request for Participant: 2018 Northern Shrimp RSA/Cooperative Winter Sampling Program – Massachusetts
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF) are seeking one Massachusetts (MA) trawl vessel/captain to collect northern shrimp samples in 2018 in accordance with the details below, fishing one trip per week for up to ten consecutive weeks. The participant will work with MA DMF staff to provide fresh shrimp samples from the vessel to the MA DMF Gloucester office each week. The participant will be allowed to land and sell up to 800 pounds of shrimp per trip. There shall be no other compensation. click here to read the press release 17:14 
Maine objections couldn’t stop shrimp closure
Say this for Maine — both its state fisheries regulators and its shrimpers: They don’t like to lose. Last Wednesday, Maine got outvoted by Massachusetts and New Hampshire on whether interstate fisheries regulators should continue closing the Gulf of Maine to shrimping for the fifth consecutive year. Massachusetts and New Hampshire voted to keep it closed. Maine, hoping to sustain as much of its shrimp fishery’s infrastructure as possible, argued for a modest season despite the continued dire forecasts for the northern shrimp stocks — which, if possible — seem even worse than what NOAA Fisheries says about Gulf of Maine cod. click here to read the story 09:04
Chairman James Gilmore hopes to modernize Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
The announcement in mid-October that James Gilmore had been elected Chairman of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) came as no surprise to anglers familiar with the fishery management process at the federal level. Voted in by the ASMFC State Commissioners from Maine to Florida, the lifelong Amityville resident had spent the past two years as vice chairman. He is also Division of Marine Resources Director for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), a position he has held for the last decade and will continue to hold. In his new role as ASMFC chairman, Gilmore oversees both administration and policy issues for the regulatory agency’s individual species management boards. click here to read the story 09:35
Menhaden battle once again pits Virginia against Northern states
Five years ago, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission cut the menhaden harvest by 20 percent, forcing the largest employer in the rural tip of the Northern Neck, Omega Protein, to lay off workers and decommission a ship.,, Since then, ASMFC, which manages fisheries from Maine to Florida, changed its method of assessment and says stocks are now healthy. It began easing catch limits to where the quota is now only about 6 percent short of the 212,000 metric tons it once was. Omega, which catches a half-billion fish each year, replaced two of its seven ships this year with larger, more efficient ships and rehired some of its employees. But the company sees a new problem. click here to read the story 11:27
NY Commercial fishermen reeling from shutdown of fluke fishery
It was the busy Labor Day Weekend, and Southold Fish Market owner Charlie Manwaring had been forced to stock his popular East End restaurant and market with out-of-state fluke for the first time in recent memory. “This is my backyard, and on a holiday weekend I have no fluke,” he complained to Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) at a meeting Friday morning with two dozen angry Long Island fishermen and women at the Mattituck fishing dock. “I have to rely on Rhode Island and Jersey and Massachusetts and Carolina.”. “The fluke paid our bills,” said Cindy Kaminsky, who fishes commercially out of Mattituck.,,, “Nobody’s been willing to stand up and say to lawmakers, ‘You need to make this fair to New York fishermen,’ ” said Southampton attorney Dan Rodgers of New York Fish, an advocacy group. click here to read the story 17:42
Jim Lovgren – Fishery managers responsible for Summer Flounder mismanagement
Earlier this year the state of New Jersey was found to be out of compliance by the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission [ASMFC] in regard to the proposed recreational catch specifications for Summer Flounder, [fluke].The ASMFC which jointly manages summer flounder with the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council, [MAFMC] had recommended an increase in the recreational size limit for Summer Flounder to 19 inches for New Jersey. New Jersey fishery management representatives balked at that proposal and instead presented an alternative proposal that would keep the size limit at the present 18 inches but with a shorter season which would still meet the conservation goals as the Commission’s plan. The Commission denied this alternative and declared New Jersey out of Compliance, an action that would result in the shutdown of the Summer Flounder fishery, both recreational and commercial sometime later this summer. Unfairly this shutdown would have occurred after the recreational season was over, and would only impact New Jersey’s commercial fishermen, who are already struggling with a 50% cut back in the quota over the last two years click here to read the story 11:32
N.J.’s fluke question will be answered next week
New Jersey will get an answer to the question of whether the state is out of compliance with its 18-inch summer flounder regulation next week. State officials from the Department of Environmental Protection were able to plead their case to NOAA Fisheries on a June 27 conference call. “We were able to go into great detail about the data behind New Jersey’s management measures that will conserve more fish and reduce the number of larger breeding females removed from the fishery, and therefore provide stronger recruitment for the future,” said NJDEP Spokesperson Bob Considine. click here to read the story 09:36
ASMFC Winter Meeting – January 30 – February 2, 2017 in Alexandria, Virginia
Final Agenda, Click here For ease of access, all Board/Section meeting documents, with the exception of the Shad & River Herring Board materials and the submitted public comment portion of the Atlantic Menhaden Board materials, have been combined into two documents – Main Meeting Materials 1 and Main Meeting Materials 2. Main Meeting Materials 1 includes all boards/sections meeting on January 31 and Main Meeting Materials 2 are materials for the remainder of the week. Additionally, supplemental materials have been combined into document – Supplemental Materials. Links to individual board/committee materials can be found below. Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 8:00 a.m. on January 31st and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 3:00 p.m.) on Thursday February 2nd. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. Click here for access. 19:57
ASMFC Summer Meeting – August 4-6, 2015 – Alexandria, Virginia, Listen LIVE!
The ASMFC is holding it’s Summer meeting in Alexandria, Va. Issue’s: American Lobster Benchmark Stock Assessment Action, Jonah Crab Fishery Management Plan for Final Approval Final Action , Atlantic Striped Bass, Atlantic Menhaden, and more. Click here to listen to the meeting live Click here to review the final agenda.
ASMFC Northern Shrimp Section and Advisory Panel meeting in Portland, Me. June 12, 2015
Interstate fishery regulators will meet in Portland, Maine, this week to identify management options for the shuttered Northern shrimp fishery. Regulators are working on an amendment that focuses on the development of a limited entry fishing program. (privatize/eliminate/consolidate) Read the rest here Location Westin Portland Harborview (formerly Eastland Hotel), 157 High Street Portland Meeting Materials & Supplemental Materials 16:00
ASMFC Spring Meeting – May 4-7, 2015 Alexandria, Virginia
Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 12:45 PM on May 4th, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be Noon) on May 7th. Read the Agenda and all information here Register for the webinar here to listen live! 16:48
ASMFC considering limiting entry into the Gulf of Maine Northern Shrimp Fishery
Regulators are , if and when the decimated stock rebounds enough to reopen the fishery, according to a document seeking public comment on the possible revisions to the region’s management plan. The document, known as a public information document, is the first step in the process to amend the fishery’s management plan. That process, which is scheduled to extend into the winter of 2016, includes a number of hearings in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts to gather public comment. Read the rest here 08:34
Gulf of Maine Shrimp counting to help track egg hatch
While data from this limited sampling project won’t help estimate current stock abundance as do the more comprehensive surveys conducted annually by the National Marine Fisheries Service, 
, it will help managers track the timing of egg hatch, size and gender and developmental stage of the shrimp. Four trawlers from Maine and Massachusetts and five Maine-based trappers have been selected to collect samples in four regions in the Gulf of Maine. Read the rest here 17:18:
ASMFC 2015 Winter Meeting – Alexandria, Virginia February 3, 08:00, thru February 5, 2015
Please note: Due to inclement weather in the Northeast, several changes have been made to Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s schedules in order to provide additional time for Northeast travelers to make it to the meeting. Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 8 a.m,, Read the rest here, Register for the webinar! 17:21
Fithian contests DNR statement on rockfish quota
“There’s no science behind it,” Fithian said of the reduction. “There are more fish of any size in the Chesapeake Bay than there have ever been in my lifetime.” Recent reductions in the crab harvest may be a direct reflection of this abundance, Fithian said. Rockfish are voracious predators, he said. He referred to a photo included with the commissioners’ letter to Gill, showing a large number of inch-long crabs in the stomach of a rockfish being cleaned. Read the rest here 10:22
Maryland: Commissioners ask state to roll back rockfish limit
A former waterman, Fithian described the proposed reduction of the bag limit as a direct attack on commercial fishing. Fithian said after reading the letter at the commissioners meeting that he recently saw a rockfish cut open to reveal a large number of immature crabs in its stomach.,, might be partly responsible for recent downturns in the crab population. Read the rest here 09:35
A great Northern Shrimp article: 2015 Commercial Northern Shrimp Fishery Moratorium Announced
In addition to announcing the moratorium for the 2015 commercial northern shrimp fishery, ASMFC also announced a draft amendment that would establish a limited entry program for the northern shrimp fishery for use in the future if and when the stock recovers and the fishery is re-opened. Read the rest here 13:30
Word up! (ITS OFFICIAL) ASMFC Skuttles Another Northern Shrimp Season
Word on the street is, ASMFC will not give the guys a season again this year based on another lousy assessment. There is talk about a 25mt research set aside. Details when we get ’em. 12:26 Read the rest here 14:34
ASMFC approves 25 percent cut in striped bass harvest
The changes will require a 25 percent reduction in the Massachusetts commercial quota and a reduction in the recreational bag limit from two fish per day at 28 inches to one fish at 28 inches, or a plan that results in a similar 25 percent reduction in the recreational harvest. The 2014 Massachusetts commercial striped bass fishing quota was 1,155,100 pounds. The season closed following a reported harvest of 1,128,337 pounds. Read the rest here 10:03
A S M F C Northern Shrimp Section to decide on closure today in Portland
Federal regulators are set to decide if the fishing season for Gulf of Maine shrimp will be canceled for a second straight season. A report by the committee says the “depleted condition of the resource and poor prospects for the near future” warrant another closure. The report blames rising ocean temperature for the decline. Regulators say the fishery’s estimated population fell by a factor of 14 from 2011 to 2013. Read meeting Agenda here, Taking Public Comments 07:31
Summer flounder ‘scoping’ meeting a new twist for fishermen
Last week was the first summer flounder (fluke) “scoping” meeting for me and many others. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), both responsible for managing summer flounder in our State, held a summer flounder scoping meeting. Read the rest here
ASMFC Tonight @ConnDEEP Public Hearing on Cancer Crab management. 7PM, Old Lyme
Connecticut tonight, Maine September 22, Maryland September 24, Massachusetts September 24, Rhode Island September 25. Information is here for review 13:06
ASMFC Releases Cancer Crab PID for Public Comment
Cancer Crab PID for Public Comment (public comment accepted until 5 PM EST on October 3, 2014; send comments to [email protected] – Subject line: Cancer Crab PID Read more here 10:15
Regulators hesitate to set elver quota in Maine
The board that could set limits on the fishery will revisit the issue in October. Federal regulators balked Thursday at a chance to set a new quota for Maine’s lucrative baby eel fishery. <Read more here> 11:23
ASMFC Summer Meeting, August 5-7, 2014 in Alexandria, Virginia
The information about the 3 day meeting, including attending the meeting in listen mode only via the webinar broadcast can be found here. 09:56
Maine’s shrimp fishery may face new restrictions
Federal regulators (ASMFC) may limit the number of fishermen allowed to catch northern shrimp in the Gulf of Maine once the depleted fishery reopens.,,considering restrictions that could limit the number of licenses to fish for shrimp or the number of vessels allowed in the fishery. (catch shares?) The number of vessels in the fishery has fluctuated since 2000, with a low of 144 in 2006 and a high of 342 in 2011. Maine issued an average of 463 licenses per year from 2001 to 2011. The shrimp section also sets a total allowable catch limit every year. Read more here 07:30
NCFA REMINDER – Public Hearing on Spot & Croaker Draft Addendum
Public Hearing on Spot & Croaker Draft Addendum is tonight, June 17, 2014 at DMF Central Office in Morehead City at 6PM Click here for more info 12:29
ASMFC Spring Meeting, May 12-15, 2014 is under way
Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 10 a.m. on May 12th, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 3:15 p.m.) on May 15th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. Read more here Webinar registration is here 12:28
NOAA NMFS and ASMFC Team Up to Help River Herring – and they opened with a half assed Webinar!
More than 80 experts from Canada to Florida participated in the first technical working group meeting for river herring (i.e., blueback herring and alewife) on March 27. NOAA Fisheries NMFS and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission organized this meeting to kick off a strategic effort to advance the restoration of river herring throughout its Atlantic coastal range. Read more here noaa.gov 20:34
The Webinar for todays four hour meeting required the use of a computer AND a telephone for sound! EPIC FAIL.
ASMFC says Striped Bass on a downward trend – Watermen comment on proposed options
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