Atlantic States Marine Fisheries CommissionAn Overview

By

Tina Berger, Director of Communications

Presentation Overview

• Commission Overview

• ASMFC Programs

• Species Highlights

• American Eel

• Atlantic Menhaden

• Atlantic Striped Bass

• Spot

ASMFC Overview

• Formed in 1942 – Interstate Compact

• 15 Atlantic coast states, ME – FL

• 0 – 3 miles from shore• Deliberative forum for states• Cooperative management of

transboundary resources• Standards est. by Atlantic Coastal

Cooperative Management Act

Atlantic Coastal Act (1993)

• Standards for fisheries management

• States implement regulations

• State compliance tied to conservation standards – Secretarial pre-emption

• Work cooperatively with federal partners on shared resources

• Authorizes funding to support

• ASMFC & state management

• Federal partners

Magnuson – Stevens Act

• Not directly applicable to ASMFC• Applies to joint/complementary

managed species

Mission/Vision

Mission (1942 Compact)To promote cooperative management of marine, shell and diadromous fisheries of the US Atlantic coast by the protection and enhancement of such fisheries, and by the avoidance of physical waste of the fisheries from any cause.

Vision (Strategic Plan)Sustainably Managing Atlantic Coastal Fisheries

Programs

• Interstate Fisheries Management • Fisheries Science

• Support to ISFMP• Stock Assessments and Assessment Training

• Habitat Conservation• Improve conservation through partnerships,

policy development and advocacy

• Law Enforcement• Recreational/commercial compliance

• ACCSP • Commercial and recreational landings/effort

Fisheries Management

• 27 species/species groups

• Some managed solely by Commission

• American eel, striped bass, Atlantic menhaden, spot

• Others managed jointly/cooperatively with Regional Councils and NOAA Fisheries

• Summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic herring

Fisheries Management

27 Species/Species Groups Under Management

ISFMP Structure

ASMFCOne State – One Vote Principle

David BlazerMD DNR

Del. Dana SteinLegislative Appt.

Russell DizeGovernor Appt.

Other Votes

• NMFS

• USFWS

• Potomac River Fisheries Commission

• District of Columbia

• Regional Management Councils

States ActRegulations Implemented and Enforced

Commission DecidesFinal Management Measures

Public & Advisory Panel InputPublic Comment Process

Proposed ActionPotential Management Measures

Scientific ReviewTechnical Committee

Problem identifiedStock Status

FMP Development

FMP/Amendment: 12 – 18 months Addendum: 3 – 6 months

ASMFC Fisheries Science & Management Process

Data Collection

• Landings• Effort• Surveys

Stock Assessment • Biomass • Fishing Mortality• Age Structure

Fisheries Management• Gear Restrictions• Quotas• Permitting

Public Input • Advisory Panels• Public Hearings• Public Comment

Species Highlights

• American Eel

• Atlantic Menhaden

• Atlantic Striped Bass

• Spot

• Depleted on coastwide basis

• At historically low levels due to a historical overfishing, habitat loss, predation, environmental changes

• Large declines in yellow eel abundance during the 1980s through the early 1990s

• Stable abundance from mid-1990s to present

• 2015: ESA Listing Not Warranted

American Eel

40+ Year Index of Abundance of Yellow American Eel Source: ASMFC American Eel Stock Assessment Update, 2017

American Eel

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• Managed under Addendum V (2018)

• 2019 Yellow Eel Coastwide Cap = 916,473 lbs.

• 2017 MD landings = 541,270 lbs. (64% of 2017 harvest)

• Management action triggered if coastwide cap exceeded by 10% in 2 consecutive years

• Maintains Maine glass eel quota of 9,688 lbs.

• Allows small harvest of glass eels for aquaculture purposes

• No new management changes on horizon

American Eel

• Not overfished/overfishing not occurring

• Population Fecundity

• Measure of reproductive capacity

• Well above the threshold (57,295 billion eggs) and at or near the target (99,467 billion eggs) in recent years

• 2016 fecundity = 83,486 billion eggs

• Fishing mortality below target and threshold

Atlantic Menhaden

Atlantic MenhadenAtlantic Menhaden Fecundity

Source: Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Update, 2017

Atlantic MenhadenAtlantic Menhaden Fishing Mortality (Ages 2-4)

Source: Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Update, 2017

Amendment 3

• Maintains single-species BRPs until adoption of menhaden-specific ERPs in 2020

• Sets 2018/2019 quotas at 216,000 mt

• MD Commercial Quota = 8,967,312 pounds

• Caps Chesapeake Bay reduction fishery at 51,000 mt

• Also includes state allocation, quota transfers & rollovers, incidental catch, episodic events set aside program

Atlantic MenhadenUpcoming Assessments

• 2 Ongoing Benchmark Stock Assessments

• Traditional Single Species

• Ecological Reference Points

• Outcomes to Guide Future Management

• Scheduled for Peer Review Late 2019

• Board Consideration in February 2020

• Unless delayed by partial federal shutdown

• Not overfished/overfishing not occurring

• 2015 female spawning stock biomass (SSB) = 129 million pounds• Been declining since 2004 though still above

threshold

• Recruitment: periods of highs and lows • High from 1993-2004

• Low 2005-2010

• High again in 2015

Atlantic Striped Bass

Atlantic Striped Bass

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Female SSB Female SSB TargetFemale SSB Threshold Recruitment

Spawning Stock Biomass and RecruitmentSource: ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment, 2016

Atlantic Striped Bass

• Managed under Addendum IV (2015)

• Reduced harvest by 25% for coast and 20.5% for Chesapeake Bay

• 2019 Commercial Quota ~ 6 million lbs.

• MD Coastal Commercial Quota = 90,727 lbs.

• MD Chesapeake Bay Commercial Quota = 1,471,888 lbs.

• MD accounts for largest % of harvest (commercial and recreational)

Atlantic Striped Bass

• Benchmark Stock Assessment & Peer Review

• Assessed 2 Models

• Improved Traditional Model

• Regional Model

• Awaiting Release of Reports from SAW/SARC

• Unlikely to Receive in Time for Board Consideration in February Due to Federal Furlough

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Recreational Releases

Recreational Landings

Commercial Landings

Spot Commercial Landings and Recreational CatchSource: ACCSP Data Warehouse, 2018

Spot

• Stock Status: Unknown

• 2017 Benchmark Assessment did not pass peer review

• Traffic Light Approach (TLA) used to monitor fishery and resource trends and initiate management as needed

• TLA assigns color (red, yellow, green) to indicate changes in harvest and abundance

• TC recommended changes to TLA

Spot

• Mid-Atlantic trigger fired in 2017, since the two previous years were above the 30% threshold.

• South Atlantic trigger fired in 2017 with two of the last three years above 30%.

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TLA Harvest Composite

• Mid-Atlantic trigger fired in 2017, the 4th

year in a row above the 30% threshold.

• South Atlantic trigger not fired in 2017 but did show a pattern of increased red proportions for the last two years.

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TLA Adult Abundance

• TLA harvest composite for both regions triggered in 2017

• TLA adult abundance triggered in the Mid-Atlantic but not in the South Atlantic

• Technical committee recommends both regions take action even though only the Mid-Atlantic fired both triggers

Spot

• Board delayed adoption of new TLA and management action so states can reach out to harvesters regarding appropriate measures for fisheries

• Once adopted, management actions will need to be considered

• Note: No triggers were fired under the former TLA, but Board will likely adopt the new triggers based TC recommendations

Spot

• TLA provides NO information on how much harvest reduction is needed

• Board will likely initiate an addendum requiring states to create some regulation for currently unregulated fisheries

• Addendum process usually takes 3-6 months to complete; will include opportunities for public comment

• Your input is important so please comment during public comment period

Spot: Next Steps

Contact me at tberger@asmfc.orgor

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