Stripers Forever – the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission – ASMFC – the group of East Coast states that regulate striped bass, is taking public comment and holding public hearings on a proposal to allow states with commercial quotas to transfer the quota that they did not report as caught in one year to the next year. This means that if, in a given commercial state, the quota was 1,100,000
pounds, and only 990,000 was caught in 2011, then in 2012 the new quota could be 1,210,000 pounds.
Stripers Forever thinks this is just a thinly disguised attempt to add to commercial quotas, and that it is a very bad idea. Here is why:
1. If the state fails to reach its quota over the course of an entire season, it is a very good indication that there simply are not as many striped bass out there as the fishery managers estimated. Given the fishing reports that we have been receiving this is a very likely scenario. Just adding one year's deficit to the following year simply compounds unwarranted pressure on the fish. Fishery management needs to be more risk averse, not more intent on vacuuming up every possible fish for the market.
2. Transferring uncaught quota to the next year provides an incentive for some commercial fishermen to sell their catch under the table and, as a bonus, receive a larger quota the following year. Time and again some members of the commercial community have shown their willingness to sell under the table. Every year there are arrests and convictions. The ASMFC ignores this and makes no estimate of the illegal catch nor allowance for it in their management plans. They are sticking their head in the sand.
We are urging all of our members to write to the ASMFC as indicated in the last paragraph of the instructions below, and/or to attend the meeting in your state – also listed below – and let officials know that you oppose any commercial quota rollovers.
Brad Burns President Stripers Forever
States Schedule Public Hearings on Striped Bass Draft Addendum II
Washington, DC – 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). ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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