[Rimarinefisheries] States Schedule Public Hearings on Draft Addendum XXVII: Addendum Seeks Input on Regional Management Options for 2016 Summer Flounder and Black Sea Recreational Fisheries

Mon Dec 21 16:59:36 EST 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DECEMBER 21, 2015
PRESS CONTACT, TINA BERGER, 703.842.0740

States Schedule Public Hearings on Draft Addendum XXVII
Addendum Seeks Input on Regional Management Options for 2016 Summer Flounder and Black Sea Recreational Fisheries

Arlington, VA - The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Draft Addendum XXVII for public comment at the Joint Commission/Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Annapolis, Maryland earlier this month. Draft Addendum XXVII proposes regional management approaches for the 2016 summer flounder and black sea bass recreational fisheries. The Atlantic coast states of Massachusetts through Virginia have scheduled public hearings to gather public comment. The details of those hearings follow:

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
January 14, 2016 at 4:30 PM
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
101 Academy Drive
Buzzards Bay, MA 02532
Contact: Nichola Meserve<mailto:nichola.meserve at state.ma.us> at 617.626.1531

Rhode Island Division of Fish & Wildlife
January 6, 2016 at 6 PM
University of Rhode Island, Corliss
Auditorium
South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Jason McNamee<mailto:jason.mcnamee at dem.ri.gov> at 401.423.1943

Connecticut Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection
January 5, 2016 at 7 PM
Marine Headquarters
Boating Education Center, Building 3
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson<mailto:david.simpson at ct.gov> at 860.434.6043

New York State Dept. of Environmental
Conservation
January 7, 2016 at 6 PM
Bureau of Marine Resources
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: John Maniscalco<mailto:John.Maniscalco at dec.ny.gov> at 631.444.0436

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
January 7, 2016 at 7 PM
Stafford Township Municipal Building
260 East Bay Avenue
Manahawkin, New Jersey
Contact: Tom Baum<mailto:tom.baum at dep.nj.gov> at 609.748.2020

Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources & Environmental Control and Maryland Department of Natural Resources
January 12, 2016 at 6 PM
DNREC Lewes Building (at the Lewes Boat Ramp)
901 Pilottown Road
Lewes, Delaware
Contacts: Delaware - John Clark<mailto:john.clark at state.de.us> at 302.739.9914<tel:%28302%29739-9914>  and Maryland - Mike Luisi<mailto:michael.luisi at maryland.gov> at 410.260.8341<tel:%28410%29260-8341>

Virginia Marine Resources Commission
January 12, 2016 at 6 PM
2600 Washington Avenue
4th Floor Conference Room
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Rob O'Reilly<mailto:rob.oreilly at mrc.virginia.gov> at 757.247.2248

Draft Addendum XXVII was initiated to consider extending use of regional management approaches for the 2016 recreational summer flounder fishery, including an option that would allow for a Delaware Bay specific region. The Draft Addendum also includes options for extending use of ad-hoc regional management approaches for black sea bass recreational fisheries in 2016 and 2017. In the event the options in Draft Addendum XXVII are not approved for management, the Board extended the current summer flounder regional management approach for use in 2016.

In 2014, the Board approved Addendum XXV to shift away from traditional use of state-by-state harvest targets under conservation equivalency to use of an alternative regional strategy for managing summer flounder recreational fisheries. Based on its success in keeping recreational harvest within the RHL and providing greater regulatory consistency among neighboring states, this strategy was extended for use in 2015. State-by-state harvest targets previously utilized under conservation equivalency created difficulties for some states as overages occurred due largely to state shares and limits not reflecting local summer flounder abundance and its availability to recreational fishermen. In 2014 and 2015 management regions were the following: 1) Massachusetts; 2) Rhode Island; 3) Connecticut-New Jersey; 4) Delaware-Virginia; and 5) North Carolina.

The Draft Addendum also proposes two options for the 2016 black sea bass recreational fishery (1) coastwide measures or (2) the continued use of management measures by northern (Massachusetts - New Jersey) and southern regions (Delaware - North Carolina). The regional management approach has been used since 2011 and offers advantages over coastwide regulations by addressing geographic differences in the stock (size, abundance and seasonality) while maintaining the consistent application of management measures by neighboring states.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum XXVII either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/DraftAddendumXXVII_PublicComment_Dec2015.pdf and can also be accessed on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org<http://www.asmfc.org>) under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on January 21, 2016 and should be forwarded to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201; 703.842.0741 (fax) or at krootes-murdy at asmfc.org<mailto:krootes-murdy at asmfc.org>  (Subject line: Draft Addendum XXVII). For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy at krootes-murdy at asmfc.org<mailto:krootes-murdy at asmfc.org> or 703.842.0740.

###
                                                                                                          PR15-41

----------
Tina Berger
Director of Communications
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1050 N. Highland Street, Suite 200A-N
Arlington, VA 22201

703.842.0740
tberger at asmfc.org<mailto:tberger at asmfc.org>
www.asmfc.org
Visit us on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/AtlanticStatesMarineFisheriesCommission> and Twitter<https://twitter.com/ASMFC>

Vision: Sustainably Managing Atlantic Coastal Fisheries

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://listserve.ri.gov/pipermail/rimarinefisheries/attachments/20151221/dd2413de/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 70 bytes
Desc: image001.gif
Url : http://listserve.ri.gov/pipermail/rimarinefisheries/attachments/20151221/dd2413de/attachment-0001.gif 