Contents:
Good News! John Toth and Don Marantz traveled to Trenton to testify for the bill before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee A638/S178 HOFNOD. We would like to thank the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Paul Sarlo, for posting the bill. John and Don were the only two members of the recreational fishing community who were there to testify in support of the bill. A number of women who are against hunting and fishing surprised the senators by testifying against the bill. I find it difficult to understand how someone can oppose a bill that provides an alternative to drug use while teaching our children about stewardship for the natural world. I would like to thank Senator Jennifer Beck for defending this bill against their unfounded criticism. All that remains is for Senate President Steve Sweeney to post the bill for a full Senate vote and, with passage, for the Governor to sign it. JCAA will be contacting Senate President Sweeney to post the bill. You should contact him as well.
Because of the budget hearings, there has been no action on this legislation. In the May JCAA Newspaper there were sample letters to send to your legislators. If you have not done so, get your letters out quickly. I have no good news to report. Some of the proposals we are hearing about are not acceptable to the JCAA position. Please sign up for JCAA alerts since we may need to contact you for some last minute action.
The August ASMFC meeting will only be 3 days, August 7 – 9. While it is only a 3 day meeting, there is much important business to do. I have included the preliminary meeting agenda at the end of this report. It is important that you go to the ASMFC webpage before the meeting takes place. ASMFC is constantly posting documents in their breaking news section that will be part of the upcoming meeting; the week before the meeting most of the full agenda and the documents needed for the board meetings. The ASMFC will usually post the stock assessments prior to the meeting. This will be important information if you want to make comments on menhaden and striped bass. Both of those stock assessments will be complete well before the August meeting.
Menhaden - Draft Amendment 2 will be presented to the Board during the Commission’s Summer Meeting. Once approved, Draft Amendment 2 will go out for another round of public comment (including hearings) before any final management options are selected. The final adoption will be at the annual meeting (October 22nd – 25th), in Philadelphia, PA. Those public hearings will be held during the late summer and early fall, so keep informed. Many things were put on hold until the benchmark stock assessment was done before this upcoming meeting. The Technical Committee met after the ASMFC spring meeting. I received some complaints that the scientists hired by Iomega to attend this meeting almost took over the meeting. It seems they became active participants rather than observers and dominated the meeting while other groups were unable to participate. Scientists hired to do stock assessments are expected to provide data and analysis but not to advocate for a particular company’s point of view. That is a fine line to walk since the company pays for the science but we expect as much neutrality as possible. I will need to check on these complaints and bring them up at the upcoming meeting.
After testifying and being a hearing officer at public hearings for 23 years, I really want to point out that you should come into these and any ASMFC hearings ready to discuss the options proposed. That is what the hearings are for. I find a lot of time people do not comment on the hearing document. At the very least, you need to read the summaries posted on the website. This is especially necessary when it is no longer a scoping hearing but a hearing on an amendment or addendum that the Commissioners will be voting on at a board meeting. This preparation is important for all hearings and public meetings. If you want your comments heard and respected, you need to do your homework and stay on topic. I will be looking forward to seeing you and hearing your specific comments on the options at the upcoming public hearings.
Striped Bass - We will have the latest Striped Bass Stock Assessment to review at this meeting and also the draft Addendum III to Amendment VI to the Atlantic Striped Bass Interstate Fishery Management Plan. Paul Haertel, Chair of JCAA Striped Bass Committee, has written an article about the addendum that is enclosed in this newspaper. Please act fast since the deadline for comments is on 6/26/12.
Eels - The report on the status of eel stocks was extremely disappointing. I am assuming that we will soon be preparing an addendum to address this problem. There has also been pressure to list eels either as threatened or endangered. The comment period for the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) has passed. I have attached the ASMFC letter that responded to the CITES listing. My concern with the ASMFC letter is it does not address the illegal sale and exportation of glass eels. Glass eels are very small and they are easy to ship illegally. The illegal poaching is significant in tautog and striped bass and may be significant for glass eels as well. To further complicate matters, the price for glass eels (elvers) has gone through the roof again. This has created a poaching problem in states where the eel fishery is closed. I have heard from other ASMFC Commissioners who have the same concerns and I hope this will become part of the discussion for the August 9th meeting.
Arlington, VA – The States of New Jersey, Delaware, North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Public Information Document (PID) to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Black Drum. The PID provides the public an opportunity to submit input on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's development of a Black Drum FMP. Public comment is being solicited on changes observed in the fishery; actions to be taken in terms of management, enforcement, and research; and any other concerns about the resource or fishery. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow.
The Commission's South Atlantic State-Federal Fisheries Management Board approved the PID to the Black Drum FMP for public review and comment in May. As the first step in the development of the FMP, the PID presents the current status of the fishery and resource, and solicits public input on all aspects of the fishery and the resource. The FMP is being initiated in response to concern regarding significant increases in harvest in recent years and the fact that the fishery primarily targets juveniles. The Commission is also moving forward with conducting the first coastwide assessment of this species.
The assessment will be developed concurrently with the FMP to support establishment of the interstate management program.
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the PID either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. The PID can be obtained via the Commission's website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at 703.842.0740. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on July 25, 2012 and should be forwarded to Danielle Chesky, FMP Coordinator, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite 200A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at dchesky@asmfc.org (Subject line: Black Drum PID). For more information, please contact Danielle Chesky at dchesky@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
Arlington, VA – Robert E. Beal has been appointed the Acting Executive Director for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. He will serve in that capacity until an Executive Director has been selected by the Commission’s Executive Committee. Bob Beal has been with the Commission for more than 15 years and has served as the Director for the Interstate Fishery Management Program for the past 10 years. “Bob’s excellent track record of leading the Commission’s fisheries management process for the last decade made him a sure choice to serve as the Commission’s Acting Executive Director,” stated ASMFC Chair Paul Diodati. “Recognized and well respected by the fisheries management community, he brings to the position strong leadership skills and a thorough understanding of the issues faced by the Commission and the states. His appointment will ensure continuity in the Commission’s scientific and management programs during this time of transition.” Over the next couple of months, the Commission’s Executive Committee will develop a vacancy announcement and selection process for the new Executive Director. Mr. Diodati continued, “This is an exciting time in the Commission’s seventy year history. It offers our Commissioners an opportunity to look back at where we have been and what we have accomplished, and chart a new course for the future.”
The Commission was formed over 70 years ago by the 15 Atlantic coast states to assist in managing and conserving their shared coastal fishery resources. With the recognition that fish do not adhere to political boundaries, the states formed an Interstate Compact, which was approved by the U.S. Congress in 1942.
The states have found that their mutual interest in sustaining healthy coastal fishery resources is best promoted by working together cooperatively, in collaboration with the federal government. With this approach, the states uphold their collective fisheries management responsibilities in a cost-effective, timely, and responsive fashion.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) provides the following comments in response to the Federal Register Notice (April 11, 2012, 77FR21798) regarding the listing of the American eel to CITES Appendix II. At this time, the Commission does not feel that an Appendix II listing will benefit the rebuilding efforts for American eel.
The Commission has recently completed the 2012 American Eel Stock Assessment, which concluded the American eel stock is depleted in the U.S. In response, the Commission is working to develop management options to reduce mortality and increase eel abundance. The Commission is aware that in the past two years there has been growing demand for glass eels. This harvest is almost exclusively for Southeast Asian markets and, at this time, there is no information that illegal exportation of glass eels is occurring. Additionally, there are currently well-regulated European yellow and silver eel export markets. While the Commission has great concern over the American eel stock and will be considering additional fisheries management measures in the next few months, the undocumented international trade does not appear to have a negative impact on the population.
The Federal Register notice indicated concern over the similarity in appearance between European and the American eels. European eel were listed in CITES Appendix II in 2009 and declared Critically Endangered by the IUCN in 2010. In response, the European Commission has taken considerable management actions to restore the European eel stock. The Commission does not oppose a listing if there are a substantial number of documented ‘look-alike’ cases complicating law enforcement efforts and the European Commission considered such an action necessary to assist in the successful conservation of European eels.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this issue. The Commission, in partnership with US Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries and the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, is committed to efforts restoring American eel populations throughout their range.
