ACTION ALERT- ASMFC Winter Meeting (1/26/22)
ACTION ALERT
ASMFC Winter Meeting of the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board
1/26/22 | 1:30 – 5 PM EST
Back in March of 2021, the ASMFC published the Draft Amendment 7 PID. While we were hoping to have Draft Amendment 7 released for public comment after the October of 2021 meeting, that did not happen and the proverbial can was kicked farther down the road. There was much discussion and several major components of the amendment were edited, deleted and new sections were added (most importantly protection of the 2015 year class). We can expect to see more tweaking and revising of the draft amendment at tomorrow’s meeting. Here is the draft agenda/meeting overview (starting on page 83) for tomorrow’s meeting. (also at the bottom of this email along with a link to the supplemental materials) The webinar link is below, anyone can join and we strongly encourage you to be part of the process.
Striped Bass were declared overfished with overfishing occurring back in 2018 with the stock assessment accepted by the board in 2019. As you can see below the current schedule for a finalized Amendment 7 is May 2022. With 2022 regulations already in place, states will likely not implement the revised Amendment 7 regulations until 2023. The recovery of the Striped Bass stock is behind schedule based on the required 10 year rebuilding requirement and we need action to be taken ASAP. The recovery of the Striped Bass stock is behind schedule based on the required 10 year rebuilding requirement and we need action to be taken ASAP. While this is a long process, it is a necessary one, we need an amendment that will bring the best possible outcome for the stock. Please do your best to stick with it, when the time comes for your voice to be heard we will surely let you know.
Tomorrow (1/26/22 – 1:30 – 5 PM EST) the ASMFC will hold its winter meeting of the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board and consider Draft Amendment 7. This will be a consequential meeting and we strongly encourage all who can, to attend and pay close attention. The hope is that this meeting will lead to Draft Amendment 7 being released for public comment. At that time it is all hands on deck, we will all need to do our part to protect the fish we love and speak up louder than ever before. We will do our best to inform our members and followers of what is on the table and offer some guidance in how to comment on Draft Amendment 7.
To register for the live webinar please go here: ASMFC 2022 Winter Meeting
Thank you!
ADDITIONAL LINKS
- Atlantic Striped Bass Board- Draft Agenda/ Meeting Overview/ Main Meeting Materials
- Atlantic Striped Bass Board- Supplemental Materials
