ASMFC Summer Meeting Update

Good News for Forage Species

There was good news for forage species from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Summer Meeting. In a change of posture, the ASMFC adopted Environmental Reference Points (ERPs) for the management of menhaden. This change reflects the vital role “the most important fish in the sea” plays in maintaining a healthy coastal ecosystem.

An abundant menhaden population is necessary to support an abundant and healthy population of fish, birds, and marine mammals. They are also play a vital role in keeping coastal waters, including vital estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay, clean and oxygenated. Adoption of ERPs signals ASMFC’s recognition that ocean fisheries are not simply isolated resources to be exploited for commercial gain, but an intricately connected network of species that coexist in a delicate balance.

Stripers Forever thanks everyone who spoke up in favor of ERPs and helped to send an important message to the ASMFC, especially our friends at Menhaden Defenders who have tirelessly fought to protect these important fish. Your voice matters.

Update on Striped Bass Conservation Equivalency

In other news from the ASMFC summer meeting, proposals to amend the rules associated with the controversial “conservation equivalency” provision of striped bass management were postponed. Citing the lack of reliable data due to COVID-19, the striped bass technical committee decided to take no action. Status quo will remain in effect for now.

This is not good news, but it is not bad news. In the past, conservation equivalency has been used as a loophole to allow for convoluted formulas that, on paper, allow states to adopt alternative means of remaining compliant with striped bass management rules, but that have resulted in harvest increases well beyond target limits. We will continue to follow this issue when it returns later this year.

Thank you for your continued support of striped bass and of our efforts to see striped bass recognized as a game fish along the Atlantic seaboard.

2020 Recreational Striped Bass Regulations for Atlantic Coastal States

Ted Purcell* has been kind enough to compile the state regulations on recreational angling for wild striped bass for this newsletter. If you are fishing for other species – or wherever there is a chance of catching them, such as with bluefish, etc. – please be sure to check on your own state regulations for all of those species. Also, see the accompanying information on the proper handling of any species of fish for catch & release purposes.

*Stripers Forever Board member in Massachusetts; supporter, volunteer, and avid fly fisher.

**Additional information for MA- https://www.mass.gov/info-details/frequently-asked-questions-regarding-changes-to-recreational-striped-bass-limits-in?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

ACTION REQUEST- ASMFC Winter Meeting – Feb. 4, 2020

ACTION REQUEST– ASMFC Striped Bass management board will meet to consider Addendum VI and review state implementation plans and conservation equivalency proposals.

The time is NOW! Tomorrow, Feb. 4, 2020 from 11:15 AM to 3 PM, the ASMFC Striped Bass management board will meet to consider Addendum VI and review state implementation plans and conservation equivalency proposals. Conservation Equivalency (CE) shouldn’t be part of the management plan to restore the Striped Bass stock that has already been declared overfished and experiencing overfishing. CE is nothing more than a way for states to circumvent the mandatory 18% reduction and also severely complicates the ability for the TC to measure and track the rebuilding process. ACT NOW and email your ASMFC representative with your thoughts (ASMFC Representatives). Make your voice heard and push the ASMFC to get back on track with Striped Bass management. Full meeting details can be found here (http://www.asmfc.org/home/2020-winter-meeting) and a registration link for the live-streaming of the meeting is available here (https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3853611638258510347).

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Draft Addendum VI was initiated in response to the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment, which indicates the resource is overfished and experiencing overfishing. The Draft Addendum explores a range of management alternatives designed to end overfishing and reduce fishing mortality to the target level in 2020.

The Draft Addendum proposes management options for both commercial and recreational sectors in the ocean and in Chesapeake Bay in order to reduce total fishery removals by 18% relative to 2017 levels. The proposed measures include reduced quotas for commercial fisheries, and changes in bag limits, minimum sizes, and slot size limits for the recreational sector. Since catch and release practices represent a significant component of overall fishing mortality, the Draft Addendum also explores the mandatory use of circle hooks when fishing with bait to reduce release mortality in recreational striped bass fisheries.

Draft Addendum VI is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/StripedBassDraftAddVI_PublicComment_Aug2019.pdf  Fishermen and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum VI either by attending state public hearings or by providing written comment.

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Please contact us at striper@stripersforever.org with any questions.

ACTION REQUEST- ASMFC Draft Addendum VI to Amendment 6

Stripers Forever Favors Equitable Harvest Reduction for Wild Atlantic Striped Bass Management Plan

Option Two Mandates 18% Cut for Commercial Fishermen and Recreational Anglers

Stripers Forever, an international conservation organization fighting for the future of wild Atlantic striped bass, endorses Option Two of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Draft Addendum VI to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. Stripers Forever also supports mandating the use of “circle hooks” for both recreational and hook-and-line commercial fishermen using bait.

Stripers Forever urges its members and all others interested in protecting wild Atlantic striped bass to write the ASMFC and state delegations to the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board and request they do the same. The public comment period for Addendum VI to Amendment 6 ends at 5:00pm EST on October 7, 2019.

Option Two requires changes to current regulations resulting in an equitable 18% reduction in recreational and commercial harvest of striped bass. According to the Draft Addendum:

Option 2: Equal Percent Reductions

An 18% reduction in total removals relative to 2017 levels to reduce F to the target in 2020 where the desired percent reduction is applied equally (proportionally) to both the commercial and recreational sectors; both sectors would take an 18% reduction from 2017 levels. Under all sub-options, states have the flexibility to develop alternative regulations through conservation equivalency, including the allocation of the required reductions between the commercial and recreational sectors.

Option One would maintain the status quo. Option Three would cut the commercial harvest by only 1.8% and require the recreational angling community make up the difference to achieve an overall 18% reduction in total harvest.

Stripers Forever has no preference for the sub-options creating minimum/maximum length “slot limits” for recreationally caught striped bass under Option Two. However, the organization believes all states should require anglers using bait to use circle hooks, which have been proven to increase a fish’s chances of survival after release, as described under Option Three (3.2 Circle Hook Provision).

“Although we are disappointed that the proposed changes to striped bass regulations are not more aggressive, Stripers Forever believes that the changes described in Option Two are the fairest. Long term, we remain committed to seeing wild Atlantic striped bass designated as game fish along the entire Eastern Seaboard,” said Brad Burns, president, Stripers Forever.

  Submit your comments to the ASMFC:

Mail:

Max Appelman, FMP Coordinator

1050 North Highland Street Suite 200A-N

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

Arlington, VA 22201

Phone: (703) 842-0740

Fax: (703) 842-0741

Email:

comments@asmfc.org (Subject: Striped Bass Draft Addendum VI)

In Person:

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Draft Addendum VI was initiated in response to the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment, which indicates the resource is overfished and experiencing overfishing. The Draft Addendum explores a range of management alternatives designed to end overfishing and reduce fishing mortality to the target level in 2020.

The Draft Addendum proposes management options for both commercial and recreational sectors in the ocean and in Chesapeake Bay in order to reduce total fishery removals by 18% relative to 2017 levels. The proposed measures include reduced quotas for commercial fisheries, and changes in bag limits, minimum sizes, and slot size limits for the recreational sector. Since catch and release practices represent a significant component of overall fishing mortality, the Draft Addendum also explores the mandatory use of circle hooks when fishing with bait to reduce release mortality in recreational striped bass fisheries.

Draft Addendum VI is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/StripedBassDraftAddVI_PublicComment_Aug2019.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input. Fishermen and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum VI either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on October 7, 2019 and should be sent to Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Draft Addendum VI).

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Please contact us at striper@stripersforever.org with any questions.