FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, AUGUST 22, 2019
PRESS CONTACT, TINA BERGER, 703.842.0740
ASMFC Spiny Dogfish Board Approves Draft Addendum VI for Public Comment
Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Spiny Dogfish Management Board approved Draft Addendum VI to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Spiny Dogfish for public comment. New Hampshire and Rhode Island have scheduled hearings to gather public input on the Draft Addendum. The details of those hearings, as well as a public hearing webinar follow:
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
September 3, 2019; 7 PM
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road
Portsmouth, NH
Contact: Doug Grout or Cheri Patterson at
603.868.1095
Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
September 16, 2019; 6 PM
University of Rhode Island Bay Campus
Corless Auditorium, South Ferry Road
Narragansett, RI
Contact: Conor McManus at 401.423.1941
Public Hearing Webinar
September 18, 2019; 6 PM
Registration URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1750824234161238785 [attendee.gotowebinar.com]
Phone: 1-888-585-9008
Room Number: 853-657-937
Contact: Kirby Rootes-Murdy at 703.842.0740
The Draft Addendum proposes allowing commercial quota to be transferred between all regions and states to enable the full utilization of the coastwide commercial quota and avoid quota payback for unintended quota overages. The Commission’s FMP allocates the coastwide quota to the states of Maine-Connecticut as a regional allocation and to the states of New York-North Carolina as state-specific allocations. Currently, the FMP only allows quota transfers between states with individual allocations, with regions excluded from benefitting from quota transfers. The 2019-2020 coastwide quota was
reduced by 46% due to declining biomass. If landings in the 2019-2020 fishing year remain the same as 2018-2019 landings, the coastwide quota may not be exceeded but some states could face an early closures due to reaching their allocation and being unable to access available unused quota from the northern region through quota transfers.
The Draft Addendum also includes a scoping question on whether the federal commercial trip limit should be eliminated and replaced by state and regional trip limits. This issue is under consideration due to concern that the coastwide quota has been substantially underutilized over the past seven years and the federal commercial trip limit is viewed by some as an additional constraint on the fishery beyond the commercial trip limits implemented for state permit holders. The Commission does not establish the federal commercial trip limit, but it can make recommendations to the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries on this management measure during the federal specifications process. The public is encouraged to provide comments on this question to help inform future recommendations from the Commission to the Councils and NOAA Fisheries on the management of spiny dogfish in federal waters.
Draft Addendum VI is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/SpinyDogfishDraftAddVI_PublicComment_Aug2019.pdf [asmfc.org] or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input [asmfc.org]. Fishermen and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum VI either by attending state public hearings, ASMFC webinar, or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on September 23, 2019 and should be sent to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior 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: Spiny Dogfish Draft Addendum VI).
For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org.
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PR19-26
A PDF of the press release can be found here – http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/5d5ea05epr26SpinyDogfishDraftAddVI_PublicComment.pdf [asmfc.org]
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