1) Summer Flounder Assessment: GSSA's staff continues to play an important role in this issue and has organized the ongoing efforts of several scientists to participate and offer their individual expertise throughout the entire assessment review process. We have attended every stock assessment workshop thus far and will be at the May 20th workshop in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The assessment will be finalized in June and we will continue to advocate for adequate science, a sustainable fishery, realistic rebuilding goals and a stable fishery. A summary of the May workshop might provide with possible range of next years quota and preliminary status report for the fishery.
2) Squid, Mackerel and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan: GSSA has been following all management issue concerning these very important fisheries. On May 22nd we will be attending the Monitoring Committee Meeting that is being held in Providence RI. The Monitoring Committee will be setting the specifications for these fisheries for the 2009 fishing year.
Amendment 9 to the SMB Fishery Management Plan: Throughout the entire amendment process GSSA has provided written and public testimony on this issue and will be submitting final comments to the proposed rule. This amendment has been reduced from its original form and will implement a continued moratorium on illex pernits, designate Essential Fish Habitat for Loligo squid eggs, prohibit bottom trawling in Oceanographer and Lydonia Canyons, allow for the setting of multi-year specifications and revise the biological reference points. If you would like a copy of our comments please let me know and I can send them to you.
Amendment 10 the SMB Fishery Management Plan: This amendment will be addressing the bycatch issues that occur in the Loligo fishery, specifically butterfish discards. Many of the management actions contained in the amendment could have a serious negative impact on the Loligo fishery, including increased mesh size for the Loligo squid fisher, gear restricted areas, butterfish bycatch cap and industry funded observer coverage. As soon as I can I will provide you with the alternatives and obtain your advice on the specific options. Please be advised that a public hearing will take place on this issue on Monday, June 9th at 7:00 PM at the Sheraton Convention Center in Atlantic City. Before the hearing occurs will do my best to communicate the most important issues to all of you and formulate a position for those issues. It is very important that you all attend this meeting.
Squid, Mackerel and Butterfish Quotas for 2009: The Monitoring Committee recommended an 1800 metric ton increase in the Loligo quid quota. All other quotas will remain at the same level for 2009. The Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be discussing the specifications during its June meeting in Atlantic City. Here is a link to the MAFMC where you can find the Agenda for the meeting. http://www.mafmc.org/mid-atlantic/press/press.htm
3) Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2008: Due to the efforts of NJ Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, Congress made available $1.339M in federal funding for the purposes of conducting an industry-NMFS cooperative trawl survey ($1.25M) targeting monkfish from Maine to North Carolina in 2008. The 2008 survey will be the 3rd and final cooperative survey conducted during the past 9. The information from these cooperative surveys provides estimates of total monkfish stock biomass and fishing mortality rates and is used directly in the stock assessment process. The remaining portion of the funding ($89,000) will be awarded to GSSA and Rutgers staff to assist the research efforts are to provide technical support to complete cruise analysis.
4) Dogfish: At a workshop held in at the University of New England in Beddeford, Maine on March 29, NMFS officials reportedly appeared to be fully committed to their course of continuing to “rebuild” the spiny dogfish stocks which are having severe negative impacts on the fish and the fisheries in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. At this point trying to address this situation through the severely compromised federal fisheries management process is futile. Therefore GSSA staff will be meeting with affected recreational and commercial fishermen to spearhead an effort to have legislation introduced in Washington that will increase the harvest - and decrease the numbers – of these voracious predators.
5) Monkfish: Representatives of the Garden State Seafood Association and the Monkfish Defense Fund have been deeply involved in monkfish management for the past six years. In that time, in very large part due to their efforts, the fishery has progressed from being poised on the brink of a total closure to the point where it is recognized today as not being overfished. It has taken a concerted effort on the art of the GSSA and the MDF, focused on a series of cooperative trawl surveys and working with the managers to complete a new stock assessment (in the summer of 2007) to accomplish this, but our efforts have been rewarded with an open fishery and with stocks which are now recognized to be in as good shape as the fishermen have been assuring the managers they were in initially. With our urging, both the Mid-Atlantic Council and the New England Council voted at their meetings last month to do away with the backstop provision in the Monkfish FMP that would have closed this year’s directed fishery if last year’s landings had exceeded the target TAC by over 30% (they did in the Southern Management Area.)
6) Abandoned Vessels: Both Houses of the NJ Legislature have passed legislation to address abandoned vessel in NJ waterways and marinas.The bill is head to the Governor's desk where he is expected to sign the legislation.
7) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Permits (NPDES): GSSA staff has been working diligently to gain support from the New Jersey delegation and secure federal legislation that would provide exemptions for certain size vessels and provide for a two years study to determine if discharge permits are needed at all. We have been communicating with industry members from all coastal states for support and urging them to voice their concerns with elected officials from their regions. Unfortunately yesterday the Senate Committee approved a bill (2766) that would only exempt recreational vessels. As this issue develops we will keep you posted and will continue to pursue exemptions for commercial fishing vessels.
