On November 16, 2012, officials from the Department of Commerce declared a fishery resource disaster in New Jersey and New York.
Under Section 308(d) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act and Section 315 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Commerce Secretary can declare a fishery resource disaster and a catastrophic regional fishery disaster, respectively, which allows Congress to appropriate federal relief funds for assistance to alleviate harm resulting from a natural disaster.
If money is appropriated, financial assistance plans will be developed to help the fishing industry and coastal communities.
In 2010, New Jersey and New York commercial fisheries landed almost 190 million pounds of fish, valued at more than $210 million dollars.
source: NOAA Fisheries
Showing posts with label commercial fishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commercial fishing. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Saturday, May 5, 2012
2012 Mid-Atlantic Waterways Conference
The U.S. Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, towing industries, passenger vessel industries, and other maritime industrial stakeholders met April 23-25, for the 2012 Mid-Atlantic Waterways Conference in Norfolk.
During the conference, participants focused on the agenda of "Streamlining Cooperation, Knowledge and Assets."
The conference allowed multi-agencies, including military, industrial and local governmental, to discuss in an open forum lessons, dangers, problems and solutions to all maritime industry.
Hosted by the Passenger Vessel Association, the event featured speakers from the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, and Virginia Department of Transportation.
Among the topics discussed were new commercial fishery regulations, issues on navigation in the mid-Atlantic region, hurricane Irene, future roles of the Coast Guard, marine casualties, and offshore wind farms.
source: USCG 5th District
During the conference, participants focused on the agenda of "Streamlining Cooperation, Knowledge and Assets."
The conference allowed multi-agencies, including military, industrial and local governmental, to discuss in an open forum lessons, dangers, problems and solutions to all maritime industry.
Hosted by the Passenger Vessel Association, the event featured speakers from the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, and Virginia Department of Transportation.
Among the topics discussed were new commercial fishery regulations, issues on navigation in the mid-Atlantic region, hurricane Irene, future roles of the Coast Guard, marine casualties, and offshore wind farms.
source: USCG 5th District
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Maryland River Herring Moratorium
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced a statewide moratorium on the harvest of river herring (blueback and alewife herring).
The moratorium follows a 93 percent drop in commercial river herring landings along the Atlantic Coast since 1985. The Maryland commercial harvest of river herring has been falling since the early 1970s when the yearly average was about 700,000 pounds. From 2005 to 2010 the average was just 35,200 pounds.
Maryland is one of several states that are taking action to restore river herring. River herring are managed cooperatively by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).
For more information, visit dnr.state.md.us/fisheries.
source: MD DNR
The moratorium follows a 93 percent drop in commercial river herring landings along the Atlantic Coast since 1985. The Maryland commercial harvest of river herring has been falling since the early 1970s when the yearly average was about 700,000 pounds. From 2005 to 2010 the average was just 35,200 pounds.
Maryland is one of several states that are taking action to restore river herring. River herring are managed cooperatively by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).
For more information, visit dnr.state.md.us/fisheries.
source: MD DNR
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
2011 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Assessment
A new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientific assessment of the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab stock has been released, setting higher abundance thresholds and crab population targets.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assessment, the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab population indicates significantly more work needs to be done to fully rebuild the stock to sustainable levels.
The study concludes that although the stock has increased substantially in response to three years of rebuilding efforts by Virginia, Maryland and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, the stock was more depleted than originally believed and will take longer to rebuild than had been expected.
The assessment sets a new overfishing threshold as well as a new safe abundance level for female crabs. According to NOAA, the project took three years to complete and represents the best available science on the stock’s reproductive capabilities, lifespan, gender and size distributions.
Until now, fishery managers used an interim target of 200 million total adult crabs in the bay as the threshold of a healthy stock and considered overfishing to occur if 53 percent of adult (age 1+) crabs were harvested in a year. Regulations were established to meet these benchmarks, which were based on 2005 bay-wide crab assessment data.
The new stock assessment sets a new healthy-species abundance level of 215 million female crabs, with overfishing occurring if 34 percent of the female crabs are harvested in a year.
Put into context, this means that fishery managers have only come close to achieving this level of female abundance three times over the past 22 years, in 2010, 1993 and 1991.
These more stringent assessments of the stock’s health will allow fishery managers to set more precise female harvest limits in order to fully rebuild the stock. Virginia, Maryland and the PRFC remain committed to working together to rebuild the bay’s crab population to meet the new female population threshold and abundance target.
In September the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee will meet to consider the new assessment, examine data from the past two years and provide management recommendations to Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.
The bay-wide crab harvest in 2010 was in the 90 million-pound range, confirming that a healthy harvesting industry can coexist with regulations designed to rebuild a self-sustaining, healthy blue crab population.
Through a historic collaboration in 2008, Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission took strong, coordinated action to reduce harvest pressure on female crabs by 34 percent. At that time, scientists deemed conservation measures necessary as blue crab suffered near historic lows in spawning stock.
Dr. Tom Miller, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, lead author of the stock assessment commented on the assessment, stating: "Overall, crabs in the bay are doing well. Implementing recommendations developed in the stock assessment, like focusing fishing regulations on female crabs, will help even more,"
The stock assessment can be viewed in its entirety at: http://hjort.cbl.umces.edu/crabs/Assessment.html
source: Virginia Marine Resources Commission/Maryland Department of Natural Resources
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assessment, the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab population indicates significantly more work needs to be done to fully rebuild the stock to sustainable levels.
The study concludes that although the stock has increased substantially in response to three years of rebuilding efforts by Virginia, Maryland and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, the stock was more depleted than originally believed and will take longer to rebuild than had been expected.
The assessment sets a new overfishing threshold as well as a new safe abundance level for female crabs. According to NOAA, the project took three years to complete and represents the best available science on the stock’s reproductive capabilities, lifespan, gender and size distributions.
Until now, fishery managers used an interim target of 200 million total adult crabs in the bay as the threshold of a healthy stock and considered overfishing to occur if 53 percent of adult (age 1+) crabs were harvested in a year. Regulations were established to meet these benchmarks, which were based on 2005 bay-wide crab assessment data.
The new stock assessment sets a new healthy-species abundance level of 215 million female crabs, with overfishing occurring if 34 percent of the female crabs are harvested in a year.
Put into context, this means that fishery managers have only come close to achieving this level of female abundance three times over the past 22 years, in 2010, 1993 and 1991.
These more stringent assessments of the stock’s health will allow fishery managers to set more precise female harvest limits in order to fully rebuild the stock. Virginia, Maryland and the PRFC remain committed to working together to rebuild the bay’s crab population to meet the new female population threshold and abundance target.
In September the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee will meet to consider the new assessment, examine data from the past two years and provide management recommendations to Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.
The bay-wide crab harvest in 2010 was in the 90 million-pound range, confirming that a healthy harvesting industry can coexist with regulations designed to rebuild a self-sustaining, healthy blue crab population.
Through a historic collaboration in 2008, Maryland, Virginia and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission took strong, coordinated action to reduce harvest pressure on female crabs by 34 percent. At that time, scientists deemed conservation measures necessary as blue crab suffered near historic lows in spawning stock.
Dr. Tom Miller, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, lead author of the stock assessment commented on the assessment, stating: "Overall, crabs in the bay are doing well. Implementing recommendations developed in the stock assessment, like focusing fishing regulations on female crabs, will help even more,"
The stock assessment can be viewed in its entirety at: http://hjort.cbl.umces.edu/crabs/Assessment.html
source: Virginia Marine Resources Commission/Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Listening Session
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be soliciting input from the public during a question and answer session from 5 pm - 6 pm on Wednesday April 13, 2011 in Annapolis, MD.
The session will be in the evening and is designed to allow stakeholders an opportunity outside of the normal Council agenda to ask questions or express concerns regarding Council management issues.
Topics to be discussed may include:
Ecosystem Management
Bycatch Reduction
Catch Shares
Recent Assessment Results
Recreational Data Collection
Research Set-Aside Program
Allocation Issues
Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning
Annual Catch Limits
Questions will be taken as time allows from both those attending in person and via webinar.
For online webinar access register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/963693944. Once registered, users will receive an email confirming registration along with the instructions for joining the webinar.
source: MAFMC
The session will be in the evening and is designed to allow stakeholders an opportunity outside of the normal Council agenda to ask questions or express concerns regarding Council management issues.
Topics to be discussed may include:
Ecosystem Management
Bycatch Reduction
Catch Shares
Recent Assessment Results
Recreational Data Collection
Research Set-Aside Program
Allocation Issues
Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning
Annual Catch Limits
Questions will be taken as time allows from both those attending in person and via webinar.
For online webinar access register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/963693944. Once registered, users will receive an email confirming registration along with the instructions for joining the webinar.
source: MAFMC
Watermen to Restore Chesapeake Bay Oyster Bars
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and The Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) are continuing to work with commercial fishermen on oyster bar rehabilitation projects. The program is a part a Maryland plan to help mitigate the economic impact of regulations enacted in 2008 to help rebuild the blue crab fishery, while also helping to restore the Chesapeake Bay.
The program utilizes the skills, experience and equipment of Chesapeake Bay watermen to increase the amount of viable oyster bar habitat in the estuary. The rehabilitated oyster bars will create habitat for a natural spat set and/or hatchery seed plantings in both sanctuaries and public shellfish fishery areas. The program also provides watermen with income for helping with oyster restoration.
This spring, more than 750 Maryland watermen will restore 23 oyster bars in the Chesapeake Bay and will reclaim more than 1,000 acres of buried oyster shell.
A number of the oyster bars slated for rehabilitation are located within new sanctuary areas that were created by the Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture Development Plan. These areas include Harris Creek, Eastern Bay, and the Little Choptank, Nanticoke and Manokin Rivers.
source: MD DNR
The program utilizes the skills, experience and equipment of Chesapeake Bay watermen to increase the amount of viable oyster bar habitat in the estuary. The rehabilitated oyster bars will create habitat for a natural spat set and/or hatchery seed plantings in both sanctuaries and public shellfish fishery areas. The program also provides watermen with income for helping with oyster restoration.
This spring, more than 750 Maryland watermen will restore 23 oyster bars in the Chesapeake Bay and will reclaim more than 1,000 acres of buried oyster shell.
A number of the oyster bars slated for rehabilitation are located within new sanctuary areas that were created by the Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture Development Plan. These areas include Harris Creek, Eastern Bay, and the Little Choptank, Nanticoke and Manokin Rivers.
source: MD DNR
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