The workshop will be held Wednesday, November 20, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., at three in-person locations in New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. A webinar option will also be available.
New England Council to Hold In-Person Public Information Workshops on Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management
Mid-Atlantic Council Seeks Stakeholder Input on Summer Flounder Recreational Management
MAFMC to Host Workshop Addressing Law Enforcement Issues in For-Hire Fisheries
Tuesday, November 13, 12:00 p.m. – Wednesday, November 14, 4:00 p.m.
Embassy Suites by Hilton Philadelphia Airport
9000 Bartram Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19153
Phone: 215-796-6001
Room Block: Online reservations, Group Name: Mid-Atlantic Fishery, Group Code: MAF (October 16 cutoff)
Details and Registration: http://www.mafmc.org/workshop/law-enforcement-for-hire-workshop
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will host a workshop November 13-14 (Law Enforcement/ For-Hire Workshop) to identify issues related to law enforcement in for-hire fisheries and sale by recreational anglers of tilefish and tuna and to develop potential solutions. Specifically, the workshop will address:
Operator versus angler (client) responsibility for fisheries violations that occur on for-hire vessels and law enforcement options for addressing these.
Issues related to the sale of fish by private recreational anglers (particularly golden tilefish and tunas) focusing on the need for vessels selling fish to comply with U.S. Coast Guard requirements and/or Federal permits that allow for the sale of fish.
Recommendations coming from this workshop will be presented during the Council’s December meeting for formal discussion. State and federal fisheries law enforcement, as well as operators of for-hire vessels and private vessels fishing for tuna or tilefish along the Atlantic who may have encountered these issues, may want to participate.
The workshop is open to the public and free to attend but pre-registration is requested to ensure adequate meeting facilities. For more information and to register, visit http://www.mafmc.org/workshop/law-enforcement-for-hire-workshop.
Scientific and Statistical Committee to Meet March 13-14, 2018
The Council’s SSC will meet March 13-14, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. Topics to be discussed include blueline and golden tilefish specifications, NEFSC clam dredge survey redesign, NEFSC State of the Ecosystem Report, and a discussion paper on coefficients of variation for estimates of the overfishing limit.
October 2017 Council Meeting Summary
The following summary highlights actions taken and issues considered at the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s October 2017 meeting in Riverhead, NY. Presentations, briefing materials, and webinar recordings are available on the Council website at http://www.mafmc.org/briefing/october-2017.
Mid-Atlantic Council Approves Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) Guidance Document
Publication: A Framework for Incorporating Species, Fleet, Habitat, and Climate Interactions into Fishery Management
The following article was published in Frontiers in Marine Science, section Marine Ecosystem Ecology.
A Framework for Incorporating Species, Fleet, Habitat, and Climate Interactions into Fishery Management
Sarah K. Gaichas, Richard J. Seagraves, Jessica M. Coakley, Geret S. DePiper, Vincent G. Guida, Jonathan A. Hare, Paul J. Rago, and Michael J. Wilberg.
Abstract
Marine ecosystems are characterized by many complex interactions. Fisheries managers face the challenge of maintaining or restoring sustainability for individual living resources which are affected by both ecological and economic interactions with other species, through processes like predation and fishing fleet interactions. These species interactions are further complicated by interactions with habitats that are changing due to both human activities and climate change. Often, fishery management systems designed to promote sustainability of individual resources have few tools or processes that also address interactions between species, fleets, habitat, and climate. Here, we review existing and potential fishery assessment and management information and tools, and we develop a potential framework for addressing interactions in management at the request of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The structured framework can be used to first prioritize interactions, second specify key questions regarding high priority interactions, and third tailor appropriate analyses to address them. The primary tools for the initial steps in the framework are risk assessment and Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE). Finally, implemented management would be evaluated to ensure that objectives are being met, or to adjust measures as conditions change. In the final section, we outline an example to illustrate how a structured decision making process within the framework could work.
Full Article:
October 2015 Council Meeting Summary
June 2015 Council Meeting Summary
April 2015 Council Meeting Summary
Mid-Atlantic Council to Hold Hearings on Deep Sea Corals Amendment
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold six public hearings in January to gather public comments on the Deep Sea Corals Amendment to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Hearings will be held January 12 – 20, 2015, and written comments will be accepted until January 28, 2015.
Mid-Atlantic Council Initiates Action to Protect Unmanaged Forage Species
December 10 Listening Session: Deep Sea Corals in the Mid-Atlantic
October 2014 Council Meeting Report
The following summary highlights Council actions and issues considered at the October 2014 Council Meeting held in Philadelphia, PA on October 7-9.