The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) held its regular summer meeting on August 3-6, when it addressed a number of issues that will impact anglers in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Big decision on Atlantic menhaden The biggest news to come out of the meeting was the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board’s (Menhaden Board) decision to
Striped Bass, Menhaden, Bluefish & Recreational/Commercial Allocation Topped the Agenda Last week the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission met, in part, jointly with the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council to consider a number of issues. Of course, because of the COVID 19 pandemic, Commissioners and Council members met via webinar. While just about all binding
Editors note: This article first appeared in From the Waterfront. John McMurray photo These last several weeks have been awful. No matter how hard I try to find a silver lining, there sure doesn’t appear to be one. If you live in the tri-state area and don’t know anyone who’s been sick yet, you are
Good news with menhaden, but it’s likely the Commission will fall short on striped bass Menhaden So, here’s the good news. It is highly likely, after a good 20 years of advocacy by anglers and environmental groups, that we’ll see menhaden managed in the context of its value as a prey species, by as early
Big cuts coming for bluefish, scup and black seabass dodged a bullet.
Bluefish are overfished, and scup and black seabass face more cuts A lot to process coming off this meeting. And just about all of it has to do with the new MRIP data recalibration. MRIP – Marine Recreational Information Program – is the recreational fishing data-gathering program that employs in-person, telephone and mail surveys to
Offshore wind farms are coming, how they work out for us largely depends on us… By Capt. John McMurray Indeed, we’ve written here and elsewhere on offshore wind-power development. Specifically, on the potential for wind-turbines – dozens, maybe well over one-hundred – placed in designated areas off our coast. Generally, we have been in support
By Capt. John McMurray After a canceled meeting in February due to the federal government shutdown, on March 6th and 7th the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council met jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, to review the 2019 Summer Flounder Benchmark Stock Assessment, and to subsequently complete specifications and decide on recreational management measures.
By Capt. John McMurray As is usually the case, we report on all management meetings relevant to the conservation-minded fishing community. While there were many issues addressed at this meeting, striped bass was of course at the forefront, with menhaden a close second. Before getting to those two issues, it’s important to note changes in
What various news outlets are reporting isn’t entirely accurate By Capt. John McMurray Frankly, we’ve been ignoring all of this up to now, because, the version of the Modern Fish Act that passed, and the way it was passed, is well, kinda inconsequential – to us anyway. But the reporting on the subject? It’s been,
