The Potomac River Fisheries Commission, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control are holding a public hearing on the management of Atlantic menhaden Monday, September 26, 6:00-8:00 pm. The hearing will be held in person (Maryland DNR headquarters, Tawes State Office Building, C-1 Conference Room, 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, MD) and virtually.
Register for virtual participation.
Those unable to participate in the hearing may submit comments on the draft addendum to James Boyle, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, 1050 North Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201 or via email (subject line: Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum I).
The reason for the amendment, according to the draft:
At its August 2021 meeting, the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board (Board) approved the following motion:
Move to initiate an addendum to consider changes to commercial allocation, the episodic events set aside, and the small-scale/incidental catch provision. The purpose of this action is to address the issues outlined in the Atlantic Menhaden work group memo and the PDT should use the strategies provided in the work group memo as a starting point.
The Addendum proposes options to adjust states’ commercial allocation to better align with availability; adjust the percentage of the episodic event set aside (EESA) program; and reduce incidental catch and small-scale fisheries (IC/SSF) landings from recent levels.
Or, better put by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control,
Draft Amendment 3 seeks to manage the resource in a way that balances menhaden’s ecological role as a prey species with the needs of all user groups. The amendment considers the use of ecosystem reference points (ERPs) to manage the resource, and also presents management options for the commercial menhaden fishery.
ASMFC’s 2015 Benchmark Stock Assessment Report identified the development of ERPs as a high priority for Atlantic menhaden management. Menhaden play an important role in the marine ecosystem as prey for a variety of species including larger fish (weakfish, striped bass), birds (bald eagles, osprey), and marine mammals (humpback whales, bottlenose dolphins). As a result, changes in the abundance of menhaden may impact predator populations, particularly if availability of other prey is limited. ERPs provide a method to assess the status of menhaden within the broad ecosystem context.”
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission describes the comment management process in the hearing schedule news release (PDF):
Comments received during a public comment period on a proposed management action play an important role in the Commission’s fisheries management process. All comments, whether they are individually submitted or as part of a larger, coordinated stakeholder response, are considered equally by a species management board when it determines final management action. When staff compiles all comments received, they use a categorization process to help the board effectively and efficiently navigate submitted public comment, whether it is 50 or 300,000 comments. Three or more comments that have the same language or state support for an organization’s comments are considered form letters. However, if the commenter provides additional comments/rationale related to a potential management action beyond the organization’s or letter’s comments, then it is considered an individual comment.