Report: Number of Blue Crabs in Bay Remains Below Long-Term Average
July 28, 2008
The Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population remained below the long-term average in 2007, according to a report approved by the NOAA-chaired Fisheries Steering Committee.
The population of spawning-age blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in 2007-08 was 120 million, down from 143 million in 2006-07. The interim target population for spawning-age crabs is 200 million.
“The science provided by the Blue Crab Advisory Report is critical as state resource managers make decisions regarding the blue crab fishery,” said Peyton Robertson, director of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. “This consistent and continued cooperative assessment by the bay jurisdictions, supported by a multiagency team of expert analysts, establishes a sound basis for making decisions that will determine the future of the crab population.”
The 2008 Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Advisory Report, developed by the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee, is based primarily on data collected by the 2007-08 baywide winter dredge survey, the most comprehensive and statistically robust annual blue crab survey conducted in the bay. The data also show:
• The abundance of crabs over five inches remained lower than historical levels.
• The number of juvenile blue crabs entering the population increased slightly from the previous year, but remained well below the average.
• The abundance of mature females, or spawning potential, was also found to be below average.
The 2007 bay-wide harvest of 43.5 million pounds was the lowest recorded since 1945. Based on the historical relationship between crab population and the following year’s harvest, the 2008 harvest was expected to remove approximately 67 percent of the bay’s adult crab population. These harvest levels are higher than a healthy crab population can sustain. New regulations were implemented by Maryland, Virginia, and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission in 2008 that are primarily designed to reduce fishing pressure on female crabs. These changes are expected to reduce the amount of crabs taken to near the target level.
The Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee includes fisheries scientists from universities, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service and the states of Maryland and Virginia. The Fisheries Steering Committee works with the various Bay management jurisdictions and is a forum where fisheries management agencies communicate and coordinate decisions across management boundaries.
The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office focuses NOAA’s capabilities in science, service, and stewardship to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov
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On the Web:
Blue Crab Advisory Report: http://chesapeakebay.noaa.gov
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DNREC to Host July 7 Public Hearing on Proposed Revisions to Shad and River Herring Management Plan
June 17, 2008
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Fish and Wildlife, will host a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 7 in the DNREC auditorium, Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, regarding proposed revisions to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has developed a public information document (PID) as the first step to drafting an amendment in response to the findings of the 2007 benchmark stock assessment for American shad, which indicates that American shad stocks are currently at all-time lows and do not appear to be recovering.
Specific issues addressed are: (1) incorporating the biological reference points and stock restoration goals identified in the 2007 benchmark stock assessment; (2) not increasing directed fisheries for American shad; and (3) restricting fisheries operating on stocks where total mortality is increasing and relative abundance is decreasing. The PID has been developed to address these issues by seeking public comment on the restoration of American shad fisheries and American shad fisheries management.
The PID presents a broad overview of the factors affecting American shad, and provides the public with the opportunity to tell the Commission about changes observed in the fishery; things that should or should not be done in terms of management, regulation, enforcement, research, development, and enhancement; and any other concerns about the resource or the fishery. Other coastal states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia will also be holding public hearings on the proposed changes.
Following the initial phase of information-gathering and public comment, the Commission will evaluate potential management alternatives and develop a draft amendment for public review. Following that review and public comment, the Commission will specify the management measures to be included in the final amendment. A tentative schedule for the completion of the amendment is included in PID.
Copies of the PID may be obtained by contacting the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission at 202-289-6400 or by visiting its website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News.
Citizens may address comments in writing to Erika Robbins, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, fax to 202-289-6051, or email to comments [at] asmfc [dot] org, subject line American shad. Public comment will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, July 25.
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FWC Allows Commercial Mullet Harvest on Weekends
June 12, 2008
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a rule that will allow the commercial harvest of striped or black mullet on weekends. This rule was approved at the FWC public meeting in Dania Beach on Thursday.
The commercial harvest of mullet has been prohibited on weekends during certain months of the year since 1989 to help protect mullet when they spawn. A recent FWC stock assessment indicates that mullet populations are now healthy enough statewide to safely sustain commercial mullet harvesting on weekends.
“This rule will give commercial fishermen more time to fish and supply fresh mullet to local markets without adversely affecting Florida’s mullet population,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto.
This rule takes effect on July 13.
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NOAA Study Shows Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean Dolphin Populations Improving
June 9, 2008
Two Dolphin Stocks May Be Recovering from Tuna Fishing Practices
The numbers of Northeastern offshore spotted and eastern spinner dolphins in the
eastern tropical Pacific Ocean are increasing after being severely depleted because of
accidental death in the tuna purse-seine fishery between 1960 and 1990, according to biologists
from NOAA’s Fisheries Service.
“These estimates are encouraging because they are consistent with what we would
expect to see if these stocks are recovering, now that reported fishery mortality has been
dramatically reduced,” said Dr. Lisa Ballance, director of NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science
Center protected resources division. “However, we have to be careful not to jump to final
conclusions. We need to resolve the uncertainties around these estimates before we can
definitively say these stocks are recovering.”
Between 1960 and 1990, the northeastern offshore spotted and eastern spinner dolphin
populations dropped to 20 percent and 30 percent, respectively, of their pre-fishery levels when
dolphins were caught and died in tuna purse-seine nets. Since the early 1990s, however, the
number of reported dolphin deaths has been very low because of severe restrictions on the
fishery.
“We expected to see these populations begin their recovery years ago, because
fishermen have been so successful at reducing dolphin deaths,” said Tim Gerrodette of NOAA’s
Fisheries Service. “The new data are the first to indicate the beginning of a recovery, but these
initial indications are not enough to be confident that the populations will continue to grow.”
Researchers emphasize the need to continue to monitor dolphin populations at sea
through comprehensive ecosystem research cruises, and to conduct an updated dolphin stock
assessment that will include not only these most recent abundance estimates, but also
additional information on dolphin life history, fishery mortality, and the ecosystem. This
assessment will enable a more definitive interpretation of whether these abundance estimates
indicate Eastern Tropical Pacific dolphins are recovering and the degree to which the fishery
and other factors affect the conservation of these stocks.
Today’s report stems from a series of research cruises conducted since 1986. It
presents new estimates of abundance for 10 dolphin stocks for each survey year between 1986
and 2006. These estimates may be found at http://swfsc.noaa.gov/prd-etp.aspx
NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the
prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery
for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and
marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems
(GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European
Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it
observes, predicts and protects.
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Public Hearing June 17, 2008, on Marine Rule Changes Affecting Lobster Size Limit; Shad and River Herring Management
May 28, 2008
DURHAM, N.H. — The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department will hold public hearings on proposed marine rule changes to the maximum size limit of lobsters and on Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Public Information Document (PID) for Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring. Both hearings will take place on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at the Portsmouth Public Library, 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth, N.H., on the second floor in the Hilton Garden Meeting Room.
The proposed rule changes under consideration would involve modifying the maximum legal length of lobsters in Management Areas 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 to bring New Hampshire into compliance with ASMFC’s Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster.
The Public Information Document and subsequent amendment to the ASMFC’s Shad and River Herring Fisheries Management Plan are being developed in response to the findings of the 2007 benchmark stock assessment for American shad, which indicates that American shad stocks are currently at all-time lows and do not appear to be recovering.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for fishermen and other interested groups to provide input on the PID either through attending a public hearing or by providing written comments by 5 p.m. on July 25, 2008, to Erika Robbins, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, ASMFC, 1444 Eye St, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005. Copies of the document can be obtained by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400 or via the Commission’s web site at www.asmfc.org under “Breaking News.”
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