The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has released Draft Addendum VI to Amendment 6 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass for public comment. New York’s hearings for gathering public input on Draft Addendum VI will begin on Wednesday, September 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. The venue for this hearing has been changed to the Ballroom (Golf Course Observatory) at Bethpage State Park Clubhouse, Bethpage State Park, 99 Quaker Meetinghouse Road, Farmingdale, New York 11735. Contact: John Maniscalco at 631-444-0430. A second meeting will be held on September 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. at NYSDEC Region 3 Office, 21 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, NY. Contact: Gregg Kenney at 845-256-3199. Input from these meetings will go a long way towards determining striped bass regulations in 2020.
Draft Addendum VI was initiated in response to the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment, which indicates the resource is overfished and experiencing overfishing. The Draft Addendum explores a range of management alternatives designed to end overfishing and reduce fishing mortality to the target level in 2020. The Draft Addendum proposes management options for both commercial and recreational sectors in the ocean and in Chesapeake Bay in order to reduce total fishery removals by 18 percent relative to 2017 levels. The proposed measures include reduced quotas for commercial fisheries, and changes in bag limits, minimum sizes, and slot size limits for the recreational sector. Since catch and release practices represent a significant component of overall fishing mortality, the Draft Addendum also explores the mandatory use of circle hooks when fishing with bait to reduce release mortality in recreational striped bass fisheries. Draft Addendum VI is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/StripedBassDraftAddVI_PublicComment_Aug2019.pdf or via the Commission’s website at http://www.asmfc.org/about-us/public-input.
Fishermen and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum VI either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5 p.m. (EST) on October 7, 2019 and should be sent to Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703-842-0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Draft Addendum VI). If your organization is planning to release an action alert related to the Draft Addendum, please contact Max Appelman at mappelman@asmfc.org prior to its release. The Board will meet at the Commission’s Annual Meeting in October to review public comment and consider final approval of the Addendum.
