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PRESS CONTACT: Tina Berger North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries September 24, 2008; 7:00 PM Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources Virginia Marine Resources Commission Maine Department of Marine Resources New Hampshire Fish and Game Both addenda propose management options that reflect the historic regional distribution of the spiny dogfish landings among the states. The Board’s action responds to the concern of some states that the current seasonal allocation program is not providing their commercial fishermen the opportunity to harvest the available quota as was intended by the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Spiny Dogfish. Currently, the interstate spiny dogfish management program allocates the annual commercial quota seasonally while Board action distributes the quota regionally within the seasonal allocation. The seasonal allocation system divides the quota into two periods, with 57.9% of the quota available for harvest from May 1 to October 31 and 42.1% available for harvest from November 1 to April 30. Through Board action, states agreed upon a regional allocation system dividing the quota between two regions, with 58% allocated to the northern states (ME – CT) and 42% allocated to the southern states (NY-NC). The 58/42 percent allocation was designed to preserve the historical distribution of landings. In recent years, however, the seasonal allocation strategy, which is influenced by dogfish migratory patterns, has resulted in overages of the northern quota share and reduced access to the resource by the southern states. Draft Addendum II proposes to eliminate the current seasonal allocation system and to formalize the regional allocation system. To ensure a fair allocation of the annual quota between regions and maintain the conservation goals of the plan, the Draft Addendum proposes that each region be accountable for its overharvest through quota reductions the following year. Under the current system, overages in one region have resulted in a reduced quota to the other region. The Board may choose to implement this Addendum for the 2008/2009 fishing season. If approved and implemented for the 2008/2009 fishing season, quota will be assigned retroactively accounting for landings from earlier in the fishing season. Draft Addendum III proposes a suite of options for the establishment of a state-by-state allocation system including quota transfer between states. Options include a minimum threshold (fixed percentage of the annual quota to be distributed to all states independent of historical landings) and percent allocations based on a variety of base years. Addendum III also includes an option for state payback of overages. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addenda, either through attending public hearings or providing written comments. Copies can be obtained by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400 or via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM on October 16, 2008 and should be forwarded to Christopher Vonderweidt, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Spiny Dogfish). For more information, please contact Christopher Vonderweidt at (202) 289-6400. |