The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) have established specifications for the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries.
ASMFCs actions are final and apply to state waters (0-3 miles from shore). MAFMC will forward its recommendations for federal waters (3 – 200 miles from shore) to NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Administrator for final approval.
Summer Flounder
For summer flounder, both groups approved an acceptable biological catch (ABC) limit of 16.26 million pounds, an approximate 29% decrease from 2015. After accounting for projected discards in the commercial and recreational fisheries, this ABC is divided into a commercial quota of 8.12 million pounds and a recreational harvest limit of 5.42 million pounds for the 2016 fishing year.
This decrease in catch and landings limits responds to the findings of the 2015 stock assessment update, which indicates that the summer flounder stock was experiencing overfishing in 2014.
For more information on the assessment update and its impacts on harvest limits for 2016, please see the MAFMC Summer Flounder Catch and Landings Limit Fact Sheet.
Scup
For scup, the Commission and Council approved an ABC of 31.11 million pounds. After accounting for projected discards in the commercial and recreational fisheries, this ABC is divided into a commercial quota of 20.47 million pounds and a recreational harvest limit of 6.09 million pounds for the 2016 fishing year. This represents a decrease from 2015 levels due to a slight decrease in spawning stock biomass (SSB) as projected by the 2015 benchmark stock assessment.
Black Sea Bass
For black sea bass, the Commission and Council approved an ABC of 5.50 million pounds. After accounting for projected discards in the commercial and recreational fisheries, this ABC is divided into a commercial quota of 2.24 million pounds and a recreational harvest limit of 2.33 million pounds for the 2016 and 2017 fishing years.
Catch levels for 2016 and 2017 are unchanged relative to 2015 levels. Both the commercial quota and recreational harvest limit may be changed pending further review by the Council’s Science and Statistical Committee (SSC) in September 2015. The next benchmark stock assessment is scheduled be peer-reviewed through the Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee in late fall 2016.
Bluefish
For the bluefish fishery, the Commission and Council approved an ABC of 19.45 million pounds for the 2016 fishing season, an approximate 10% decrease from 2015 levels. The reduction responds to the findings of the 2015 benchmark stock assessment which lowered both the SSB target level (223 million pounds) and the SSB estimate (191 million pounds in 2014). The 2016 commercial quota and recreational harvest limit will be set once the final recreational harvest estimates for 2015 have been released in 2016.
source: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission