ASMFC Menhaden Public Hearing Notice
The Department is hosting Public Hearings of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Atlantic Menhaden Draft Amendment 2.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board has released Draft Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden for public review and comment. The Draft Amendment presents a suite of options to manage and monitor the stock in both the short and long-term. These include options to end overfishing (including a range of harvest reductions from 0 – 50% from current harvest levels); change the biomass reference points to match the fishing mortality reference points; and establish a specification process to set and allocate total allowable catch (TAC), including procedures to close the fishery when a certain percentage of the TAC has been projected to be landed. It presents accountability measures to address quota transfers, rollovers, and overage payback, as well as options to allow for a specified amount of the TAC to be set aside for small scale fisheries and episodic events. To address monitoring and data collection needs, the Draft Amendment also presents options for timely quota monitoring and the collection of biological data through catch sampling.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Amendment either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Draft Amendment 2 is available on the Commission website (ASMFC Menhaden Amendment 2 Hearing Document.PDF).
or by contacting the Commission at 703.842.0740. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on November 16, 2012 and should be forwarded to Mike Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or mwaine@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Amendment 2). For more information, please contact Mike Waine at mwaine@asmfc.org.

The two Connecticut hearing will be held at:

7:00 PM, Tuesday, October 16, 2012
DEEP Marine Headquarters
Boating Education Center
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut

and

3:00 PM, Thursday October 18, 2012
Bridgeport Regional Aquaculture Science & Technology Center
60 St. Stevens Road
Bridgeport, Connecticut

For further information, contact the DEEP Marine Fisheries Division by email at deep.marine.fisheries@ct.gov, by mail at P.O. Box 719, Old Lyme, CT 06371 or by telephone at 860.434.6043 between the hours of 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.