Arlington, VA -- The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Menhaden Management Board has initiated a draft addendum proposing an interim biological reference point of 15% maximum spawning potential (MSP) with the goal of increasing abundance, spawning stock biomass, and menhaden availability as a forage species. The MSP approach identifies the fishing mortality rate necessary to maintain a given level of stock fecundity (number of mature ova) relative to the potential maximum stock fecundity under unfished conditions. In this case, a 15% MSP would equate to a fishing mortality rate threshold required to maintain approximately 15% of virgin stock fecundity. The current MSP level is 9%. The draft addendum will also include a suite of management measures to achieve 15% MSP.
At the same time, the Board placed a high priority on continuing work on developing ecosystem reference points using a multispecies modeling approach (MSVPA). Ecosystem reference points are expected to address the forage needs of menhaden’s predator species such as striped bass, weakfish, and bluefish. This work is anticipated to take a few years.
The Board received an update on the revised 2009 Atlantic menhaden stock assessment, which finds the stock is not overfished but is experiencing overfishing in 2008. The Board will review and consider approval of the the draft addendum for public comment at the Commission’s Summer Meeting in August. If approved, the draft addendum will be released for public comment in late summer, with state public hearings occurring throughout early fall. Final Board approval of the addendum could happen in November at the Commission’s Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, Senior FMP Coordinator, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703/842-0740.
No comments:
Post a Comment