MAFMC Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass Amendment 23/ASMFC Addendum XXXIII
Amendment 23/Addendum XXXIII modified the allocations of the black sea bass commercial quota among the states of Maine through North Carolina. The allocations now account for the distribution of the stock and will be updated through the specifications process each time the stock assessment indicates the regional distribution has changed. This action also modified the commercial in-season closure regulations to reduce impacts on states that have not harvested their full allocations when the fishery closes in-season due to overages in other states.
Because black sea bass are managed cooperatively by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission), the Council considered these changes jointly with the Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board. On August 2, 2023, NOAA Fisheries announced disapproval of the portion of Amendment 23 which would have added the state allocations to the Council’s Fishery Management Plan (FMP). However, the revised allocations have been implemented through the Commission’s FMP and are effective as of January 1, 2022.
Contact
Julia Beaty, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, jbeaty@mafmc.org, (302) 526-5250
Status
Council/Board Action: The Council and Board initially approved their respective amendment and addendum during a joint meeting on February 1, 2021. However, in response to a remand from the ASMFC’s Policy Board, the two management bodies revisited their previous recommendations and voted to revise the commercial state quota allocations.
Rulemaking: The Commission’s Addendum XXXIII measures are final for state waters (0-3 miles from shore) and became effective January 1, 2022. The Council has submitted their amendment to NOAA Fisheries for review, approval, and implementation. On May 4, 2023, NOAA Fisheries published a Notice of Availability for Amendment 23 and a proposed rule was published on May 15, 2023. On August 2, 2023, NOAA Fisheries sent a letter to the Council indicating that the agency approved the revisions to the in-season closure regulations but disapproved inclusion of the state allocations in the Council’s FMP. A final rule is expected to publish by the end of 2023.
Summary of Measures
Commercial State Allocations
Under the revised allocations, Connecticut’s baseline allocation of the coastwide quota increased from 1% to 3% and New York’s baseline allocation increased from 7% to 8%. The allocations for all states are then calculated by allocating 75% of the coastwide quota according to the new baseline allocations and 25% to three regions based on the most recent regional biomass distribution information from the stock assessment. The three regions are: 1) Maine-New York, 2) New Jersey, and 3) Delaware-North Carolina. The regional allocations are distributed among states within a region in proportion to their baseline allocations, except Maine and New Hampshire will each receive 1% of the northern region quota. Because the allocations are based in part on the regional biomass distribution from the stock assessment, they will be adjusted if a new assessment indicates a change to the biomass distribution.
These actions address significant changes in the distribution of black sea bass that have occurred since the original allocations were implemented and also account for the historical dependence of the states on the black sea bass fishery.
Other Measures
The Council and Board both agreed to add the state allocations to the Council’s FMP, which would have required a joint action of the Board and Council to modify the allocation method. However, as noted above, NOAA Fisheries disapproved inclusion of these allocations in the Council’s FMP. The Council and Board also approved a change to the federal regulations such that the entire black sea bass commercial fishery will close in-season for all federally permitted vessels and dealers once landings are projected to exceed the coastwide quota plus an additional buffer of up to 5%. The buffer aims to minimize negative economic impacts of coastwide closures on states that have not fully harvested their quotas.
Action Development Timeline
October 2019: The Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board) initiated an addendum to consider modifications to the state allocations.
December 2019: The Council voted to make this a joint action. For the Council, the allocation changes under consideration must be made through a fishery management plan amendment.
May 2020: The Council held two scoping webinars.
October-November 2020: The Council and Commission held a series of public hearing webinars to gather public input on this action.
December 2020: The Council and Commission selected preferred alternatives related to federal management of the black sea bass state allocations but agreed to postpone a decision on the state allocation percentages until the following meeting.
February 1, 2021: The Council and Commission jointly approved the Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment/Draft Addendum XXXIII during a joint meeting.
August 4, 2021: In response to a remand from the ASMFC’s Policy Board, the Council and Commission revisited the commercial allocations and voted to revise the commercial state quota allocations previously recommended in February. A summary of the final recommendations is available here.
January 1, 2022: Addendum XXXIII’s measures became effective for state waters (0-3 miles from shore).
May 4, 2023: NOAA Fisheries published a Notice of Availability.
May 15, 2023: NOAA Fisheries published a Proposed Rule.
August 2, 2023: The Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator informed the Council that NOAA Fisheries had partially approved Amendment 23. The agency disapproved the portion of the amendment that would add the commercial state allocations to the Council’s FMP.
Next Steps: A final rule is expected to publish by the end of 2023.
Documents
Amendment Submission and Rulemaking
Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Amendment - Environmental Assessment
Notice of Availability (5/4/23)
Proposed Rule (5/15/23)
August 4, 2021 Council/Board Meeting (reconsideration of commercial quota allocations)
ASMFC Briefing Materials (Agenda Overview and Draft Proceedings from 2/4/21 Meeting)
ASMFC Supplemental Memo (including description of modified voting procedures)
ASMFC Memo: Allocation Options for Consideration at this Week's Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board Meeting (posted 8/2/21)
Press Release: Council Revises Black Sea Bass Commercial State Allocation Recommendations
February 1, 2021 Council/Board Meeting (Final Action)
December 2020 Council/Board Meeting
Staff memo dated December 1, 2020 on recommendations for final action
Memo from Council staff on potential impacts of management alternatives
Public Hearings - Oct/Nov 2020
June 2020 Council/Board Meeting
MAFMC Scoping (April/May 2020)
December 2019 Council/Board Meeting
October 2019 Council/Board Meeting