October 2025 Council Meeting Summary

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council met October 7-9, 2025, in Philadelphia, PA. The following is a summary of actions taken and issues considered during the meeting. Presentations, briefing materials, motions, and webinar recordings are available on the Council’s October 2025 meeting page. A PDF version of the meeting report is available here.

Highlights

During this meeting, the Council:

• Postponed final action on the Omnibus Alternative Gear-Marking Framework until additional information is available to inform decision making

• Took final action on the Spiny Dogfish Accountability Measures and 2026-2027 Specifications Framework, keeping the commercial quota nearly the same as 2025

• Approved a public hearing document for the Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment

• Reviewed a draft range of alternatives for the Recreational Tilefish Reporting Framework and recommended several modifications

• Reviewed a draft range of alternatives for the Atlantic Mackerel Rebuilding and 2026-2027 Specifications Framework

• Adopted status-quo 2026-2028 monkfish specifications and effort controls

• Endorsed the monkfish provisions of the New England Council’s Management Flexibility Amendment

• Received updates on habitat activities of interest in the Mid-Atlantic region

• Received an update on recent Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) actions, including improvements to the Fishing Effort Survey

• Received an update on the Atlantic Coast Regional Offshore Wind Fisheries Compensation Program

• Reviewed and provided feedback on proposed actions and deliverables for the 2026 Implementation Plan (Executive Committee)

Omnibus Alternative Gear-Marking Framework

The Council met to consider taking final action on the Joint Omnibus Alternative Gear-Marking Framework. This action, which was developed in collaboration with the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) and the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), considers revisions to current gear marking regulations to allow for the optional use of alternative gear marking in fixed gear fisheries (i.e., trap/pot and gillnet) in the Greater Atlantic Region. This could provide increased fishing access for fishermen in areas closed to persistent buoy lines under the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (TRP). Currently, these persistent buoy line closures only apply to the American lobster and Jonah crab trap/pot fishery. However, future modifications to the TRP could create new persistent buoy line restricted areas for other fisheries. Revised gear-marking regulations could allow increased fishing access in the future for fixed-gear fishermen for all fisheries within the TRP restricted areas. This action would not limit the use of current gear-marking methods and would not require the use of gear-marking alternatives or on-demand gear.

After reviewing public comments and receiving an update from the Plan Development Team/Fishery Management Action Team (PDT/FMAT), the Council voted to delay final action on the framework until additional information on ropeless gear and visualization technology, as solicited through a NOAA Fisheries Request for Information (RFI), is available to better inform stakeholder input and Council decision-making. The Council’s motion to postpone final action mirrored a similar motion passed by the New England Fishery Management Council at their September 2025 meeting. The GARFO Regional Administrator indicated that NOAA Fisheries plans to issue an RFI in 2026 to solicit public input on various questions pertaining to alternative gear marking and the approval of certain systems for use. Updates on this action can be found here.

Spiny Dogfish Accountability Measures and Specifications Framework

Credit: NOAA Fisheries

The Council took final action on a framework action to set 2026-2027 spiny dogfish specifications and modify some accountability measures. Because spiny dogfish are jointly managed by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Councils, both Councils must approve the framework for it to take effect. The New England Fishery Management Council will consider taking final action at their December 2025 meeting.

Specifications: The spiny dogfish stock is projected to be at 113% of its biomass target in 2026. Based on advice from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), the Council adopted constant 2026-2027 specifications with the same Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) limit as 2025. The Council decided it was appropriate to set aside slightly more for discards, which will reduce the commercial quota from 2025’s 9.3 million pounds to 9.2 million pounds for 2026-2027. No changes were recommended to other measures, such as the federal trip limit. 

Accountability Measures: Currently, the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) requires strict pound-for-pound payback of any Annual Catch Limit (ACL) overages as an accountability measure. Under the revised measures adopted by the Council, ACL overages would be calculated using a 3-year average of catch compared to a 3-year average of ACLs. This approach is intended to smooth out annual variability in landings and discards to reduce the likelihood of overages resulting from short-term fluctuations and/or imprecise estimates.  In addition, payback amounts would scale with biomass levels as follows:

• At or above target biomass: No payback would be required for ACL overages. However, the Councils would still consider management adjustments during the next specifications cycle to prevent future overages.

• At or below 75% of target biomass: Full, pound-for-pound paybacks would be required and deducted from the next available single-year ACL.

• Between 75% and 100% of target biomass: The payback amount would be calculated on a sliding, linear scale based on biomass level (for example, a 50% payback would be required when the stock is at 87.5% of the target biomass).

This change is intended to better align accountability measures with stock status and reduce unnecessary economic impacts when the stock is healthy. However, this flexibility would not apply while a rebuilding plan is in place, and full paybacks would still be required until the stock is rebuilt. The Council also voted to allow specifications to include a landings closure threshold of up to 105% of the quota if biomass is greater than 50% of the target. This measure is intended to reduce negative economic impacts of coastwide closures on states that have not fully harvested their quotas. Updates on this action can be found here.

Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment

Credit: NOAA Fisheries

The Council reviewed and approved a public hearing document for the Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment. This action proposes revisions to the EFH designations for 14 of the Council’s managed species. After reviewing input from its Ecosystem and Ocean Planning (EOP) Committee and EOP Advisory Panel, the Council approved the document for public comment and hearings and identified Alternative 2 as the Council’s preferred alternative. A schedule of public hearings, along with instructions for submitting written comments, will be available on the Council website in the coming weeks. The Council will consider final action on the Amendment at its meeting in April 2026. Updates on this action can be found here.

Recreational Tilefish Reporting Framework

Credit: Ken Neill

The Council reviewed a draft range of alternatives for the Recreational Tilefish Reporting Framework. This action considers options to streamline and simplify reporting requirements for recreational tilefish anglers, with the goals of improving compliance, reducing the reporting burden, increasing enforceability of regulations, and improving the accuracy and reliability of self-reported data. Currently, anglers fishing for golden and blueline tilefish north of the North Carolina/Virginia border are required to submit electronic vessel trip reports (eVTR) for every trip where tilefish were caught or targeted. These requirements, implemented in 2020, were intended to improve the accuracy and reliability of recreational catch and effort estimates. However, a program evaluation conducted in 2024 highlighted a number of issues that have contributed to persistently low compliance and reporting rates.

The range of alternatives presented to the Council includes options that would (1) eliminate certain reporting fields, (2) eliminate the requirement to report effort-only trips (i.e., trips with no tilefish landings or discards), and (3) revise the trip report submission timeframe. These alternatives were developed based on the outcomes and recommendations of the 2024 program evaluation. The Council provided feedback on the range of alternatives and requested that staff add an alternative that would maintain the requirement to report catch location information (e.g., latitude/longitude or statistical area). The Council also requested that staff evaluate the feasibility and utility of adding a requirement to report tilefish length and weight information.

The modified range of alternatives will be further developed, and a public input meeting will be held in early 2026 to gather stakeholder feedback on the range of alternatives. Final action by the Council is tentatively planned for April 2026. Updates on this action can be found here.

Atlantic Mackerel Rebuilding and Specifications Framework

Credit: NOAA Fisheries

The Council reviewed a draft range of alternatives for a framework action to modify the Atlantic mackerel rebuilding plan and set 2026-2027 specifications. Directed commercial fishing for Atlantic mackerel has been negligible since October 12, 2023, when very low trip limits and quotas were established to facilitate rebuilding. It appears that improving recruitment in 2022 and 2023 was followed by a large terminal year recruitment event in 2024. However, the preceding three terminal year recruitment estimates (2016, 2019, and 2022) were later revised down, by -30%, -62%, and -23% respectively.

Depending on the Scientific and Statistical Committee’s (SSC) advice on potentially adjusting the terminal year recruitment estimate, catch limits for 2026-2027 may increase. The Council instructed staff to refine a range of approaches for 2026-2027 to continue rebuilding based on the SSC’s recommendations made during an upcoming October 23, 2025 SSC webinar meeting. The Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Committee and River Herring and Shad Committee will meet jointly on November 24 to make recommendations for final action at the Council’s December 2025 meeting. Updates on this action can be found here.

Monkfish Actions

Credit: NOAA Fisheries

2026-2028 Specifications

Mirroring action in New England for this jointly-managed fishery, the Council recommended maintaining current overall catch limits for both the northern and southern monkfish management areas, with no changes to existing days-at-sea or possession limits. The total allowable landings (TAL) for the northern area will decline by about 3% due to updated discard estimates (to 5,174 metric tons); the southern area TAL would be nearly unchanged (3,487 metric tons).

NEFMC Management Flexibility Framework

The Council endorsed the monkfish provisions of an omnibus amendment developed by the New England Fishery Management Council to improve flexibility and consistency across their fishery management plans. If approved and implemented, this action would: allow specifications to be set for up to five years through a simpler “specs action” without requiring development of a framework adjustment; enable NOAA Fisheries to adjust specifications or measures during the year in consultation with the Council; remove certain annual reporting requirements to reduce administrative workload; and expand the list of measures that can be updated through framework adjustments.

Habitat Update

NOAA Fisheries GARFO Habitat and Ecosystem Services Division (HESD) provided information, presented by Council staff, on habitat activities of interest to the Council. This included several port development, energy, federal navigation, and civil work projects within the Mid-Atlantic. The status of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Historic Area Remediation site considerations and U.S. Coast Guard work with HESD on their “Shipping Safety Fairways Along the Atlantic Coast” was noted. HESD highlighted work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the reissuance of the Nationwide permits and new and upcoming work to facilitate efficient and effective EFH consultations (i.e., training, technical assistance, and a new EFH assessment worksheet). Lastly, it was noted that early discussions are occurring with a proposed mussel aquaculture project (i.e., Newport Mussels) in Southern New England.

Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) Update

Credit: Greg Hueth

Council staff provided an overview of ongoing improvements to the survey methods used to create recreational fishing catch estimates. In particular, NOAA Fisheries is preparing to transition to a modified Fishing Effort mail-based Survey (the “FES”). Based on 2024 side-by-side surveys, NOAA Fisheries’ analyses suggest the modified survey results in approximately 10%-20% lower effort estimates, which would translate into similar reductions in catch estimates. Catch reductions will vary by species, with relatively bigger reductions for species caught primarily in private boat fishing vs shore fishing, and relatively bigger reductions for species that are caught primarily in off-peak activity months. For most species, it appears the scale of downward changes will be less than the upward changes that occurred with the original FES implementation in 2018.  

Older estimates will have to be calibrated (lowered) to match the new methods, and then the new time series can be incorporated into assessments as they occur (and then into management). Lowering the catch history going into an assessment often results in lower projected future yields, so the overall impact on recreational management measures (seasons, size limits, possession limits) is not yet clear. NOAA Fisheries and management partners are developing a transition plan that would provide a framework for considering related issues, including assessment prioritization and the need for potential re-consideration of allocations that were based upon historic estimates.

Staff also provided updates on MRIP’s efforts to improve engagement with partners and constituents, from long-term goals to enhanced review of preliminary estimates. Staff also reviewed upcoming research efforts in the Gulf of America focused on cutting-edge recreational data collection methods, including video, satellite, aerial survey, and mobile data.

The best way to stay informed about MRIP activities is to sign up for NOAA Fisheries email updates or email fisheries.mrip@noaa.gov.  

Atlantic Coast Regional Offshore Wind Fisheries Compensation Program

The Council received an update on a regional offshore wind fisheries compensation program, which is currently in development and could be used across multiple future offshore wind energy projects. More information is available at https://www.rfainfo.com/. 

Executive Committee: 2026 Implementation Plan

The Executive Committee met to review and provide feedback on a draft list of actions and deliverables for the 2026 Implementation Plan. The Council develops Implementation Plans each year to ensure progress toward achieving the goals and objectives of its 5-year strategic plan. During the meeting, the Committee received a progress update on the 2026 Implementation Plan and reviewed a draft list of actions and deliverables for 2026. The Committee recommended several modifications to the list. The full Council will review a draft 2026 Implementation Plan at the December meeting.

Other Business

50th Anniversary

Staff provided an update on planned communications and outreach for the 50th anniversary of the regional fishery management councils in 2026. The strategy focuses on celebrating the Council’s history, raising public awareness, and engaging stakeholders. Planned activities and deliverables include a dedicated landing page on the Council website, an interactive timeline of key milestones, and a series of articles featuring management milestones from the Council’s history and interviews with Council process participants. Staff also plan to host a photo contest in early 2026, inviting submissions that capture Mid-Atlantic fisheries, coastal communities, habitats, and working waterfronts. Winning photos will be showcased online and in other communications.

Role of Monitoring Committees

The Council reviewed a staff memo summarizing the role of the Monitoring Committees in the specifications setting process. Monitoring Committees review and recommend to the Council many different types of catch and landings limits and other management measures. The Monitoring Committees are specifically tasked with considering management uncertainty when making recommendations for Annual Catch Targets; however, they can also consider scientific uncertainty, optimum yield, and other factors when making all their recommendations. The memo describes several recent examples of Annual Catch Targets set less than the Annual Catch Limits for a variety of reasons. The Council is not bound by the recommendations of the Monitoring Committees and can adopt different specifications (higher or lower) provided they are consistent with the FMPs, the Magnuson Act, and other applicable laws.

Inflation Reduction Act Updates

The Council reviewed newly developed one-page overviews for the Council’s eight projects supported by Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds intended to help support the development and enhancement of climate-related fisheries management efforts. This new communication tool provides easy-to-read, high level information about each project’s purpose, objectives, and general timeline. These one-page project overviews and additional IRA information can be found at: https://www.mafmc.org/ira-projects.

Executive Order 14276, Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness

The Council’s response to Executive Order 14276 was submitted on September 30, 2025. It included a total of 20 recommended actions to help stabilize markets, improve access, enhance profitability, and prevent fishery closures.

Next Council Meeting

The next Council meeting will be held December 15-18, 2025, in Washington, DC. A complete list of upcoming meetings can be found at https://www.mafmc.org/council-events.

MAFMC and ASMFC Approve Changes to Process for Setting Recreational Management Measures for Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board (Policy Board) have approved modifications to the process for setting recreational measures (bag, size, and season limits), as well as the recreational accountability measures, for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. The Council recommended these changes through a framework action, and the Policy Board adopted these changes through Addendum XXXVI to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and Addendum III to the Bluefish FMP. These changes are part of a broader long-term effort by both the Council and Commission to improve recreational management of these jointly managed species.

The current process for setting recreational measures, referred to as the Percent Change Approach, was implemented in 2023 and will sunset at the end of 2025. During a joint meeting last week in Galloway, New Jersey, the Council and Policy Board discussed several options to improve or replace the Percent Change Approach for 2026 and beyond. After reviewing public comments and recommendations from technical committees and advisory panels, the Council and Policy Board agreed to maintain the current process with several modifications based on lessons learned over the past few years. These changes will be implemented in two phases.

The first phase of changes aims to better account for stock status when setting measures and will create more opportunities for stability in management measures. The current system uses three biomass categories to guide whether measures should change; the revised approach adds a fourth category for stocks near their biomass target and establishes a separate process for overfished stocks. These changes will take effect starting with the 2026 recreational measures for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. The Council and Policy Board delayed the implementation of these changes for bluefish until 2028 to allow time for development of an appropriate methodology for evaluating the impacts of measures on bluefish harvest and discards. The bluefish stock has been under a rebuilding plan since 2022, and recreational measures will continue to be set based on the rebuilding plan until the stock is declared rebuilt.

The second phase of modifications, which will be implemented for setting 2030 recreational measures and beyond, will update the process to use a catch-based target. Unlike the current process – which focuses on achieving a specific level of predicted harvest – a catch-based approach aims to achieve a target level of total dead catch, including both harvest and dead discards. This approach will allow for more explicit consideration of how measures affect discards. Some advisors and members of the public raised concerns about the potential for this change to create greater instability in management measures. After extensive discussion of each approach, the Council and Policy Board delayed the transition to a catch-based target until 2030 to allow time for additional analysis on the potential impacts to measures.

The Council and Policy Board also approved changes to the recreational accountability measures. These changes will be effective starting in 2026 for all four species. Under these revisions, when an accountability measure is triggered due to recent overages of the recreational annual catch limits, managers will also consider if those overages contributed to overfishing when determining the appropriate response.

The Council will submit the framework to the National Marine Fisheries Service for review and implementation, while the Commission’s measures are final for state waters. Additional information about this action is available on the Council and Commission websites.

Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment

In other related business, the Council and Policy Board also reviewed scoping comments on the Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment from public hearings and written comments, as well as input provided by the joint Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass and Bluefish Advisory Panels and the Fishery Management Action Team/Plan Development Team. Based on these comments, the Council and Policy Board agreed that recreational sector separation and recreational data collection should be addressed separately. Further development of the amendment will focus on management options for recreational sector separation, including mode management, as well as consideration of for-hire permitting and reporting requirements.

The Council and Policy Board separated out the recreational data collection and use issue from the amendment due to concerns that the complexity of this issue would cause significant delays in the amendment timeline. Council and Policy Board members also noted there is a need to more clearly define the objectives for recreational data collection improvement. This issue will be explored through a white paper which will consider the feasibility of various approaches and help the Council and Policy Board clarify goals for a potential future action. Additional information and updates are available on the Council and Commission action pages.

Press Contacts:

• MAFMC: Mary Sabo, 302-526-5261

• ASMFC: Tina Berger, 703-842-0749

ACCSP, NOAA Fisheries Release Plan to Improve Atlantic Recreational Fisheries Data

The Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) and NOAA Fisheries have jointly released the Marine Recreational Information Program Regional Implementation Plan for the Atlantic Coast. It highlights data needs and funding priorities over the next 5 years for improving recreational fisheries data collection on the Atlantic Coast.

“Our regional and state partners are essential to developing, executing and improving our national network of recreational fishing surveys that inform catch estimates,” said Evan Howell, NOAA Fisheries, director of the Office of Science and Technology. “We rely on partners like ACCSP to efficiently facilitate regional partnerships and joint data collection activities, as well as identify regional priorities through tools like our regional implementation plans. I want to thank all of our partners for their hard work to develop this plan together, and we look forward to our continued partnership as the plan is implemented.” 

ACCSP is the state-federal partnership that collects, manages, and disseminates Atlantic commercial and recreational fisheries data and serves as the MRIP Regional  Implementation Team for the Atlantic Coast. It also coordinates state conduct of the MRIP Access Point Angler Intercept Survey and For-Hire Survey from Maine to Georgia. Program partners include coastal resource agencies from 15 states and the District of Columbia, 2 interstate marine fisheries commissions, 3 regional fishery management councils, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA Fisheries. To provide better data for stock assessment and management, the ACCSP Coordinating Council and Recreational Technical Committee (RecTech) identified top priorities for improving recreational data collection on the Atlantic Coast through 2027. 

Atlantic Coast Prioritized Activities

• Improved precision and presentation of MRIP estimates

• Comprehensive for-hire data collection and monitoring

• Improved recreational fishery discard and release data

• Improved timeliness of MRIP recreational catch and harvest estimates

• Expanded biological sampling of recreational fisheries 

• Improved in-season monitoring

“Through the ACCSP, state, regional and federal partners are able to cooperatively identify and prioritize recreational fishery data needs for the entire Atlantic Coast and coordinate efforts to address these needs and improve recreational data collection,” said Angela Giuliano, ACCSP RecTech chair. RecTech is composed of ACCSP partner personnel who specialize in survey design, statistical estimation of fishing effort, catch, and participation, and the operation of recreational sampling programs.

The Atlantic Regional Implementation Plan will help guide NOAA Fisheries’ allocation of resources to best address the data needs of regional fishery stock assessors and managers. 

“Working together, we have allocated targeted increases in sample size by month and mode to improve precision of MRIP estimates,” said Dawn Franco, RecTech vice-chair. “We are also working on methodology to improve for-hire data collection. Over the next 5 years, we can achieve even more by building on our momentum and nurturing the relationships that have been forged.”

National Perspective

NOAA Fisheries maintains a central role in developing data collection and estimation methods, administering recreational fishing surveys, implementing survey and data standards, and producing recreational fisheries statistics. Regional and state partners identify regional data collection priorities, coordinate survey operations and on-site data collection, and participate in quality assurance and quality control procedures.

Through Regional Implementation Plans, each region plays a critical role in identifying  which survey methods are most suitable for its science, stock assessment, and management needs. NOAA Fisheries uses these plans to develop a national inventory of partner needs and associated costs, and to annually specify priority-setting criteria for supporting those needs. These plans inform MRIP decision-making for ongoing research priorities and budget allocation. The Regional Implementation Plans are adjusted at least every 5 years or as necessary based on changing science, management needs, and budget availability.

This collaborative approach is critical to addressing region-specific needs for improving recreational fishing data and supporting fishing opportunities for generations to come.

NOAA Fisheries Approves the Council's Recreational Harvest Control Rule Framework

Effective March 9

Today, NOAA Fisheries issued a final rule implementing a new process to set recreational management measures (bag, size, and season limits) for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board. The approved changes also include modifications to the recreational accountability measures. The new approach is part of a broader long-term effort by both the Council and Commission to improve recreational management of these four species.  The new management program aims to provide greater stability and predictability in recreational measures from year-to-year while accounting for scientific variability in stock assessment and management data, including recreational data.

The new process allows managers to consider two factors: 1) biomass compared to the target, and 2) estimated recent recreational harvest compared to future harvest limits, to determine if management measures need to change and, if so, by how much.

Additional information can be found on the Council’s webpage.

For more information read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register or our bulletin.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Emily Keiley, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9116

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103

Reminder: Public Comment on Recreational Harvest Control Rule Framework/Addenda to Close Friday, April 22

The deadline for submitting public comment on the Recreational Harvest Control Rule Framework/Draft Addenda is this Friday, April 22nd at 11:59 PM. 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) are considering changes to the process for setting recreational management measures (bag, size, and season limits) for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. The Council is considering these changes through a framework action, and the Commission is considering an identical set of options through draft addenda. Collectively, these management actions are referred to as the Recreational Harvest Control Rule Framework/ Draft Addenda. The Council and Commission are scheduled to consider final action during the June 2022 Council Meeting.

Written comments may be submitted through April 22, 2022. Comments should be sent to Dustin Colson Leaning at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Harvest Control Rule). 

The Commission’s Draft Document for Public Comment provides detailed information about each option under consideration in the Framework/Draft Addenda. Additionally, an Options Reference Guide has been developed to help stakeholders understanding and compare the proposed management options.

Contact: If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Julia Beaty at jbeaty@mafmc.org or (302) 526-5250.