Update on the 2017 Atlantic Menhaden Fishing Season Sustainable Fisheries Branch NMFS Beaufort Laboratory Beaufort, NC GSMFC Spring Meeting Panama City, FL March 13, 2018
2017 Landings for Reduction One factory on Atlantic coast at Reedville, VA, since 2005 Coastwide Total Allowable Catch limit (TAC) raised (200,000 metric tons) 152,112 mt allocated for reduction Landings for 2017 reduction fishery: 128,923 mt (or 424 million standard fish) Decreased 6.2% from 2016 (160,524 mt) Decreased 8.4% from previous 5-yr average (145,345 mt) U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 2
Vessel Participation for 2017 7 Omega Protein vessels unloaded Atlantic menhaden for reduction in 2017 at Reedville 1 VA snapper-rig boat (bait vessel) also unloaded for reduction at Omega One landed for bait only ~4 purse-seiners reported catch for bait in Atlantic U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 3
Coastwide Stock Second year in a row of large menhaden landings in Northeast Episodic Event declared for bait fishing Bait fisheries New Jersey: closed in July, re-opened in August New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine participated in the episodic event this season Very wet and windy start to the season in May Hyper-Active Tropical Cyclone Season Not quite as affected as the Gulf U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 4
Reduction Landings and Nominal Fishing Effort 800 700 Atlantic menhaden landings (1,000 metric tons) Nominal fishing effort (1,000 vessel-weeks) 3500 3000 1,000 Metric Tons 600 500 400 300 200 2500 2000 1500 1000 1,000 Vessel-Weeks 100 500 0 0 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 5
2017 Landings by Month 1,000 Metric Tons 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 5-Year Average 5 0 April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 6
Age Compositions in 2017 by Fishing Area from preliminary catch-at-age matrix U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 7
Coastwide Stock 2014 benchmark assessment Stock is not overfished and overfishing not occurring U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 8
Coastwide Stock 2014 benchmark assessment Stock is not overfished and overfishing not occurring Atlantic Menhaden Management Board 2012 Established an 170,800 mt coastwide Total Allowable Catch 2015 increase in TAC (187,880 mt) 2017 TAC increased to (200,000 mt) Subject to the same allocation plan as described in Amendment 2 U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 9
Coastwide Stock 2014 benchmark assessment Stock is not overfished and overfishing not occurring Atlantic Menhaden Management Board 2012 Established an 170,800 mt coastwide Total Allowable Catch 2015 increase in TAC (187,880 mt) 2017 TAC increased to (200,000 mt) Subject to the same allocation plan as described in Amendment 2 Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan Raised the TAC to 216,000 mt Adjusted allocation of landings Lowered the Chesapeake Bay catch limit U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 10
2017 Atlantic Menhaden TAC, by allocation unit Unit Percent of TAC 2017 (1,000 Metric Tons) ME 0.04% 78 NH <0.01% 0.06 MA 0.8% 1,660 RI 0.02% 35 CT 0.02% 34 NY 0.06% 110 NJ 11% 22,160 DE 0.01% 26 MD 1.4% 2,718 Potomac River 0.6% 1,229 VA (Reduction) 76% 152,112 VA (Bait) 8.5% 16,826 NC 0.5% 976 SC GA FL 0.02% 36 Total 1,879 198,000* * Does not include the 1% episodic set-aside U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 11
2018 Atlantic Menhaden TAC, by allocation unit Unit 2018 Percent of TAC 2018 (1,000 Metric Tons) 2017 (1,000 Metric Tons) ME 0.52% 1,106 78 NH 0.5% 1,069 0.06 MA 1.27% 2,725 1,660 RI 0.52% 1,107 35 CT 0.52% 1,103 34 NY 0.69% 1,477 26 NJ 10.9% 23,250 2,718 PA 0.5% 1,069 1,229 DE 0.51% 1,096 152,112 MD 1.89% 4,038 16,826 Potomac River 1.07% 2,295 976 VA 78.7% 168,213 NC 0.96% 2,044 SC 0.5% 1,069 36 GA 0.5% 1,069 976 FL 0.52% 1,108 Total 2,160 213,840* 198,000* * Does not include the 1% episodic set-aside U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Page 12