Updated Consideration of Federal Protections for River Herring And
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Updated Consideration of Federal Management for River Herring and Shad Stocks 2018 Discussion Document for the New England Fishery Management Council Prepared by Dr. Erika Zollett for the New England Fishery Management Council Draft document May 2018. Please do not distribute. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Previous Decisions on this Issue ..................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 NEFMC (2015) ........................................................................................................... 5 1.2.2 MAFMC (2013) and (2016)........................................................................................ 7 1.3 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and National Standard I Guidelines .................................................................................................................. 7 1.3.1 National Standards ...................................................................................................... 9 1.3.2 National Standard 1 guidelines ................................................................................. 10 2.0 Species and Fishery Information ...................................................................................... 15 2.1 Life History ................................................................................................................... 15 2.2 Stock Assessments ........................................................................................................ 16 2.3 Direct and Indirect Fisheries ......................................................................................... 19 2.3.1 Directed Commercial & Recreational Fisheries ....................................................... 20 2.3.2 Bycatch In Other Fisheries ........................................................................................ 21 2.4 Natural Mortality .......................................................................................................... 26 3.0 Updated Actions Since Last White Paper ......................................................................... 26 3.1 ASMFC Interstate FMP ................................................................................................ 26 3.2 River Herring Conservation Plan .................................................................................. 28 3.3 Atlantic Herring FMP ................................................................................................... 31 3.3.1 Amendment 6 ............................................................................................................ 31 3.3.2 2016-2018 Herring Specifications ............................................................................ 31 3.3.3 Industry Funded Monitoring Amendment ................................................................ 32 3.3.4 NEFMC Risk Policy ................................................................................................. 33 3.4 New Research ............................................................................................................... 34 3.4.1 Fish Passage .............................................................................................................. 34 3.4.2 Species Overlap Tool ................................................................................................ 35 3.4.3 Ecosystem Research.................................................................................................. 36 3.4.4 Climate Research ...................................................................................................... 39 3.4.5 Genetics..................................................................................................................... 39 3.4.6 Restocking................................................................................................................. 41 3.5 Related Lawsuits ........................................................................................................... 41 3.5.1 ESA Listing Determination....................................................................................... 41 2 3.5.2 Herring FMP Amendment 4 ..................................................................................... 42 3.5.3 Lawsuits from Other Regions ................................................................................... 43 4.0 Potential Actions ............................................................................................................... 44 4.1 No Action: Maintain Current Management Approach ................................................. 44 4.1.1 No Action but identify a future work priority to modify measures already in place in the Herring FMP (Sub-option A) .......................................................................................... 44 4.2 Implement Federal Management of RH/S Stocks/Fisheries ......................................... 45 4.2.1 Option A - Adding RH/S as Stocks in the Atlantic Herring FMP ............................ 45 4.2.2 Option B - Identifying RH/S as an ecosystem component species ........................... 46 4.2.3 Implementing a Quota Allocation Program .............................................................. 48 4.2.4 Managing RH/S through a New Federal FMP .......................................................... 49 4.3 Federal Management Considerations ............................................................................ 49 5.0 Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 57 6.0 References ......................................................................................................................... 57 Appendix I: Additional Indices and Run Information – NEAMAP and NMFS Trawl Survey ... 61 Appendix II. Evaluation of State Management Programs for RH/S ............................................ 70 Appendix III. Federal Statutes That Could Provide RH/S Protections ........................................ 79 Appendix IV: Recent Dam Removals........................................................................................... 83 3 Acronyms ABC Acceptable Biological Catch ACL Annual Catch Limit ACT Annual Catch Target AM Accountability Measure ASMFC Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission/Commission EC Ecosystem Component EFH Essential Fish Habitat ESA Endangered Species Act DMF Division of Marine Fisheries FMP Fishery Management Plan IFM Industry-Funded Monitoring MAFMC Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council MSA Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act MSY Maximum Sustainable Yield NEAMAP Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program NEFMC/Council New England Fishery Management Council NEFOP Northeast Fisheries Observer Program NEFSC Northeast Fisheries Science Center NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration OFL Overfishing Limit PDT Plan Development Team RH/S River Herring/Shad RSA Research Set-Aside SARC Stock Assessment Review Committee SAS Stock Assessment Subcommittee SAW Stock Assessment Workshop SFMP Sustainable Fishery Management Plan SOF Stocks in the Fishery SSC Scientific and Statistical Committee TEWG Technical Expert Working Group 4 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background In January 2015, the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) considered the addition of four species, including two river herring (blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) and alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus)) and two shad (American shad (Alosa sapidissima) and hickory shad (Alosa mediocris)) species, into the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Council reviewed a Discussion Document that summarized management and legal considerations of river herring and shad, which will be collectively be referred to throughout this document as river herring/shad or RH/S. Information about events leading up to the 2015 Discussion Document can be found in that document, and aside from a brief background, are not included here (NEFMC 2015). In 2015, the Council decided not to include RH/S stocks in the FMP but to revisit the question in three years. This document continues this consideration of RH/S management by the Council. Since 2015, there has been new research, updated stock assessments and data collection, management guidance, and legal considerations in addition to a 2016 white paper on the same issue produced by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) (Didden 2016). This document summarizes the updated information to support Council deliberations related to the potential federal management of RH/S. Currently RH/S fisheries are managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), since directed fisheries occur primarily in state waters. The Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad & River Herring was approved in 1985 and was one of the very first FMPs developed by the ASMFC. Adding RH/S as stocks to the Atlantic Herring FMP or developing a new FMP for RH/S by the Council would initiate federal management of the RH/S stocks and fisheries, and would need to be done in a manner that is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), including the National