08-10-2010, 11:10 AM
Alexandria, VA - The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved Addendum VI to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crab. The Addendum extends the provisions of Addendum V through April 30, 2013, while the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework is further developed and long-term funding is secured to support the horseshoe crab monitoring program that the ARM Framework is dependent upon.
Addendum VI's measures include a delayed, male-only harvest in New Jersey and Delaware, prohibiting the harvest and landing of male and female horseshoe crabs from January 1 through June 7 in the Delaware Bay, and restricting the annual harvest to 100,000 males per state from June 8 through December 31. As with all Commission plans, states can implement more conservative management measures. In the case of New Jersey, it currently maintains a moratorium on the harvest and landing of horseshoe crab.
The Addendum also requires a delayed harvest in Maryland, prohibiting horseshoe crab harvest and landings from January 1 through June 7 and prohibits landing of horseshoe crabs in Virginia from waters outside the Bay from January 1 through June 7. No more than forty percent of Virginia's quota may be landed from ocean waters and those landings must be comprised of a minimum male to female ratio of 2:1. Like New Jersey, Maryland has also implemented more conservative measures in 2009 to include a minimum male to female ratio of 2:1.
"I am pleased with the action taken by the Board," stated Tom O'Connell, Board Chair and Maryland DNR Fisheries Service Director. "We chose to adopt provisions that are closely aligned with the optimal harvest package produced by the ARM models. The ARM framework has the potential to be a valuable tool for the Board once it is further refined, funding is secured to support a biological survey to provide needed abundance estimates for the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population, and a methodology is developed to allocate the sustainable harvest among the effected states (NJ, DE, MD, and VA). The Board also agreed today to pursue strategies to secure this needed funding."
Starting November 1, 2010, the provisions of Addendum VI will come into effect and run through April 2013, unless they are replaced with provisions of another addendum before that time. The Board remains committed to development of the ARM Framework and will seek input from its advisors and the public before it is fully adopted as a management tool.
The Addendum will be available on the Commission website ( www.asmfc.org ) under Breaking News by August 13. For more information, please contact Braddock Spear, Senior Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator for Policy, at (202) 289-6400 or bspear@asmfc.org .
Addendum VI's measures include a delayed, male-only harvest in New Jersey and Delaware, prohibiting the harvest and landing of male and female horseshoe crabs from January 1 through June 7 in the Delaware Bay, and restricting the annual harvest to 100,000 males per state from June 8 through December 31. As with all Commission plans, states can implement more conservative management measures. In the case of New Jersey, it currently maintains a moratorium on the harvest and landing of horseshoe crab.
The Addendum also requires a delayed harvest in Maryland, prohibiting horseshoe crab harvest and landings from January 1 through June 7 and prohibits landing of horseshoe crabs in Virginia from waters outside the Bay from January 1 through June 7. No more than forty percent of Virginia's quota may be landed from ocean waters and those landings must be comprised of a minimum male to female ratio of 2:1. Like New Jersey, Maryland has also implemented more conservative measures in 2009 to include a minimum male to female ratio of 2:1.
"I am pleased with the action taken by the Board," stated Tom O'Connell, Board Chair and Maryland DNR Fisheries Service Director. "We chose to adopt provisions that are closely aligned with the optimal harvest package produced by the ARM models. The ARM framework has the potential to be a valuable tool for the Board once it is further refined, funding is secured to support a biological survey to provide needed abundance estimates for the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population, and a methodology is developed to allocate the sustainable harvest among the effected states (NJ, DE, MD, and VA). The Board also agreed today to pursue strategies to secure this needed funding."
Starting November 1, 2010, the provisions of Addendum VI will come into effect and run through April 2013, unless they are replaced with provisions of another addendum before that time. The Board remains committed to development of the ARM Framework and will seek input from its advisors and the public before it is fully adopted as a management tool.
The Addendum will be available on the Commission website ( www.asmfc.org ) under Breaking News by August 13. For more information, please contact Braddock Spear, Senior Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator for Policy, at (202) 289-6400 or bspear@asmfc.org .