(March 11, 2020) … lease find attached and below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s 2020 Spring Meeting, May 4-7, 2020, in Arlington, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2020-spring-meeting. Included in the attachment are the travel authorization form, travel reimbursement guidelines, and directions to the hotel. Materials will be available on April 22, 2020 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2020-spring-meeting. Currently, we are moving forward with our Spring Meeting. However, we continue to monitor the progress of the coronavirus and will notify you should we need to make any changes to the meeting.
A block of rooms is being held at The Westin Crystal City, 1800 S. Eads Street, Arlington, VA 22202. Cindy Robertson will make Commissioner/Proxy reservations and will contact you regarding the details of your accommodations. Please notify Cindy of any changes to your travel plans that will impact your hotel reservations, otherwise you will incur no-show penalties. We greatly appreciate your cooperation.
For all other attendees, please reserve online via Star Group Website at http://www.starwoodhotels.com/ or call The Westin Crystal City at 703.486.1111 as soon as possible and mention the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to obtain the group room rate of $256.00 plus tax single/dbl. Please be aware you must guarantee your room reservation with a major credit card or one night’s advance payment. Hotel reservations must be made by Monday, April 6, 2020. Room availability will not be guaranteed beyond this date. If you are being reimbursed by ASMFC for your travel, please make your reservation directly with the hotel. Reservations made through travel websites do not apply toward our minimum number of required reservations with the hotel. Please note, cancellations at The Westin must be made by 4:00 p.m. two days prior to arrival to avoid penalty and an early departure fee of $100 will apply when checking out prior to the confirmed date. If you have any problems at all regarding accommodations please contact Cindy at 703.842.0740 or at crobertson@asmfc.org.
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Spring Meeting
May 4 –7, 2020
The Westin Crystal City
Arlington, Virginia
Preliminary Agenda
The agenda is subject to change. Bulleted items represent the anticipated major issues to be discussed or acted upon at the meeting. The final agenda will include additional items and may revise the bulleted items provided below. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein.
Monday, May 4
9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Atlantic Herring Management Board
· Consider Final Approval of Addendum III
· Consider Approval of 2020 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance
· Reconsider 2020 Area 1A Specification (Allocation Distribution), if Necessary
10:45 – 11:15 a.m. Winter Flounder Management Board
· Consider Winter Flounder Fishery Specifications for 2020
· Consider Approval of 2020 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Tautog Management Board
· Consider Approval of Rhode Island Conservation Equivalency Proposal
· Review 2021 Stock Assessment Update Schedule
· Elect Vice-Chair
12:30 – 1:15 p.m. Lunch Provided for Commissioners, Proxies, and Board Members and Staff
1:15 – 2:45 p.m. South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board
· Consider Approval of Cobia Draft Addendum l for Public Comment
· Consider Approval of 2019 Fishery Management Plan Reviews and State Compliance for Spanish Mackerel and Spot
· Elect Vice-Chair
3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program Coordinating Council
· Consider Approval of Funding Decision Document and Request for Proposals
· Committee Updates
· Program Updates
Tuesday, May 5
8:00 – 11:00 a.m. Meetings Management Seminar
11:15 a.m. – Noon American Eel Management Board
· Review Preliminary 2019 Commercial Yellow Eel Landings
· Consider Approval of Terms of Reference and Review Timeline for 2022 Stock Assessment
· Review and Populate the American Eel Stock Assessment Subcommittee Membership
· Elect Vice-Chair
Noon – 1:15 p.m. Lunch (On your own)
Noon – 1:15 p.m. Legislators and Governors’ Appointees Luncheon
1:15 – 2:45 p.m. Shad and River Herring Management Board
· Consider Approval of State Sustainable Fishery Management Plans and Alternative Management Regime Proposals
· Progress Update on 2020 Shad Benchmark Stock Assessment
· Elect Vice-Chair
1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Law Enforcement Committee
· Review 2020 Action Plan
· Review and Discuss Ongoing Enforcement Activities
· State and Federal Agency Reports
· Discuss Species Management Changes
3:00 – 5:30 p.m. Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board
· Consider Postponed Motion from February 2020:
Move to task the Plan Review Team to review state reductions in the Fishery Management Plan Review of the 2020 fishing year. If a state is below their predicted target reduction, the Board may direct a state to modify measures for the following fishing year to achieve the target reduction.
· Consider Postponed Motions from April 2019:
Move to initiate an amendment to the Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan to address the needed consideration for change on the issues of fishery goals and objectives, empirical/biological/spatial reference points, management triggers, rebuilding biomass, and area- specific management. Work on this Amendment will begin upon the completion of the previously discussed addendum to the management plan.
Move to amend to add reallocation of commercial quota between states.
· Review Predicted Reduction in Total Removals for 2020 Based on Final Addendum VI Measures
· Elect Vice-Chair
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Annual Awards of Excellence Reception
Wednesday, May 6
8:00 – 10:30 a.m. Executive Committee
(A portion of this meeting may be closed to Committee members and Commissioners only)
· Report of the Administrative Oversight Committee
o Presentation of the FY21 Budget
o Review Revised Investment Policy
· Discuss Allocation of Remaining Plus-Up Funds
· Discuss Advisory Panel and Public Input Process
· Discuss Conservation Equivalency
· Discuss Pennsylvania’s Membership on the Atlantic Menhaden Board
· Future Annual Meetings Update
· Executive Director Performance Review (Closed Session)
8:00 a.m. – Noon Law Enforcement Committee (continued)
10:45 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. Atlantic Menhaden Management Board
(A one-hour Break for Off-Site Lunch is Planned)
· Review Ecological Reference Point Workgroup Analysis
· Consider Postponed Motion from February 2020:
Move to adopt:
1. An Atlantic Menhaden ecological reference point F target equal to the maximum F on Atlantic menhaden that maintains Atlantic striped bass at its biomass target when striped bass is fished at its F target and all other ERP species as defined in the NWACS-MICE model are fished at their status quo F rates.
2. An Atlantic Menhaden ecological reference point F threshold equal to the maximum F on Atlantic menhaden that maintains Atlantic striped bass at its biomass threshold when striped bass is fished at its F target and other ERP species as defined in the NWACS-MICE model are fished at their status quo F rates.
· Consider 2020 Fishery Management Plan Review and State Compliance
· Progress Update on Aerial Hydroacoustic Survey Design to Estimate Atlantic Menhaden Biomass in Chesapeake Bay
· Elect Vice-Chair
3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board
· Executive Committee Report
· Discuss Strategy to Incorporate Ecosystem Management into the Interstate Fisheries Management Process
· Consider Approval of Commission Risk and Uncertainty Policy
· Progress Update on Benchmark Stock Assessments
· Committee Reports: Law Enforcement and Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership
5:30 – 5:45 p.m. Business Session
· Consider Noncompliance Findings, if Necessary
Thursday, May 7
8:00 – 9:30 a.m. ASMFC Bluefish Management Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
· Review Public Comment Summary on the Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment Public Information and Scoping Document
· Provide Guidance to the Plan Development Team/Fishery Management Action Team for the Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Draft Amendment
9:45 – 11:45 a.m. ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
· Review Public Comment Summary from the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment Public Information and Scoping Document
· Provide Guidance to the Plan Development Team/Fishery Management Action Team for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Draft Amendment
· Board Considers Approval of Draft Addendum XXXIII for Public Comment for Black Sea Bass Commercial Allocations and Council Considers Scoping Comments and Alternatives for Black Sea Bass Allocation Amendment
· Review February 2020 Recreational Black Sea Bass Harvest and Proposed Measures for Virginia and North Carolina
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Lunch (On your own)
12:45 – 2:45 p.m. ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (continued)
Public Comment Guidelines
With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:
For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will use a speaker sign-up list in deciding how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comment will not provide additional insight to the board.
For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.
In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action).
1. Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included in the briefing materials.
2. Comments received by 5 PM on the Tuesday immediately preceding the scheduled ASMFC Meeting (in this case, the Tuesday deadline will be April 28, 2020) will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.
3. Following the Tuesday, April 28, 2020, 5 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies).
The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution. As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail, fax, and email.