The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Ecosystem and Ocean Planning (EOP) Committee met via webinar on Monday, October 4, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The purpose of the meeting was for the EOP Committee to review and provide feedback on an exempted fishing permit (EFP) application for an experimental purse seine fishery in federal waters for Atlantic thread herring. Thread herring are an ecosystem component species under the Council’s Unmanaged Forage Omnibus Amendment and are subject to a 1,700 pound possession limit. The application requested the ability to catch up to 3,000 MT (6.6 million pounds) of thread herring in 2022 and would require an exemption to the Unmanaged Forage possession limit. The EOP Committee considered input and recommendations developed by the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) at their September meeting regarding the EFP application and proposed data collection program. A summary of the SSC and EOP Committee meetings (provided below) were provided to the full Council during their October meeting.
Contact: Brandon Muffley, bmuffley@mafmc.org, (302) 526-5260
Meeting Materials
Staff Memo to E.D. Chris Moore – Overview of EFP application and process
September 2021 SSC meeting report – thread herring EFP comments (pages 4-5)
Supplemental Background Material and Public Comment
Presentations