Mid-Atlantic Council Seeks Public Input on Summer Flounder Mesh Regulations and Exemptions

Comments are due November 17, 2023.

Dr. Mark Terceiro Receives Mid-Atlantic Council’s Ricks E Savage Award

Ricks E Savage Award Recipient Dr. Mark Terceiro

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has named Dr. Mark Terceiro, long-time fisheries scientist with NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), as the recipient of the Council’s Ricks E Savage award. The award was established in 2006 and is given each year to an individual who has added value to the Council process and management goals through significant scientific, legislative, enforcement, or management activities.

The Council selected Dr. Terceiro for the award in recognition of his significant scientific contributions in his role as lead assessment biologist for several Council-managed species. The award was presented to Dr. Terceiro during the August 2023 Council Meeting held in Annapolis, Maryland.

Dr. Terceiro joined the NEFSC’s Population Dynamics Branch in 1986 after receiving his B.S. degree in zoology and Ph.D. in biological oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. For nearly his entire career, he has served as the lead assessment biologist for summer flounder, a species that supports economically and socially important commercial and recreational fisheries throughout the region. He also served as the lead assessment biologist for bluefish early in his career and as the lead assessment biologist for scup since the early 2000s.

“Mark has patiently, consistently, and effectively explained complex assessment results to Council members and the public,” said Mike Luisi, former Council Chair. “He has worked tirelessly to improve the science that supports the management process, and the Council has benefitted from his long tenure with the Science Center.”

Dr. Terceiro has been a member of the Council’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee for much of his career. He captured his vast institutional knowledge of the history of science, management, and politics of this fishery in “The Summer Flounder Chronicles,” a three-part series published in the journal Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

NEFSC leadership also expressed appreciation for Dr. Terceiro’s scientific contributions. “Mark has been steadfast in his stock assessment duties, and his knowledge of Mid-Atlantic stock assessments is without equal,” said Jon Hare, NEFSC Science and Research Director. “This award is well-deserved.”

Mid-Atlantic Council Presents Award of Excellence to Dr. Lee Anderson

Award of Excellence recipient Dr. Lee Anderson

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has named Dr. Lee Anderson as the recipient of the Council’s prestigious Award of Excellence. The award was presented to Dr. Anderson during the August 2023 Council Meeting held in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Award of Excellence was established in 2016 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to fisheries management, legislation, science, or law enforcement in the Mid-Atlantic region. The award is made on a periodic basis, subject to the identification and selection of outstanding individuals, and has only been given one other time.

Dr. Anderson has been a valued participant in the Mid-Atlantic Council process for almost the entirety of the Council’s 47-year history. He was one of three economists appointed to the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee when it was first formed in 1976. He was later appointed to the Council, holding Delaware’s obligatory seat from 1986 to 1995 and 2007 to 2016. He served for three years as Council Chair (1992-1995) and a total of ten years as Vice-Chair (1990-1992, 2008-2016). After his departure from the Council in 2016, Dr. Anderson was reappointed to the SSC and served until early 2023.

“Lee’s impact on fisheries management, economics, and policy has not only shaped the present but also paved the way for a more sustainable future,” said Chris Moore, Executive Director of the Council. “Throughout his years on the Council and SSC, he brought a wealth of knowledge that helped the Council understand and account for the economic forces that shape fisheries management decisions.”

Dr. Anderson’s expertise and leadership were particularly instrumental in the Council’s development of an individual transferable quota program system for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries, which was the first catch share program in the United States.

In addition to his contributions to the Council, Dr. Anderson has had a profound impact on the field of fisheries economics. After receiving his bachelor's degree in economics from Brigham Young University in 1966, he earned his doctorate in economics from the University of Washington in 1970. In 1974 he joined the University of Delaware, where he would serve as Director of the Marine Policy Program in the College of Marine Studies from 1986 to 2004. His book The Economics of Fisheries Management has served as an important learning tool for fisheries economists nationally and internationally. He has written or edited six books and over sixty scientific papers and is recognized as a respected mentor and collaborator.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council proudly congratulates Dr. Anderson on this well-deserved recognition.

East Coast Fishery Management Organizations Release Suite of Potential Actions to Help Managers Respond to the Effects of Climate Change on Marine Fisheries

East Coast Fishery Management Organizations Release Suite of Potential Actions to Help Managers Respond to the Effects of Climate Change on Marine Fisheries

July 2023

Over the past two years, marine fishery management organizations along the U.S. East Coast have been exploring governance and management issues related to climate change and fishery stock distributions. This effort recognizes the profound impact that climate change is having on our ocean ecosystems and coastlines and the need to plan for how fishery management organizations and coastal communities can best adapt to these changes in a thoughtful and deliberate way.

Throughout the multi-stage scenario planning process, hundreds of stakeholders helped generate four distinct “scenarios,” each describing a possible future for East Coast fisheries, coastal communities, and fisheries management. The capstone to this initiative was a Scenario Planning Summit, held in February 2023, which brought together representatives from the three East Coast Regional Fishery Management Councils, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and NOAA Fisheries. During the Summit, participants used the scenarios as a platform from which to develop a set of potential governance and management actions that could help prepare fishery management organizations for future challenges related to climate change.

Scenario Planning Outcomes

The main themes and potential actions that emerged during this process are summarized in two documents: the Summit Report and a Potential Action Menu. The Summit Report summarizes the discussions that occurred at the Summit, while the Potential Action Menu builds upon the Summit Report by suggesting possible next steps for the management organizations to consider as they plan for the future. The Potential Action Menu is organized around three overarching themes: (1) cross-jurisdictional governance; (2) managing under increased uncertainty; and (3) data sources and partnerships. Each theme’s potential actions are prioritized, with high priority given to those that could be quickly or easily implemented or that the fishery management organizations viewed as important issues to address in the near-term. The table below provides a summary of high priority potential actions under each theme. 

The Potential Action Menu is intended to be an evolving document, used as a planning tool to guide development of priorities and a place to capture future issues and ideas. Over the next several months, fishery management organizations will meet individually and collectively to discuss how best to integrate the high priority items into actions.

Overarching Themes and High Priority Potential Actions

Theme

 High Priority Actions

Cross-Jurisdictional Governance

Refers to ways in which governance structures and processes may need to be modified to address changes in species distribution. 
  • Evaluate Council committee structure, use, and decision-making
  • Evaluate Advisory Panel representation
  • Develop joint management agreements to clarify roles and increase efficiency
  • Improve coordination across NOAA offices and regions

Managing Under Increased Uncertainty

Environmental changes may mean that historical conditions can no longer be used to predict the future, increasing uncertainty in management.
  • Identify ecosystem-level contextual information that can be considered in management to incorporate climate information into decisions
  • Streamline fishery management plan documentation and rulemaking

Data Sources and Partnerships

Coordination of accurate and timely data between all stakeholders and partners will play a large role as we adapt to changing conditions.
  • Expand study fleet, include recreational fisheries, and ensure data are used
  • Use survey mitigation around offshore wind to transition to industry-based surveys or other survey platforms
  • Improve the use of existing data

Next Steps

Two new groups are being formed to help support the implementation of scenario planning outcomes.

  • The East Coast Climate Coordination Group will be responsible for tracking progress toward implementation of potential actions, promoting prioritization of actions (jointly or by individual management organizations), estimating resources needed, and supporting coordinated implementation.

  • The Climate Innovation Group will track information and changes relevant to East Coast fisheries, identify ideas that are worthy of consideration by the Coordination Group, and identify possible actions to undertake.

Scenario Planning Toolkit and More Information

A Scenario Planning Toolkit has been created to support ongoing conversations about how climate change is affecting fisheries. The toolkit consists of materials to provide guidance to other stakeholders who may wish to undertake their own scenario work, with resources including a set of overview slides, worksheet templates, draft agendas for various types of sessions, guidance on different scenario approaches, and guidelines for facilitators.

Additional information about the East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Initiative, including contact information for current core team members, is available at https://www.mafmc.org/climate-change-scenario-planning.

View PDF Version of this Press Release

NOAA Fisheries Approves the Council's Recreational Harvest Control Rule Framework

Effective March 9

Today, NOAA Fisheries issued a final rule implementing a new process to set recreational management measures (bag, size, and season limits) for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board. The approved changes also include modifications to the recreational accountability measures. The new approach is part of a broader long-term effort by both the Council and Commission to improve recreational management of these four species.  The new management program aims to provide greater stability and predictability in recreational measures from year-to-year while accounting for scientific variability in stock assessment and management data, including recreational data.

The new process allows managers to consider two factors: 1) biomass compared to the target, and 2) estimated recent recreational harvest compared to future harvest limits, to determine if management measures need to change and, if so, by how much.

Additional information can be found on the Council’s webpage.

For more information read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register or our bulletin.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Emily Keiley, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9116

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103