OK Folks, we lose some we win some the wheels continue to turn - this just
happened yesterday. Being as this meeting was in Crystal City, I was able to
attend. The meeting in May will be in Crystal City as well, meet me
there...meanwhile, let's all get ready to publically comment...
Rich Rieger
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, FEBRUARY 23, 2006
PRESS CONTACT, TINA BERGER (202)289-6400
Horseshoe Crab Board Approves Draft Addendum for Public Comment
Addendum Considers Additional Harvest Reductions
The Commission's Horseshoe Crab Management Board approved releasing Draft
Addendum IV to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Horseshoe Crab
for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes a number of options to reduce
or eliminate harvest of horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay origin.
The Draft Addendum responds to public concern regarding the horseshoe crab
populations and their ecological role in the Delaware Bay. While there are a
number of scientific reviews on the status of horseshoe crabs, there is no
peer-reviewed coastwide estimate of horseshoe crab abundance. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service Shorebird Technical Committee has indicated that the red knot,
one of many shorebird species that feed upon horseshoe crab eggs, is at low
population levels. Red knots have shown no sign of recovery, despite a
four-fold
reduction in horseshoe crab landings since 1998. The Shorebird Technical
Committee concluded a moratorium of horseshoe crab harvest could provide more
eggs
for the birds to feed upon. The Board initiated the addendum process to
evaluate further restrictions on crab harvest in the Delaware Bay region. The
area is
considered the epicenter of horseshoe crab production along the coast as well
as a critical stopover area for many migratory shorebirds including the red
knot.
States will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addendum throughout
March and early April. Information on those hearings will be released once it
is
available. The Management Board will meet in May 2006 to review public
comment, select the management measures to be contained in the Addendum, and
consider its final approval. Copies of the Draft Addendum will be available by
mid-March via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org or by contacting the
Commission at (202) 289-6400. For more information, please contact Braddock
Spear,
Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, at (202) 289-6400 or <bspear@xxxxxxxxx>.
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PR06-07
*************************
Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 I Street. NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202)289-6400
FAX: (202)289-6051
Email: tberger@xxxxxxxxx
www.asmfc.org
ASMFC Vision: Healthy, self-sustaining populations of all Atlantic coast fish
species or successful restoration well in progress by the year 2015.
