Public Hearings on Horseshoe Crab Management
States Schedule Public Hearings on Horseshoe Crab Draft Addendum VII
Arlington, VA - The States of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum VII to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Horseshoe Crabs. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow.
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
January 5, 2012 at 7 PM
Atlantic County Library, Galloway Township
306 East Jimmie Leeds Road
Galloway, New Jersey
Contact: Pete Himchak at 609.748.2020
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)
January 6, 2012 at 7 PM
DNREC Auditorium
89 Kings Highway
Dover, Delaware
Contact: Stew Michels at 302.735.2970.
Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources, Fisheries Service
December 21, 2011 at 5:30 PM
Ocean Pines Library
11107 Cathell Road
Ocean Pines, Maryland
Contact: Steve Doctor at 410.213.1531
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
January 10, 2012 at 6 PM
2600 Washington Avenue, Fourth Floor
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Jack Travelstead at 757.247.2247
The Draft Addendum proposes implementing the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework, which incorporates both shorebird and horseshoe crab abundance levels to set optimized horseshoe crab harvest levels for the Delaware Bay area. The ARM framework was developed by the Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey in recognition of the importance of horseshoe crab eggs to shorebirds in the Delaware Bay Region and was peer-reviewed in 2009.
The Draft Addendum will additionally address allocation of the ARM harvest output among the four states (New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland) that harvest horseshoe crabs from the Delaware Bay population. The allocation is based upon multiple decision options, including the proportion of harvested horseshoe crabs originating from Delaware Bay and a potential harvest cap for Virginia and Maryland to protect crabs that do not originate from Delaware Bay.
In addition to public hearings and comments, the Commission's Horseshoe Crab and Shorebird Advisory Panels, as well as the Delaware Bay Ecosystem Technical Committee and the Law Enforcement Committee will be providing input to the Board on the Draft Addendum prior to the Board's final approval of the document. These groups played an important role in the development of initial draft of the addendum.
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. Copies of the Draft Addendum are available at
http://www.asmfc.org/speciesDocuments/horseshoeCrab/fmps/hscDraftAddendumVIIforPublicComment_Nov2011.pdf . Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on January 31, 2012 and should be forwarded to Danielle Brzezinski, Horseshoe Crab Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or
dbrzezinski@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum VII). For more information, please contact Danielle Brzezinski at 703.842.0740.
*************************
Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N
Arlington, VA 22201-2196
(p) 703.842.0740
(f) 703.842.0741
tberger@asmfc.orgwww.asmfc.org
