September 13, 2005

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife will host two public meetings regarding changes to the ASMFC’s Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Croaker.

The first meeting is scheduled from 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 12 at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, 355 Court House-South Dennis Road, Route 657 in Cape May Court House. The second hearing will be held from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, October 13 at the Ocean County Administration Building, 101 Hooper Avenue, Room 119 in Toms River.

Proposed changes include establishing biological reference points (i.e., biomass and fishing mortality targets/thresholds) to manage the croaker resource, and include options to control fishing mortality regionally or on a coastwide basis. Modifications also identify research priorities to bolster future stock assessments, and encourage states and the federal government to continue ongoing juvenile and adult surveys for data collection purposes.

Meetings are also scheduled for Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.

A copy of the commission’s proposed changes may be obtained via their Web site at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by calling 202-289-6400. Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Friday, October 21, 2005 and should be forwarded to Fishery Management Plan Coordinator Nancy Wallace at 1444 Eye Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; faxed to 202-289-6051, or e-mailed to comments@asmfc.org (use subject line: Atlantic Croaker