Contact: Lydia Munger, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, phone: (202) 289-6400
or Roy Miller, DNREC Fisheries, phone: (302) 739-9914

Fishermen Encouraged to Provide Input on American Eel Interstate Fishery Management Plan Draft Addendum; Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to hold hearing in Delaware Jan. 17

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will hold a public hearing on a draft addendum to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Eel at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17 in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control auditorium, Richardson and Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover.

The draft addendum proposes establishment of a mandatory trip-level catch and effort monitoring program for American eel for collection of critical data needed for stock assessment of the species. Specific options include an eel harvester license/permit by state, which may include those who harvest eels for use as bait, and an eel dealer license/permit, including bait dealers.

Current stock status for American eel is poorly understood due in part to limited and inconsistent harvest data. The Commission prepared an American eel stock assessment for independent peer review in December 2005. The results of the stock assessment and peer review will be presented to the Commission’s American Eel Management Board in February 2006 following hearings on the draft addendum held in Atlantic coastal states from Maine through Florida throughout January.

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 addendum are available via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org  under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400.

Public comment will be accepted until and no later than 5 p.m. Feb. 7, 2006 and should be forwarded to Lydia Munger, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1444 Eye St., NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (fax) or comments@asmfc.org (subject line: American Eel).

For more information, please contact Lydia Munger, (202) 289-6400 or lmunger@asmfc.org.
 

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