The following is a news release from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Alexandria, VA - The Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved an increase to the 2009 scup total allowable landings limit from 7.84 million pounds to 11.18 million pounds, with the commercial quota revised to 8.4 million pounds and the
recreational harvest limit revised to 2.6 million pounds (after the research set aside was educted). This increase is consistent with that taken by the National Marine Fisheries Service for federal waters.
The Board's action is based on the results of a recent review of the scup stock assessment which indicates that the scup resource is rebuilt (population estimated to be 130 percent of its target biomass) and overfishing is not occurring. The newly estimated allowable harvest, or
maximum sustainable yield (MSY), is also significantly higher than previously estimated and represents a potential for greater harvest levels in the future.
While the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's Data Poor Workshop, which conducted the review of the scup assessment, found the new long-term estimate of maximum MSY to be reasonable given the historical evidence from the fishery, it recommended that managers consider a cautious approach in setting quotas. The peer review panel advised that "rapid
increases in quota to meet the revised MSY would be unwarranted given uncertainties in recruitment. A more gradual increase in quotas is the preferred approach given the uncertainty in the model estimates and stock status."
Given this advice, the states chose to maintain their recreational management measures for the 2009 fishery. For specific state measures, please contact your state marine fishery agency.
For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator for Management, at (202) 289-6400 or tkerns@asmfc.org.
