Staff Report
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his is an update on the Mid Atlantic council meeting that took place a few weeks back regarding river herring and shad. We also wanted to thank everybody involved for their valuable contributions to what ultimately was a strong, diverse and coordinated advocacy effort to advance full federal conservation and management for river herring and shad. An amazing and diverse group of stakeholders gave inspiring and persuasive testimony at the meeting, public comments were 37,000+ to 1 in favor of conservation, and the case for proceeding with a comprehensive analysis for full federal conservation and management couldn’t have been presented more clearly.Unfortunately, and despite acknowledgement by several Council members that the public’s voice was articulate and strong, the vote to advance Amendment 15 did not pass. The vote was as close as it could possibly be: 10/9—a reflection of the influence your comments had on several “swing-vote” Council members. Ultimately, National Marine Fisheries Service Regional Administrator John Bullard cast the deciding vote that killed the motion for a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Amendment 15. Instead, the MAFMC passed a motion that will create a working group and kick the federal management decision down the road at least three years, at which point they will reconsider a DEIS to incorporate river herring and shad into the mackerel, squid, butterfish plan, as originally envisioned.
We’ve attached the vote count below, so you can see who voted for what.
It is not over. We will continue to push forward, to build grassroots support, and to devise effective strategies for ensuring these critical little fish are given a chance to rebound through federal protection at sea. We have no doubt that the vote would have been far less favorable without the outpouring of support from interested stakeholders, and we will continue to inform you all and develop new partnerships to build an even stronger public voice. Again, thank you, and we look forward to working with you for the long haul!
If you are inclined, please send an email to John Bullard expressing your disappointment.
John K. Bullard, Regional Administrator
NOAA/NMFS for Sustainable Fisheries
Email: john.bullard@noaa.gov
Council Vote:
MAFMC Vote
Stocks in the Fishery Motion
Pate (NC)
Y
Hemilright (NC)
N
Batsavage (NC)
Y
Robins (VA)
Chair-no vote
Deem (VA)
N
O’Reilly (VA)
N
Linhard (MD)
Y
King (MD)
absent
Luisi (MD)
Y
Anderson (DE)
N
Michels (DE)
Y
Kaelin (NJ)
N
Zeman (NJ)
Y
Himchak (NJ)
N
McMurray (NY)
Y
DiLernia (NY)
N
Nolan (NY)
N
Heins (NY)
N
Elliot (PA)
Y
Young (PA)
Y
Bullard (NOAA)
N
