DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Division of Fish and Wildlife
REGISTER NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND COMMENT PERIOD
3511 Summer Flounder Size Limits; Possession Limits; (Formerly Tidal Finfish Reg. 4)
Title of the Regulations:
Tidal Finfish Regulations
Brief Synopsis of the Subject, Substance and Issues:
The Summer Flounder Fishery Management Plan (FMP) details the annual process that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder Fishery Management Board, the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service are to use for establishing conservation equivalency for the recreational summer flounder fishery. These agencies agreed that the states would implement conservationally equivalent measures rather than a coastwide management program for summer flounder in 2008. Delaware is obligated to cap the summer flounder recreational harvest at 64,000 fish for 2008. The harvest cap has been adjusted downward from the previous year’s level of 76,608 fish because of slower than projected rebuilding in the stock. Although Delaware and all the coastal states in the management regime must adjust their harvest cap downward, estimates of Delaware’s 2007 harvest (109,696 fish) indicated that landings of summer flounder exceeded the harvest cap imposed for 2007. As such, it is anticipated that management measures for summer flounder in 2008 will need to achieve a 41.3 percent harvest reduction from the estimated harvest in 2007. It is proposed that a suite of management options will be developed that take into consideration measures that have been successfully employed in the past to achieve reductions in harvest while attempting to meet the needs of the fishing public. These options will include potential minimum size limits ranging between 18.5 and 19.5 inches in combination with various creel limits that can range from 1 to 4 fish per day and also incorporate seasonal closures. Five management options for Delaware have been reviewed by the ASMFC Summer Flounder Technical Committee to determine if the correct data sets and analyses were used to project landings under the various options. All five options were deemed technically valid by the ASMFC Summer Flounder technical committee and were also approved by the ASMFC Summer Flounder Board on February 7, 2008. These approved options will be presented at a public hearing on March 27, 2008 in order to receive input from the fishing community on the various management strategies.
Notice of Public Comment:
Individuals may present their comments or request additional information by contacting the Fisheries Section, Division of Fish and Wildlife, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, (302) 739-9914. A public hearing on these proposed amendments will be held on March 27, 2008 at 7:00 P.M. in the DNREC Auditorium, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901. The record will remain open for written comments until 4:30 PM, April 2, 2008.
Prepared By:
Richard Cole, (302) 739-4782, February 6, 2008.
Division of Fish and Wildlife
REGISTER NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND COMMENT PERIOD
3716 Crab Pot Number Buoys and Vessel Panel Color Code and Number Requirements, and 3771 Oyster Harvesting Licensee Requirements
Brief Synopsis of the Subject, Substance and Issues:
This proposed revision of Shellfish Regulation 3716 would allow only one color code to be used per vessel even if the allowable limit of up to three crab pot licensees fish their pots from the same vessel. This proposed change will facilitate enforcement of the pot limits and will simplify painting and retrieving of crab pot floats for those crabbers who routinely partner to fish from the same vessel. There is no proposed change to the numbering system for each crabber except that if two or three crabbers fish from the same vessel, then all numbers must be displayed on the 2’ by 2’ marker panel displayed on the vessel. One of the numbers from a crabber on that vessel must be displayed on a color-coded buoy attached to each crab pot fished from that vessel. This regulation is proposed to go into effect January 1, 2009 in order to give the crabbers an opportunity to re-paint their floats if necessary to comply with the new regulation.
The proposed revision to Shellfish Regulation 3771 would modify the required procedures for applying oyster harvesting tags. Each tag issued by the Department shall be cinched around the top of the oyster bag and locked such that the bag may not be opened nor oysters removed from the bag without breaking the tag or seal. Bags shall be tagged prior to the vessel leaving the shellfish harvest grounds and returning to port. This change will facilitate enforcement of tagging requirements and should discourage the illegal, yet common practice of re-using oyster tags after the bags are emptied. This regulation would go into effect immediately upon promulgation.
Possible Terms of the Agency Action:
Changes to regulation 3716 would not go into effect until January 1, 2009. Changes to regulation 3771 would take effect immediately upon promulgation. These regulation revisions would remain in effect indefinitely or until changed.
Notice of Public Comment:
Individuals may address questions to the Fisheries Section, Division of Fish and Wildlife, (302)739-3441. A public hearing on these proposed regulations will be held in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Auditorium, at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE at 7:00 PM on March 31, 2008. Individuals may present their opinion and evidence either at the hearing or in writing to Lisa Vest, Hearing Officer, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901 or via e-mail to Lisa.Vest@state.de.us. The hearing record will remain open for written or e-mail comments until 4:30 PM April 2, 2008.
Prepared By:
Roy W. Miller, 302-739-9914, February 12, 2008.