**Comments due July 25, 2008**

George Washington’s favorite fish, the American shad, used to be so abundant that it supported the largest commercial fishery in the Mid-Atlantic. Shad were easily caught in rivers during their spring spawning migrations from the ocean, providing a staple food for many communities along the Atlantic seaboard. Sadly, because of years of overfishing, damming waterways and habitat destruction, many Americans have never seen a shad, either in the water or in the seafood market. Stocks have steadily fallen since the turn of the 20th century and are now at “all-time lows,” according to a recent stock assessment published by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). This news is alarming because shad, like other species in the herring family, are important forage fish throughout their range supporting many predators such as striped bass, sharks, bluefin tuna, king mackerel, shorebirds and porpoises.

In response to the assessment, the ASMFC has initiated Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring, and is accepting public comment on a Public Information Document (PID) until July 25th. Regrettably, the issues selected for the PID do not address a key finding of the stock assessment team. After a brief period of shad recovery in the 1980s, the scientists found a new pattern of coastwide decline beginning in the late 1990s and early 2000s, suggesting that the problem is likely caused at sea, where stocks mix together on migrations to and from their summer feeding grounds that include the Gulf of Maine.

The stock assessment also indicated that the Atlantic herring fishery, which has been dominated by a fleet of mid-water trawlers operating in the Gulf of Maine since the late 1990s, could be responsible for “significant bycatch losses.” While directed ocean harvest of American shad is not permitted, fisheries are given a bycatch allowance of 5% by weight. Considering that the Atlantic herring fishery lands an average of 150 million pounds a years, a 5% shad allowance could translate into over 7 million pounds - that’s seven times the current annual landings from directed inland fisheries.

While shad bycatch at sea may be considerable, no measures have been taken to accurately quantify this bycatch. Observer coverage is poor, averaging less than 3% historically for pelagic fisheries that include Atlantic herring and Atlantic mackerel. Making matters worse, the National Marine Fisheries Service allows observers to use general categories such as “herring unknown” when classifying bycatch of shad, river herring and other small pelagic fish, so the individual species are lost in the system.

After 23 years of failed attempts, it’s time for the ASMFC to get serious about rebuilding American shad. Tell the ASMFC that a successful rebuilding plan for American shad must include measures to protect shad both in their riverine spawning grounds and in the ocean where they spend the majority of their lives.

Read the Public Information Document for Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring at http://www.asmfc.org/speciesDocuments/shad/fmps/shadPIDforPublicComment.pdf

See a sample letter here

HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS:

Email to:     comments@asmfc.org   (subject line: American Shad)

Fax to:        202-289-6051

Mail to:       Erika Robbins
Fishery Management Plan Coordinator
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 Eye Street NW, 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Comments must be received by July 25, 2008, 5:00 pm EST

Comments RSS