Atlantic Sturgeon - Printable Version +- Fishing Forum (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum) +-- Forum: Misc. Fishing Forums (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=335) +--- Forum: Fishing Preservation & Conservation (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=66) +--- Thread: Atlantic Sturgeon (/showthread.php?tid=191631) |
Atlantic Sturgeon - Hutch00 - 03-19-2005 Draft Addendum II to the Atlantic Sturgeon FMP Approved for Public Comment/Addendum Explores Commercial Aquaculture in North Carolina The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Atlantic Sturgeon Management Board approved Draft Addendum II to Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Sturgeon for public review and comment. The Draft Addendum provides exemptions to Amendment 1 to allow a commercial aquaculture operation in North Carolina. Specifically, the exemptions will permit importation of Atlantic sturgeon from Canadian sources and allow possession, production and sale of cultured fish by a private company in North Carolina. Amendment 1 establishes a moratorium on harvest and possession of Atlantic sturgeon to allow for recovery of spawning stocks to population levels that will provide for sustainable fisheries and viable spawning populations. The target of the Amendment is to have at least 20 protected age classes of females in each spawning stock, which may take 20 to 40 years from initiation of the moratorium. Historically, the United States supported a large market for Atlantic sturgeon products. Draft Addendum II seeks to reestablish part of that market by providing a domestic product through an environmentally and socially sound aquaculture operation. Copies of Draft Addendum II are available via the Commission's Web site at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400. Public comment will be accepted no later than 5 p.m., April 29, 2005, and should be forwarded to Braddock Spear, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 144 Eye Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (fax) or comments@asmfc.org (subject line: Atlantic Sturgeon). For questions, contact Public Affairs Specialist Tina Berger at (202) 289-6400 or e-mail her at tberger@asmfc.org. [signature] |