Washington, DC – The Commission's Shad and River Herring Management Board is in process of re-configuring its Shad & River Herring Advisory Panel. As part of that process, the Board is seeking nominations from nontraditional stakeholders to fill two seats on the panel. Examples of such stakeholders include, but are not limited to, nongovernmental organizations, grassroots organizations, and individuals/groups with an interest in fisheries, fish passage, and habitat conservation.

The intent of this action is to broaden the scope of public input to the Shad and River Herring Management Board as it develops two amendments to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring. One amendment is being developed in response to the findings of the 2007 benchmark stock assessment for American shad, indicating that American shad stocks are currently at all-time lows and do not appear to be recovering, and the other in response to concerns regarding the depressed status of river herring stocks. The Commission believes that input from nontraditional stakeholders will strengthen its efforts in successfully managing shad and river herring species. Individuals interested in serving as advisors can obtain an advisory panel nomination form by contacting the Commission at (202)289-6400 or downloading the nomination form via the Commission's website at http://www.asmfc.org/ad_panel.htm.  A completed nomination form must be submitted to the Commission by 5:00 PM on April 24, 2008.

The Commission's advisory panel process was established to address its increasing responsibilities under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act. The Act mandates, among other considerations, that the Commission provide adequate public participation in its fishery management planning process, including at least four public hearings and procedures for submission of written comments to the Commission. In 2002 the Commission established the Advisory Panel Oversight Committee, comprised of a subset of legislative and governor-appointed Commissioners and Advisory Panel Chairs, to provide oversight to its advisory panel process. Advisory Panels have been developed for Atlantic herring, Atlantic menhaden, American eel, American lobster, black sea bass, bluefish, coastal sharks, horseshoe crab, northern shrimp, scup, shad & river herring, South Atlantic species (croaker, spot, spotted seatrout, Spanish mackerel, red drum), spiny dogfish, striped bass, summer flounder, tautog, weakfish, and winter flounder. For more information, please contact Tina Berger, Public Affairs Specialist, at (202) 289-6400 or tberger@asmfc.org.

*************************
Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 I Street. NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202)289-6400
FAX: (202)289-6051
Email: tberger@asmfc.org
www.asmfc.org

ASMFC Vision: Healthy, self-sustaining populations of all Atlantic coast fish species or successful restoration well in progress by the year 2015.