Article by Marty Gary
Radford is Finally Reefed!!!
The Radford has finally been sunk! On a picture perfect day last Wednesday, August the 10th, the Radford went to the sea floor in 130 feet of water on a permitted reef site known as Deljerseyland.
The tri-state effort of Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland, along with the U.S. Navy, was a complete success. After several hours of seemingly little progress to flood her lower compartments, the vessel lurched to her port side. Minutes later the stern dipped and bow rose slightly. One minute and 8 seconds later, she slipped under the gentle swells of the Atlantic on her way to the bottom. The plan was to have the stern impact first, followed by the bow, allowing the vessel to sit upright. If executed properly, this would allow for the vessel to rise upright 70 feet off the sea floor, still providing the requisite 60 feet of clearance for shipping traffic required by the permit.
Bill Maxwell of the NJ Reef Program surveyed the vessel after the trapped air bubbles had dissipated. He indicated the coordinates for the USS Radford are N38 30.850 W074 30.656. Attached are a few of the side scan images taken from New Jersey's R/V Reefbound using a Humminbird 1197C SI right after the Radford sank. You can see the upper decks and the empty Tomahawk missile area out towards the bow. Hope you enjoy the photo! (Image compliments of Bill Maxwell, NJ Reef Program)
Tautog Management Update
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Tautog Management Board met during the first week of August to review 2010 state compliance and consider state proposals. The Plan Review Team presented findings that all states met or exceeded all Fishery Management Plan (FMP) measures in 2010. Following the presentation, the Board accepted the 2010 Tautog FMP Review and de minimis status for Delaware and North Carolina in 2011. De minimis status allows a state to apply their recreational regulations to their commercial fishery (bag/size limits). States are still required to implement recreational or monitoring measures in the FMP. The next order of business was a Technical Committee (TC) review of state proposals to implement the Addendum VI Ftarget = 0.15. Based on the coastwide assessment (Fcoastwide = 0.38), states must implement regulations to achieve a 53% reduction in harvest to achieve the Ftarget= 0.15. Addendum VI allows states that can demonstrate a regional F that is lower than the coastwide assessment “at the same level of precision as the coastwide assessment” to only reduce harvest based on their regional F rate. The Tautog Technical Committee provided a guidance document to help states calculate reductions on June 19, states submitted proposals for TC review around July 15, and the TC held its meeting to review state proposals on July 25, 2011. Massachusetts and Rhode Island submitted a regional VPA assessment (MA/RI VPA) using identical methodology as the coastwide assessment and demonstrating a regional F below the target. The TC endorsed the MA/RI VPA as at the same level of precision as the coastwide assessment based on a mean square residual (MSR) value of 0.69 compared to MSR = 0.61 for the coastwide assessment. Due to a lack of fishery-independent data, several states are unable to run a regional VPA and directly compare precision with a metric in the coastwide VPA. New York, Maryland, and Virginia submitted catch curve analyses demonstrating lower regional F’s than the coastwide assessment for TC review. The TC could not determine the precision of the New York or Maryland catch curve analyses and suggested some modifications. The TC did not suggest any modifications to the Virginia catch curve proposal and recommended that the Board consider the analysis. After considering the TC’s review, the Board agreed to postpone taking action on all catch curve proposals until the ASMFC Annual Meeting (November, 2011), allowing New York and Maryland to modify their proposals as requested by the TC. The TC found that regulations in state plans to achieve a 53% reduction are risk neutral for Connecticut, New York, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The Board unanimously approved these states proposals to achieve the 53% reduction based on the TC recommendations. Following the approval of these plans, the Board agreed that states will submit all new and revised proposals by September 15, 2011 to allow for TC review prior to the November ASMFC meeting week. All states will be required to implement regulations to implement Addendum VI by January 1, 2012. For more information, please contact Christopher Vonderweidt at [email protected] or 703.842.0740.
