DOVER — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will hold a hybrid public hearing from 6-8 p.m. March 13 at the Dover Public Library.

The meeting is to gather input on Draft Addendum VII to American Eel Interstate Fishery Management Plan.

The board initiated Draft Addendum VII in August 2023 in response to findings of the 2023 Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report. The results of the assessment are consistent with the results of the previous assessments, which indicate the yellow eel population is depleted compared to its population of fifty years ago.

The assessment and peer review recommend reducing fishing mortality on the yellow eel life stage, while also recognizing that stock status is affected by other factors.

The Draft Addendum’s five coastwide cap options range from status quo to large reductions in the cap that will greatly restrict this fishery in the future.

Draft Addendum VII also proposes options to reduce the requirements for biological sampling during young-of-year surveys conducted by the states, based on the stock assessment finding that individual length and pigment stage data are not useful for evaluating population trends.

For more information on the hearing, including instructions for attending remotely and for commenting on Draft Addendum VII, visit asmfc.org/about-us/public-input.