Fishery management plan implementation initiative

The Chesapeake Bay 2000 Agreement (C2K) contains several commitments that directly relate to the work of the FMP hnplementation Initiative. They include: 1) achieve a ten-fold increase in oysters (2010); 2) assess trends in population for priority migratory fish species; determine tributary-specific target population sizes based upon projected fish passage, and current and projected habitat available, and provide recommendations to achieve those targets (2002); 3) revise FMPs to include strategies to achieve target population sizes of tributary-specific migratory fish (2003); 4) assess the effects of different population levels of filter feeders such as menhaden, oysters and clams on Bay water quality and habitat (2004); 5) develop ecosystem-based multi-species management plans for targeted species (2005); 6) revise and implement existing fishery management plans to incorporate ecological, social and economic considerations, multi-species fisheries management and ecosystem approaches (2007); 7) establish harvest targets for the blue crab fishery and begin implementing complementary state fisheries management strategies Baywide; manage the blue crab fishery to restore a healthy spawning biomass, size and age structure. Grant no. NA96FU0105