PORTLAND, Maine — June 15, 2014 — Fishermen in two of the most lucrative fisheries in the Northeast — Atlantic herring and haddock —are at odds over the management of fishing in Georges Bank, a key nerve center for both species.
Atlantic herring fishermen who fish from mid-water trawl boats are on track this year to exceed their limit for incidental catch of haddock in Georges Bank, off the coast of New England, federal regulators said. That would trigger rules that would effectively shut down the herring fishery.
Herring fishermen are asking the New England Fishery Management Council, an interstate body that manages fisheries, for an emergency action that could include raising their limit for haddock bycatch. But many haddock fishermen are opposed to such a move because they say it would contribute to the depletion of their own fishery.
The council will consider the request at a meeting June 17-19, with a potential vote scheduled for the last day.
One solution could be to temporarily raise the bycatch cap, said Jeff Kaelin, who works in government relations for Lund's Fisheries of Cape May, New Jersey. He said haddock are abundant enough that heavy recent bycatch isn't a grave concern.
Read the full story from The Associated Press at The Wall Street Journal