May 23, 2013 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Alexandria, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section has approved Draft Addendum VI to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Herring for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes several changes to the management program, including (1) seasonal splitting of the annual catch limit sub-components (sub-ACLs) for Areas 1B, 2, and 3; (2) up to 10% carryover of a sub-ACL for all management areas; (3) the establishment of triggers to initiate the closing of directed fisheries, (4) a research set-aside of up to 3% of the sub-ACLs, and (5) using the annual specification process to set triggers and research set-aside.
Draft Addendum VI was initiated to establish consistent tools for all four management areas for Atlantic herring and to complement the New England Fishery Management Council’s Framework 2, which was submitted to NOAA Fisheries in February 2013. While the current Interstate Atlantic Herring FMP provides states the flexibility to split quota in Area 1A, it does not include provisions for seasonal splitting in Areas 1B, 2, and 3. The Draft Addendum proposes to allow for up to 10% of unused sub-ACL for all management areas to carry over from one year to the next. This provision would allow for unused quota to be rolled from one season to the next within the same fishing year. The Draft Addendum also proposes triggers that would close directed fisheries (1) in a management area when 92% of a sub-ACL is projected to be reached and (2) stock-wide when 95% of the ACL is projected to be reached. A 2,000 pound bycatch allowance would continue after directed fisheries are closed. The 10% rollover provision is intended to provide greater flexibility to herring industry, while the triggers are intended to prevent overharvesting in individual management areas and coastwide.
States may be conducting public hearings on Draft Addendum VI. Information on those hearings will be released when it is finalized. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum VI, either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under “Breaking News” by the end of May. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on July 12, 2013 and should be forwarded to Melissa Yuen, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741(fax) or via email at myuen@asmfc.org (Subject line: Atlantic Herring Draft Addendum VI).