July 2, 2013 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts have cancelled the Days Out meeting scheduled for Monday, July 8, 2013. Atlantic herring landings rates have not progressed as projected; therefore the 7 landing days will not be adjusted at this time.
The Atlantic Herring Section members set a ‘days out’ effort control measure to allow seven (7) landing days a week for Period 2 of the Atlantic herring 2013 fishing season for Area 1A. Trimester 2 spans from June 1 through September 30, 2013 and has a total allowable catch (TAC) of 20,378 metric tons. This amount is 72.8% of the 31,200 mt annual catch limit sub-component for Area 1A approved by both the Commission and New England Fisheries Management Council after accounting for the 1,425 mt overage in 2011, 295 mt set-aside for fixed gear, and 5% bycatch allowance.
With seven landings days, or zero (0) days out for Area 1A’s Trimester 2, the entire TAC is projected to be caught close to the end of the period. As of June 26, 2013, landings are at 13% of the quota for Trimester 2. Landings will be closely monitored and if a meeting is required, it will rescheduled for later in the Trimester 2 season. The directed fishery will be closed when the season’s quota has been harvested.
Please contact Melissa Yuen at 703.842.0740 for more information.