May 9, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Atlantic Herring Section members from the States of Maine and New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will meet at 10:30 a.m. on May 23, 2017 to discuss ‘days out’ measures for the 2017 Trimester 2 Area 1A fishing season, which occurs from June 1 to September 30. This meeting will take place at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 225 Main St. Durham, NH 03824. Parking spaces for meeting participants will be marked with orange cones.
Federally-permitted Herring Category A vessels must declare into the Area 1A fishery prior to the May 23rd Days Out Meeting. Small-mesh bottom trawl vessels with a Federal Herring Category C or D permit must declare into the Area 1A fishery by June 1, 2017. States will send additional correspondence regarding the notification procedure.
The 2017 Area 1A allowable catch limit is 31,115 metric tons after being adjusted for a carryover from 2015. The Section set the seasonal split as 72.8% allocated from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% allocated from October 1 – December 31. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per day harvested from Area 1A until June 1, 2017.
2017 Atlantic Herring Fishing Season Sub-ACLs, NMFS Final Rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2016-31392
Please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or aharp@asmfc.org for more information.