November 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts met October 30 via conference call to consider changes to days out measures for the 2020 Area 1A fishery for Season 2 (October through December) following the transfer of 1,000 metric tons (mt) from the Management Uncertain Buffer to the Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL).
The fishery will continue with two (2) consecutive landings days per week and will move to four (4) consecutive landings days per week starting November 8 in Maine and November 9 in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Landings days in Maine begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m.; landing days in New Hampshire and Massachusetts begin on Monday of each week at 12:01 a.m.
Preliminary estimates indicate approximately 1,300 mt of the Area 1A sub-ACL remains available to harvest, which accounts for the 1,000 mt transfer from the Management Uncertain Buffer and the fact that Area 1A fishery closes once 92% of the sub-ACL is projected to be harvested.
The Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts will reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort on:
- Friday, November 13, at 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
- You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone at the following link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/938637629. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. The meeting will be using the computer audio (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (872) 240-3212 and enter access code 938-637-629 when prompted. The webinar will start at 8:45 a.m., 15 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.
For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Director, at 703.842.0740 or tkerns@asmfc.org.
A copy of the announcement can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/M20_117ChangesToHerringDaysOutMeasuresSeason2_Oct2020(1).pdf