Vineyard fishermen have joined a federal lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission over the lack of management of river herring and shad in federal waters. The lawsuit targets offshore industrial large-scale fishing boats working the Gulf of Maine and waters south of the Vineyard as culprits in the sharp decline of the fish.
Earthjustice, an environmental organization headquartered in Oakland, Calif., filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of the Martha’s Vineyard/ Dukes County Fishermen’s Association and Michael Flaherty, an East Wareham fisherman.
Once prolific in Vineyard and regional waters in the spring, the arrival of herring attracted osprey, striped bass, bluefish and flounder, among others. Though the state of Massachusetts and other states have imposed moratoriums for several years on the catching of herring, there have been little or no signs of recovery.
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