Saving Seafood

States prepare to review new rules for herring fishery

ELLSWORTH, Maine — December 28, 2015 — The new year will soon be here, and with it comes a new round of significant changes to the rules governing the herring fishery.

Next week, the Department of Marine Resources will hold a public hearing on what is known as “Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Management Plan for Atlantic Herring.”

Hearings are also scheduled in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

The new rules proposed by the interstate Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will bring big changes to the fishery that is the primary supplier of bait to Maine’s lobster industry. In 2014, the last year for which DMR has data, still preliminary figures show that fishermen landed just over 104 million pounds of herring, worth some $16.3 million, in Maine. Scientists from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute have determined that about 70 percent of that herring (some 70 million pounds) is used by Maine lobstermen as bait.

According to the ASMFC, the new rules would affect the inshore Gulf of Maine — called Area 1A — herring fishery to reflect changes in both the herring resource and the fishery itself. The key changes deal with the closure of the fishery during spawning season and would impose a requirement that herring boats completely empty their fish holds before starting each fishing trip.

Regulators generally consider the herring stock to be abundant, especially compared with just a few years ago when overfishing had seriously depleted the fish population.

The herring stock in Area 1A now includes more fish that are larger and older compared with the time when overfishing was a problem. The evidence suggests that the larger fish spawn earlier than smaller herring, and that the start of the spawning season varies from year to year.

Read the full story from the Mount Desert Islander

MASSACHUSETTS: New herring fishing rules to come before fishermen

December 14, 2015 — Interstate regulators will hold hearings for fishermen in Gloucester and throughout New England about a plan to amend some of the rules for Atlantic herring fishing.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is soliciting comments about the amended rules. The proposal includes alternatives to the current spawning monitoring program and changes to the requirements about a boat’s condition before it leaves on a fishing trip.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

New herring fishing rules to come before fishermen

December 13, 2015 — AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Interstate regulators will hold hearings for fishermen throughout New England about a plan to amend some of the rules for Atlantic herring fishing.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is soliciting comments about the amended rules. The proposal includes alternatives to the current spawning monitoring program and changes to the requirements about a boat’s condition before it leaves on a fishing trip.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Herald

 

New England States Schedule Hearings on the Public Hearing Document for Draft Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Herring FMP

December 4, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

New England states of Maine through Massachusetts have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on the Public Hearing Document for Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled hearings follow. 

Maine Department of Marine Resources

Wednesday, January 6th at 1 p.m.

Marquardt Building

Conference Room 118

32 Blossom Lane

Augusta, ME

Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553

New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game

Tuesday, January 5th at 7 p.m.

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road

Portsmouth, NH

Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

Tuesday, January 5th at 2 p.m.

Annisquam River Station

30 Emerson Avenue

Gloucester, MA

Contact: David Pierce at 617.626.1532

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

Monday, January 4th from 6 – 9 PM

University of Rhode Island Bay Campus

Corless Auditorium

South Ferry Road

Narragansett, RI

Contact: John Lake at 401.423.1942

 

Draft Amendment 3 was initiated to propose management measures in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) which reflect changes in the stock structure, integrate recent data into management decisions, and respond to changes in the fishery. The Public Hearing Document proposes (1) alternatives to the spawning monitoring program (protocol, default start dates, area boundaries, and length of the closure period); (2) removing the fixed gear set‐aside rollover provision, and (3) requiring a vessel’s fish hold to be emptied before leaving on a fishing trip.

Today’s rebuilt herring population is comprised of a broader range of age classes with older and larger fish compared to the population during overfished conditions. Analysis of more than a decade’s worth of data suggests larger herring spawn first and the timing of the start of spawning varies from year-to-year. Proposed alternatives to the current spawning monitoring program address inter-annual differences and provide additional measures to more adequately protect spawning fish in the areas where they spawn.

At the request of the fishing industry, the Public Hearing Document includes an option to adjust the fixed gear set-aside rollover provision. Currently, the set-aside of 295 mt is available to fixed gear fishermen through November 1, after which the remaining set-aside becomes available to the rest of the Area 1A fishery. The November 1 date was set because, typically, herring have migrated out of the Gulf of Maine by that time. Anecdotal evidence suggests herring are in the Gulf of Maine after November 1, therefore, fixed gear fishermen requested the set-aside be made available to them for the remainder of the calendar year.

Members of industry also suggested a requirement for fish holds to be empty of fish prior to trip departures. This provision would allow for full accountability and encourage less wasteful fishing practices by creating an incentive to catch herring which meet market demands. The New England Fishery Management Council included a complementary provision in its Framework Adjustment 4 to the Federal Atlantic Herring FMP.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Public Hearing Document either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The document is available here and can also be accessed on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on January 20, 2015 and should be forwarded to Ashton Harp, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at aharp@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Amendment 3). For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Approves Public Hearing Document on Draft Amendment 3 for Public Comment

November 3, 2015 — ST. AUGUSTINE, Fl. – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved the Public Hearing Document for Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Herring for public comment. Draft Amendment 3 was initiated to strengthen spawning protections in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) and address concerns raised by the commercial fishing industry. The Public Hearing Document proposes (1) alternatives to the spawning monitoring program (protocol, default start dates, area boundaries, and length of the closure period); (2) removing the fixed gear set‐aside rollover provision, and (3) requiring a vessel’s fish hold to be emptied before leaving on a fishing trip.

Today’s rebuilt herring population is comprised of a broader range of age classes with older and larger fish compared to the population during overfished conditions. Analysis of more than a decade’s worth of data suggests larger herring spawn first and the timing of the start of spawning varies from year-to-year. Proposed alternatives to the current spawning monitoring program address inter-annual differences and provide additional measures to more adequately protect spawning fish in the areas where they spawn.

At the request of the fishing industry, the Public Hearing Document includes an option to adjust the fixed gear set-aside rollover provision. Currently, the set-aside of 295 mt is available to fixed gear fishermen through November 1, after which the remaining set-aside becomes available to the rest of the Area 1A fishery. The November 1 date was set because, typically, herring have migrated out of the Gulf of Maine by that time. Anecdotal evidence suggests herring are in the Gulf of Maine after November 1, therefore, fixed gear fishermen requested the set-aside be made available to them for the remainder of the calendar year.

Members of industry also suggested a requirement for fish holds to be empty of fish prior to trip departures. This provision would allow for full accountability and encourage less wasteful fishing practices by creating an incentive to catch herring to meet market demands. The New England Fishery Management Council included a complementary provision in its Framework Adjustment 4 to the Federal Atlantic Herring FMP.  

The states will be conducting public hearings on the Public Hearing Document this winter. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Public Hearing Document either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. A subsequent press release will announce the availability of the Public Hearing Document, details of the scheduled hearings, as well as the deadline for the submission of public comment. For more information, please contact, Ashton Harp, FMP Coordinator, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

2,000 LB Limit in Effect for Atlantic Herring Area 1A Limit on November 2

October 29, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The annual catch limit for Atlantic Herring Management Area 1A has been harvested for the June 1 to December 31 period.

Effective at 12 noon on November 2, vessels are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds per trip or calendar day from Area 1A for the rest of the fishing year, which ends on December 31. Vessels must also abide by state regulations, which include no-landing days (currently Thursday-Sunday).

There is no Area 1A allocation available for the January 1 to May 31, 2016 season, so no vessel may fish for herring in Area 1A during that period.

We expect that vessels will be able to resume herring fishing in Area 1A on June 1, 2016.

More details are available in the Federal Register notice and the permit holder letter.

Questions? Contact Shannah Jaburek, Regional Office, at 978-282-8456 or shannah.jaburek@noaa.gov.

Atlantic herring. Credit: NOAA

September/October 2015 NEFMC Newsletter

October 22, 2015 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The Council Report summarizes major actions approved at NEFMC meetings or highlights items of interest to interested parties.

At its September 29-Oct 1, 2015 meeting in Plymouth, MA, the Council:

  • Approved Amendment 18 to the Groundfish Plan
  • Refined elements of Framework 55 (annual groundfish specs)
  • Approved the 2016- 2018 Atlantic herring specifications
  • Selected preferred alternatives for Scallop Amendment 19 and reviewed information related to Framework 27
  • Modified the red hake specifications
  • Initiated frameworks for the Skate Complex FMP and Habitat Amendment

If you would like to receive notices for committee meetings and other types of Council information via email, please click on Subscribe at the top of the homepage and receive e-notices.

View a PDF of the NEFMC Newsletter

2,000 lb Possession Limit in Effect October 22 for Midwater Trawl Vessels in the GB Haddock AM Area

October 19, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Herring Possession Limit Reduced to 2,000 lb in the Georges Bank Haddock Accountability Management Area in Effect October 22 for Midwater Trawl Vessels

The Atlantic Herring Georges Bank Incidental Haddock Catch Cap for the 2015 fishing year has been harvested. 

As a result, herring midwater trawl vessels will be prohibited from fishing for or landing more than 2,000 lb of herring per trip or calendar day in or from the Herring Georges Bank Haddock Accountability Measure Area effective October 22. This limit will remain in place until the quota becomes available for the 2016 fishing year (expected on May 1, 2016). 

This action effectively limits the midwater trawl fishery in Herring Management Area 3 to 2,000 lb of herring per trip/day until May 1, 2016, because Area 3 falls within the Georges Bank Haddock Accountability Management Area. 

Herring vessels issued an All Areas or Areas 2/3 Limited Access Herring Permit may land haddock from the Herring Georges Bank Haddock Accountability Measure Area provided they have a Northeast Multispecies permit and are on a declared Northeast Multispecies day-at-sea.

For more information, please read the Federal Register notice and the permit holder bulletin.

Questions? Contact Shannah Jaburek, Regional Office, at 978-282-8456 or shannah.jaburek@noaa.gov.

Atlantic herring. Credit: NOAA

 

SHAUN GEHAN: No ‘localized depletion’ of Atlantic herring

October 6, 2015 – This week, the Sustainable Fisheries Coalition – a trade group representing herring fishermen and processors – submitted comments in response to the New England Fisheries Management Council’s supplemental scoping process on the issue of “localized depletion in near shore waters.”  “Localized depletion” is a theory that intensive localized harvest, in this case of Atlantic herring, can cause adverse impacts on various other marine species.

No such impacts or impacted species were identified by the New England Council, yet it has made a goal of Amendment 8 to Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan to “address” localized depletion.  SFC stated that “it puts the cart before the horse” to develop management measures to address a problem that likely does not exist.  The group also called for basing any actions taken in the amendment on scientific evidence, noting that none of the scientists advising the Council had identified any such problems.

As SFC noted in its letter, the real issue involves conflicts between various users of inshore waters, particularly around Cape Cod and the islands—a view shared by several Council members when this goal was debated at its June meeting.  In its letter, SFC urged the Council to address any spatial conflicts among various users groups – including herring vessels, recreational anglers, whale watching companies, environmentalists, and other fishermen – directly in a separate action.

In response to public pressure, the New England Council had long made defining and measuring localized depletion a research priority.  Previously it approved a project to define and measure localized depletion, funded through the herring research set-aside program.  Working with industry vessels, Gulf of Maine Research Institute researchers undertook a project to define and assess whether or not localized depletion was occurring.  Funding constraints allowed only for development of a technique to assess the issue.  To date, however, no follow-up research has been funded.

Amendment 8 is designed to develop management reference points to address herring’s role in the ecosystem and will take several years to complete.  The Atlantic herring resource is in strong shape, with populations more than twice long-term targets.

Read the letter from the Sustainable Fisheries Coalition submitted to the NEFMC