February 8, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New Jersey have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring. Draft Addendum I includes management options to ensure the seasonal quota is distributed throughout Trimester 2, are applied consistently by the states adjacent to Area 1A, and address excessive capacity. The details of the scheduled hearings follow.
Maine Department of Marine Resources
April 3, 2017; 6-8 PM
Lincoln County Communications Conference Room
34 Bath Road
Wiscasset, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
April 4, 2017; 7 PM
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
April 5, 2017; 6 PM
DMF Annisquam River Station
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Contact: David Pierce at 617.626.1532
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
March 27, 2017; 6 PM
Fisheries Cooperative Center, Rutgers University
1636 Delaware Avenue
Cape May, New Jersey
Contact: Tom Baum at 609.748.2020
The Draft Addendum was initiated in response to the accelerated rate of Area 1A Trimester 2 (June through September) landings in recent years and the increasingly dynamic nature of days out measures to control effort that have varied across states. The Section utilizes days out of the fishery to slow the rate of Area 1A catch by restricting the number of available landing days. Landing reports indicate vessels are harvesting herring on days out of the fishery and transferring fish at-sea to carrier or larger vessels until landing is permitted. The practice of fishing outside of landing days has limited the effectiveness of the days out program in controlling the rate of harvest.
The Draft Addendum presents six management options to improve the performance of the Area 1A fishery, ranging from restricting a vessel from landing fish caught on days out of the fishery to limiting transfers at sea as well as the amount a vessel can land per week. The document also seeks input on a tiered weekly landing limit for future management consideration.
Fishermen and interested stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AtlHerringDraftAddendumI_PublicComment_Feb2017.pdf or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on April 7, 2017 and should be forwarded to Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at aharp@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum I).
The Section will review submitted public comment and consider final approval of Addendum I at the Commission’s Spring Meeting in May 2017. For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
The press release is also available athttp://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/589b91f5pr08AtlanticHerringAddendum_Hearings.pdf.