November 15 – When fisheries managers meet this Tuesday through Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Goat Island, in Newport, there’s going to be a lot riding on a very small fish. If the New England Fishery Management Council fails to follow the recommendations of its scientific committee when setting the catch limit for Atlantic herring, the impacts on many marine species other than herring could be profound.
The council’s scientific advisers recently identified a disturbing trend in the assessment of herring: Underestimating the amount of fish removed each year while overestimating the amount that remains.
To reduce the danger that too many fish continue to be taken, which could further deplete herring stocks at the expense of the larger ecosystem, scientists advise the council to lower the catch limit for the next three years by about 40 percent.
Read the complete story at The Providence Journal.