The seven pair trawlers working out of Gloucester have regularly returned to port from late August until late November, "right flat" (low in the water and bows down) with their below-deck refrigerated seawater tanks brimming with beautiful, 8-to-12-inch herring.
Georges Bank’s Area 3 finally came through for the herring fishermen in the beginning of that period, followed by the Gulf of Maine’s Area 1A, now closed. But, a new annual herring quota could make those frequent bountiful trips rarities.
The herring fisheries’ powers-that-be have allowed its fishermen to collectively land 145,000 metric tons a year from its four zones:
-1A- 45,000 metric tons.
-1B- 10,000 metric tons.
-2- 30,000 metric tons.
-3- 60,000 metric tons.
The herring stock is classified as healthy and not overfished. Even though Area 3, Georges Bank — a good 14-hour steam from Gloucester — has had the most quota, fishermen have generally had trouble catching herring out there for one reason or another.
According to the National Marine Fisheries Services online weekly quota and landing reports, the area’s September landings flowed from approximately 12,000 metric tons in 2008 to just under 25,000 metric tons in 2009.