April 23, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts set the effort control measures for the 2021 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery for June 1 – September 30.
The Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) is 1,453 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for the carryover from 2019, the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside, and the fact that Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL. In October 2020, the Board established the following seasonal allocations for the 2021 Area 1A sub-ACL: 72.8% available for season 1 (June 1 – September 30) and 27.2% available for season 2 (October 1 – December 31).
Days Out of the Fishery
- Landing days will be set at zero from June 1 until the start of the fishery on June 13 at 6:00 p.m.
- Vessels with an Atlantic herring Limited Access Category A permit that have declared into the Area 1A fishery may land herring five (5) consecutive days a week. One landing per 24 hour period. Vessels are prohibited from landing or possessing herring caught from Area 1A during a day out of the fishery.
- Landing days begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m. starting June 13.
Weekly Landing Limit
- Vessels with an Atlantic herring Category A permit may harvest up to 240,000 lbs. (6 trucks) per harvester vessel, per week starting June 13.
At-Sea Transfer and Carrier Restrictions
The following applies to harvester vessels with an Atlantic herring Category A permit and carrier vessels landing herring caught in Area 1A to a Maine, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts port.
- A harvester vessel may transfer herring at-sea to another harvester vessel.
- A harvester vessel may not make any at-sea transfers to a carrier vessel.
- Carrier vessels may not receive at-sea transfers from a harvester vessel.
Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A until June 13, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. Landings will be closely monitored and the fishery will be adjusted to zero landing days when the season 1 quota is projected to be reached.
For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
The announcement can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerring2021Area1A_DaysOutMeasures_Aprl2021.pdf