April 1, 2012 – The herring is deeply important to fishermen and environmentalists, who are fighting to put greater restrictions on trawlers that pull up hundreds of thousands of pounds of herring at a time.
They argue that the large trawlers are depleting a species that’s a critical food for just about every prized commercial fish in the region, from cod to striped bass. The herring’s influence even extends to ocean tours, which depend on abundant herring to attract whales and birds to the ocean surface to feed and be seen.
"For many people who don’t work on the water, make their money on the water, I think it’s easy to underestimate the importance of herring," said Tom Dempsey of the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association.
Read the complete story by The AP at The Boston Herald.