July 3, 2014 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts adjusted the “days out” effort control measure to seven (7) landing days each week in Area 1A for the remainder of the 2014 second trimester (June 1 through September 30). Trimester 2 has a total allowable catch (TAC) of 21,793 metric tons (mt). This amount is 72.8% of the 31,200 mt annual catch limit sub-component for Area 1A after adjusting for a 10% rollover of 2012’s quota, 295 mt fixed gear set-aside, 3% research set-aside, and 8% bycatch allowance. The adjustment from five landing days was made to allow Atlantic herring fishermen to fully utilize the sub-quota.
Effective 001 hours Monday, July 7, 2014, vessels may fish and land Atlantic sea herring seven days a week. There will be zero “days out” for the fishery.
Landings will be monitored closely and the directed fishery will be closed when 92% of the trimester’s adjusted quota is projected to be reached, after which landings will be restricted to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip until October 1 (start of Trimester 3).
The Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are scheduled to reconvene via conference call on Wednesday, July 23 to review the fishing effort and adjust landing days as necessary. Call details, including time, will be announced at a later date.
Please contact Melissa Yuen, Atlantic Herring FMP Coordinator, at (703) 842-0740 for more information.
Read the memorandum from the ASMFC here