Saving Seafood

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Days Out Meeting Scheduled for April 24, 1 – 2:30 PM

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
April 4, 2024 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Atlantic Herring Management Board members from the states of Maine, New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will meet via webinar on April 24, 2024 from 1 to 2:30 p.m., to discuss days out measures for the 2024 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishing season. Days out measures can include specification of the number of consecutive landings days, weekly landings limits, and restrictions on at-sea transfers. The webinar and call information is included below:
 
Atlantic Herring Days Out Meeting
Wednesday, April 24
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
 
You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone at the following link:https://meet.goto.com/405812685. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. For audio, the meeting will be using the computer voice over internet protocol (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (571) 317-3112 and enter access code 405-812-685 when prompted. The webinar will start at 12:45 p.m., 15 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.
 
Federally-permitted Herring Category A vessels must declare into the Area 1A fishery at least 45 days prior to the start of the fishing season. Small-mesh bottom trawl vessels with a federal Herring Category C or D permit must declare into the Area 1A fishery by June 1, 2024. Vessels should check with each state of landing regarding their notification procedures.
 
The 2024 Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL) is 5,504 metric tons (mt). The initial specification for the 2024 Area 1A sub-ACL of 5,546 mt was decreased by 42 mt due to the catch overage in Area 1A in 2022. After adjusting for the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside and the 8% buffer (Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL), the Area 1A sub-ACL is 5,036 mt. There is no research-set-aside for 2024.
 
In November 2023, the Board established the following seasonal allocations for the 2024 Area 1A sub-ACL: 72.8% available from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% available from October 1 – December 31. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per day harvested from Area 1A until June 1, 2024.