June 29, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council met from June 23–25, 2026, in Mystic, Connecticut. The following is a summary of actions taken and issues considered affecting several Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). Meeting materials, motions, and the meeting audio recordings are available on the Council’s June 2026 meeting page.
HERRING INDUSTRY-FUNDED MONITORING TO BE REVISITED
The Council decided to consider rescinding the Atlantic herring Industry Funded Monitoring (IFM) program as a possible 2027 priority, to be further discussed at its December 2026 meeting. The discussion was sparked by a letter from NOAA requesting the Council rescind the Herring IFM program in response to Executive Order 14276 and ongoing litigation.
Multiple Council members spoke about the importance of completing current Herring priorities as planned. The Council and NOAA partners noted that other existing IFM programs for scallops and groundfish would not be affected. The Council plans to respond to NOAA in a letter following the June meeting.
More information can be found here.
HERRING SPECIFICATIONS PRIORITIZED; SEPARATED FROM OTHER MANAGEMENT MEASURES
The Council voted unanimously to separate Atlantic herring specifications for fishing years (FY) 2027–2031 into a standalone action distinct from ongoing work to modify river herring and shad (RHS) management measures. The Council plans to take final action on the specifications at its September 2026 meeting.
In a separate action, the Council directed the Plan Development Team (PDT) to continue working on:
- Time-area closures for RHS with and without existing catch cap methodology;
- An updated specifications process; and
- Carryover provision modifications,
with final action targeted for April 2027.
The full herring report can be found here.