November 6, 2023 — The following was released by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
NOAA Fisheries and the states of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts project the Atlantic herring fishery will catch 92% of the Area 1A sub-annual catch limit by November 6, 2023. The Area 1A directed fishery will close effective 6:00 p.m. on November 6, 2023 and remain closed until further notice. Vessels that have entered port before 6:00 p.m. on November 6, 2023 may land and sell, from that trip, greater than 2,000 pounds of herring from Area 1A.
During a closure, vessels participating in other fisheries may retain and land an incidental catch of herring that does not exceed 2,000 pounds per trip or calendar day. In addition, directed herring vessels traveling through Area 1A must have all fishing gear stowed.
In accordance with the Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring, the fixed gear set-aside of 30 metric tons will continue to be available to fixed gear fishermen operating in Area 1A west of Cutler, Maine through December 31, 2023.
For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0716 or efranke@asmfc.org.
The closure announcement can also be found at https://asmfc.org/uploads/