January 9, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Herring fishery reductions have become a point of conflict between the New England Fishery Management Council and NMFS.
In September, the council recommended an extreme reduction in herring catch to 15,065 tons, based on recent stock assessments. The assessments put the overfishing limit at 30,668 tons, and the council recommended an allowable biological catch of 21,266 tons, and reserved 6200 tons for uncertainty in the survey data, as a precaution.
This action was projected to decrease the herring fishery 86%, and was projected to have a strong impact on the price and availability of lobster bait, which is the principle utilization of New England Atlantic herring.
The lobster industry in Maine was dead set against this reduction since it would impact their bait costs, and NMFS in Washington listened to those in the industry who might be hurt.
Instead of accepting the council recommendation, NMFS in a highly unusual move increased the ABC to the overfishing limit of 30,668 tons. This had the immediate result of adding over 9000 tons of quota to the 2019 season.
The council reiterated its opposition to this in a vote in December, saying in a letter that they had attempted to apply the new Amendment 8 control rules which are coming into effect in 2020, but are not yet in place for 2019.
The council argues that this decision will crash the stock in 2020, and lead to a high probability of overfishing, which if determined will reduce the quota in 2020 by 18,000 tons. Although the council motion calls for less fishing in 2019, it smooths out the projected decline more than the NMFS proposal. Over two years, the council projects its approach leads to a 68% reduction, while the NMFS approach will lead to a 75% reduction in ABC.
Patrick Keliher, the newly re-appointed Maine commissioner of Marine Resources said he struggled with the issue and the short-term and medium-term impacts of both proposals, particularly with regard to the economic impacts to both Maine’s herring and lobster industries.
“The economic impact, both to the herring fleet and the lobster industry, is very, very real,” said Keliher. “I’m trying to figure out if there’s some relief here and trying to balance these two things. But we’re in a pretty difficult spot.”
Keliher voted for the initial council motion in September, but declined to vote for the December motion opposing the change made by NMFS.
In essence the argument is over risk and uncertainty. Speaking to the Fishermen’s Voice, several council members gave their rationales.
Peter Kendall, chairman of NEFMC’s Herring Committee, said he didn’t support the NMFS proposal.
“I stand by what the council voted on in September,” Kendall said.
NEFMC member Matthew McKenzie said he agreed with the council decision and with Kendall.
“Given the level of uncertainty we have and the heavily declined state of the stock, we need to be more cautious than that in this period of transition,” he said.
NEFMC vice chairman Terry Stockwell said he also agreed with Kendall.
“We’re trying to provide stability for the industry, but that’s not the proper way to do business,” he said of the NMFS proposal.
NEFMC member Vincent Balzano said he understands NMFS’s reasoning, given the horrifying” impacts of the quota cuts on the fishery. But, he said, “If we take all this fish up front, there’s no guarantee we’ll get to the fish in the back. That’s my biggest concern. I agree it’s devastating to the herring and Maine lobster fisheries. But if we get stuck with 12,000 or 15,000 metric tons after this, that’s beyond devastating.”
“What we do in 2019 has an effect on whether we get the bounceback that we’d like to see begin in 2021,” said NEFMC member Michael Sissenwine.
This story was originally published by SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.