CHATHAM, Mass. — June 23, 2014 — Relatively few people in New England eat sea herring, but a lot of the fish they love to eat, do. That's why local fishermen are cheering two decisions by federal regulators this week that they hope will have a positive effect on cod, haddock, tuna and other important commercial species.
At their meeting in Portland, Maine, Thursday, the New England Fishery Management Council approved taking a closer look at changing the boundaries of where the herring fleet is allowed to fish. They also denied the fleet's request for an increase in the amount of haddock the fleet can catch while fishing for herring.
The first decision could help to settle a long-standing grievance from Cape fishermen that the herring fleet is allowed to operate too close to the shore. Their vessels — 100 to 165 feet long — generally operate in pairs, towing massive fine-mesh nets between them, and wipe out the food supply of bigger, more valuable commercial stocks such as bluefin tuna, cod and haddock. This forces commercial species farther offshore in search of food, beyond the reach of the Cape's small vessels.
"Two (herring management areas) come right up to state waters off the Cape and Islands. That's why we see what should be offshore boats pounding away off the back side of the Cape, right off the beach at Nauset," said Tom Dempsey, policy director for the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance, and a member of the New England council.
A month ago, much of the herring fleet was visible from Orleans and Chatham beaches as they quickly caught their herring quota for the area and then went over by 60 percent.
"They were just 3 miles off the beach, with a lot of (migratory) species coming through at that time," said Chatham fisherman Ray Kane. "Even the international fleet didn't fish within 3 miles of the beach."
The council approved Dempsey's motion to have its herring committee look into ways to deal with that problem. Dempsey thinks one possible answer is extending the closure area that protects the inshore fish stocks in the Gulf of Maine.
"This constant fighting with the herring industry goes beyond the point of absurdity," said council member Dave Preble. "Somehow we have to deal with this."
The council also decided to deny the herring fleet's request to catch more haddock than they are currently allowed. A resurgent haddock population has long been posited as the best hope that local fishermen have to replace depleted cod stocks. But local fishermen fear the herring industry might be eroding that future by catching too many juvenile haddock that sometimes school with herring.
Herring is important because they are valuable food for predator species. Atlantic herring is considered to be abundant, but fetches a relatively low price because it is not typically eaten by New England diners. It's caught for bait in lobster and other fisheries, and exported as food to other countries.
Read the full story at Cape Cod Times