January 29, 2015 — Regional fishing industry regulators have rejected a plan to list river herring and shad as part of the Atlantic Herring fishery.
The measure would have put the two species under a federal management plan that would have included greater conservation. But the New England Fishery Management Council concluded there was not enough evidence to support the move.
Environmental advocates want more protection for river herring and shad – anadromous fish that spend most of their lives at sea but return to freshwater to spawn in the spring.
In 2013, NOAA fisheries rejected a move to add river herring – which consists of alewives and blueback herring – onto the list of species covered by the Endangered Species Act.
The latest proposal is for the two species to be included in the Atlantic Herring fishery – something which supporters say would help safeguard the fish by putting them under a federal management plan.
Read the full story at Maine Public Broadcast Network