Saving Seafood

Atlantic Herring Fishery: Fishing Year Ends December 31

December 18, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries reminds participants in the Atlantic herring fishery that the 2020 fishing year ends on December 31.

If you submit a vessel trip report with a landing date of December 31 or earlier, your catch will count against herring harvest limits for 2020.

If you submit a vessel trip report with a landing date of January 1 or later, your catch will count against herring harvest limits for 2021.

Please note, if the date reported by a federal dealer for your landings differs from the landing date on your vessel trip report, we will use the landing date on your vessel trip report to count your catch against harvest limits for a particular herring fishing year.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Carrie Nordeen, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9272

Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

PETTER JOHANNESSEN: The blue whiting and herring fisheries didn’t have to lose their MSC certification. Here’s what should happen next.

December 15, 2020 — The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced in early December that it would suspend its certification of Atlanto-Scandic herring and blue whiting fisheries as of Dec. 30, affecting eight certificates across European fisheries. This follows the suspension of the MSC certificate on mackerel fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic in 2019.

This had been expected for quite some time and the action taken by all involved stakeholders, starting with the MSC certificate holders (i.e. the fishing industry), including other industry representatives, during the last years, was sadly not enough.

What does it mean, really?

Let us be clear: the MSC suspension does not reflect an issue related to illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing at an individual fishery level. No one has overfished their allocated quota.

Read the full opinion piece at IntraFish

At-sea monitoring coming to herring fishery in April

December 14, 2020 — The federal government plans to require herring fishing boats to participate in industry-funded monitoring starting in April.

At-sea monitoring programs allow the government to collect important data that helps manage fisheries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it intends to begin selecting vessels in the herring fishery for monitoring coverage on April 1.

NOAA said the plan could be altered by health mandates or travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. The agency said in a statement that some herring boats have the option of seeking an exempted permit to use electronic monitoring instead of at-sea monitoring.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Daily Times

Industry-Funded Monitoring Coverage in the Atlantic Herring Fishery will Begin in April 2021

December 3, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries intends to begin selecting vessels with Category A or B herring permits for industry-funded monitoring (IFM) coverage on April 1, 2021, unless ongoing health mandates and travel restrictions cause a further delay. Beginning IFM coverage at the start of the 2021 IFM year (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022) will provide us time to resume the onsite and field-based activities necessary to train observers, and develop applications to successfully implement this program. Also beginning April 1, 2021, midwater trawl vessel owners will have the option of purchasing additional observer coverage to satisfy the requirement of carrying an observer to access Groundfish Closed Areas.

In the meantime, vessels are still required to adhere to all Pre-Trip Notification System (PTNS) requirements for the herring fishery. For complete information on notification and reporting requirements, please see the Notification, Reporting, and Monitoring Requirements for the Atlantic Herring Fishery webpage.

Some herring vessels have the option of being issued an exempted fishing permit (EFP) to use electronic monitoring and portside sampling instead of at-sea monitoring coverage to satisfy IFM requirements in 2021. We will work with the herring fleet by the end of 2020 to determine who is interested in being issued an EFP.

There are currently four companies approved to provide IFM services to herring vessels. Additionally, the agency has contracted Saltwater, Inc. to supply electronic monitoring services for vessels issued an EFP. Outreach will continue through 2020 in support of the program to ensure that the industry understands its requirements.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Atlantic Herring Management Area 1B Sub-ACL Harvested

November 24, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective 00:01 hours on November 25 through December 31, 2020

Under the New England Fishery Management Council’s Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan, no person may fish for, possess, transfer, receive, land, or sell more than 2,000 lb of herring per trip or calendar day from Area 1B for the remainder of the fishing season, as of 00:01 hours on November 25, 2020.  We project that 92 percent of the Area 1B Atlantic herring catch limit will be harvested by November 25, requiring a closure of the directed fishery. At 00:01 hours on November 25, 2020, a 2,000-lb herring possession limit per trip or calendar day will become effective for Management Area 1B and will be in effect through December 31, 2020.

Additionally, federally permitted dealers may not purchase, possess, receive, sell, barter, trade or transfer more than 2,000 lb of herring per trip or calendar day from Area 1B.

This action is in effect through 24:00 hr local time, December 31, 2020, except for vessels carrying more than 2,000 lbs of herring from Area 1B that enter port before 00:01 local time on November 25, 2020.

Read the full release here

MAINE: Portland nears a plan to face changing climate, rising sea level

November 11, 2020 — It’s not just the rising temperatures that should have Mainers concerned, according to experts. Kathy Mills, a scientist with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, last week said there are major concerns for local wildlife and the economy that depends on it.

“What we’re looking at is trying to understand how species shift on the east coast,” said Mills, who specializes in ecosystem changes and how New England fisheries are impacted by climate change.

For Portland, she said, there’s “not great news” ahead in terms of the impacts climate change will have.

“Portland is dependent on lobstering and groundfish fisheries,” Mills said, “and for those species as weather warms, we expect to see declines.”

Groundfish, which includes species like cod and haddock, are expected to decline as a local economic staple, she said. Mills said this doesn’t mean the fish are necessarily in danger of dying out, but rather are being forced into deeper, colder waters, where local fishermen are likely not going to follow.

Likewise, she said GMRI expects the lobster industry to see up to a 30 percent decline in the coming years as waters continue to warm. Herring, another staple of the fishing economy, is also expected to enter a decline.

“These are not necessarily declines in the stock overall, but in the fishing footprint,” Mills said.

But while the traditional fishing staples may disappear, Mills said the warming waters may result in fish not typically seen in Maine coming up the coast from the south. For example, she said they expect to see more Atlantic mackerel, sea scallops, summer flounder, black sea bass, and squid now found in the mid-Atlantic region.

“So there is an opportunity for other commercially valuable species,” Mills said.

She said fishermen here are already seeing black sea bass and squid, and they are expected to become more abundant in the coming years.

“Another species I was surprised to see is the striped bass,” Mills said. “This is a really popular recreational species, so will that become more prominent for the needs on the waterfront?”

Part of GMRI’s role, she said, is to provide information about what species will be relevant to fisheries in the area, and what the needs of local waterfronts might be. For example, she said, perhaps Portland should brace for fewer lobster traps and counter that with more midwater trawl nets.

Read the full story at the Portland Phoenix

Herring Fishery to Slow Down for Rest of 2020

November 11, 2020 — The New England herring fishery is slowing down for the rest of the year because fishermen are approaching their quota for the fish.

Fishermen will be unable to fish for or possess more than 2,000 pounds of herring per trip in the inshore Gulf of Maine until Dec. 31, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has ruled. The rules went into effect on Wednesday.

Herring are the subject of a large fishery on the East Coast, but the industry has struggled in recent years due to a decline in population. Fishermen caught less than 25 million pounds of the fish last year after catching more than 96 million pounds during the previous year.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

NOAA Fisheries Announces Atlantic Herring Management Area 1A Sub-ACL Harvested

November 9, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective 00:01 hours on November 11 through December 31, 2020

Under the New England Fishery Management Council’s Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan, no person may, fish for, possess, transfer, receive, land, or sell more than 2,000 lb of herring per trip or per calendar day in or from Area 1A for the remainder of the fishing year, as of the projected date when 92 percent of the Herring Management Area 1A catch limit will be harvested.  At 00:01 hours on November 11, 2020, a 2,000-lb herring possession limit per trip or calendar day will become effective for Management Area 1A (Figure 1) and will be in effect through December 31, 2020.

This action also prohibits federally permitted dealers from purchasing, possessing, receiving, selling, bartering, trading, transferring, or attempting to carry out the above actions for more than 2,000 lb of herring per trip or calendar day from Management Area 1A.

This action is in effect through 24:00 hr local time, December 31, 2020, unless it is from a vessel that enters port before 00:01 local time on November 11, 2020.

Read the full release here

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Fishery Moves to 4 Landing Days Per Week Starting November 8 for Maine and November 9 for Massachusetts/New Hampshire; Next Days Out Call Set for November 13 at 9 AM

November 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts met October 30 via conference call to consider changes to days out measures for the 2020 Area 1A fishery for Season 2 (October through December) following the transfer of 1,000 metric tons (mt) from the Management Uncertain Buffer to the Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL).

The fishery will continue with two (2) consecutive landings days per week and will move to four (4) consecutive landings days per week starting November 8 in Maine and November 9 in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Landings days in Maine begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m.; landing days in New Hampshire and Massachusetts begin on Monday of each week at 12:01 a.m.

Preliminary estimates indicate approximately 1,300 mt of the Area 1A sub-ACL remains available to harvest, which accounts for the 1,000 mt transfer from the Management Uncertain Buffer and the fact that Area 1A fishery closes once 92% of the sub-ACL is projected to be harvested.

The Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts will reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort on:

  • Friday, November 13, at 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
  • You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone at the following link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/938637629. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. The meeting will be using the computer audio (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (872) 240-3212 and enter access code 938-637-629 when prompted. The webinar will start at 8:45 a.m., 15 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.

For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Director, at 703.842.0740 or tkerns@asmfc.org.

A copy of the announcement can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/M20_117ChangesToHerringDaysOutMeasuresSeason2_Oct2020(1).pdf

Accepting Applications for Industry-Funded Monitoring (IFM) Providers for Herring Vessels in IFM Year 2021

October 30, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

If you would like to provide IFM services (observing, at-sea monitoring, and/or portside sampling) to Atlantic herring vessels in IFM year 2021 (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022), you must submit an application to be an approved provider by December 1, 2020. Companies already approved to provide IFM services in IFM years 2020 and 2021 do not need to apply again in order to provide services in 2021.

Refer to the bulletin for more information on what to include in an application.

Approvals will cover IFM year 2021. If we receive any applications under this announcement, we will notify service providers of our preliminary determination as soon as we have completed our reviews. Final decisions will be published in the Federal Register.

Read the full release here