October 22, 2026 — In the North Sea, commercial pelagic trawlers and seals both forage for some of the same fish stocks, creating a dynamic that can pose operational, regulatory, and conservation challenges.
To mitigate the issue, fishing industry groups have teamed up with fishing gear firms to develop and adapt excluder devices, aiming to reduce seal captures in the region’s sandeel and herring fisheries, as well as bycatch of other species.
October 15, 2026 — Northeast Atlantic coastal nations have once again agreed to abide by International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) scientific advice on the blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring quotas but have yet to reach a quota-sharing agreement.
ICES released its advice on multiple Northeast Atlantic pelagic species in early October, bumping up the blue whiting advice for 2027 to 1,064,191 metric tons (MT), up from the 851,344 MT it advised in 2026; herring was increased to 588,004 MT, up 10 percent over its advice for the prior year. Coastal states including Norway, the E.U., the U.K., the Faroe Islands, and Iceland then met in London and agreed that those numbers should be the unilateral quota for 2027.
September 23, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council met from September 15-17, 2026, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The following is a summary of actions taken, updates, and other business affecting multiple Fishery Management Plans. Meeting materials, motions, and the meeting audio recordings will be available on the September 2026 meeting page.
COUNCIL ELECTS LEADERSHIP; WELCOMES NEWEST MEMBER
The Council opened its September 2026 meeting with the annual election of officers. The Council reelected Daniel Salerno (New Hampshire) as Chair and Melanie Griffin (Massachusetts) as Vice Chair. The Council filled the three remaining Executive Committee seats by electing Megan Ware (Maine), Michael Pierdinock (Massachusetts), and Jackie Odell (Massachusetts) from a slate of five candidates.
The Council also welcomed its newest voting member, Kirby Aarsheim (Massachusetts), who took the Oath of Office and committed to a three-year term.A partner at Farrell Smith O’Connell Aarsheim Aprans LLP, Aarsheim brings a lifetime of commercial fishing experience and expertise in fisheries management. She has served on the Council’s Sea Scallop and Enforcement Advisory Panels and remains active in regional maritime policy, including leadership roles with the American Bar Association’s Admiralty & Maritime Law Committee and the Propeller Club Port of Boston. She is also a commercial scallop vessel owner in New Bedford.Returning members Daniel Salerno, Terry Alexander (Maine) and Jackie Odell (Massachusetts) were also sworn in for new three-year terms. Council member bios are available here.
HERRING SPECIFICATIONS APPROVED; LEVELS REMAIN LOW
The Council took final action to set Atlantic herring specifications for fishing years 2027–2031. The Council voted to set annual catch limits (ACL) at 6,926 metric tons, a 24% decrease from the 2026 level of 9,134 mt, and at a constant level for each year (2027-2031). The Council recognized the potential for continued negative economic impacts on the fishing industry. The decision factored in the results of the 2026 stock assessment and peer review, the Council’s Risk Policy, recommendations from the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and the Herring Committee, with input from the Advisory Panel and Plan Development Team. The Council also discussed a separate action that would modify River Herring and Shad Management through an amendment as part of a multi-year priority. The current river herring and shad catch caps will remain at status quo levels while this work continues.
September 21, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
During its September 2026 Council Meeting the New England Fishery Management Council addressed multiple management priorities that were identified by NOAA in a July 2, 2026 letter regarding Executive Order 14276, “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness”. Updates and Council next steps on each item are outlined below. The Council will send an official response to NOAA by September 30, 2026.
IMPLEMENT ROTATIONAL ACCESS FOR THE NORTHERN EDGE SCALLOP FISHERY
The Council committed to considering scallop fishery access to the Northern Edge during the 2027 priority setting process at the December 2026 meeting. NOAA had requested the Council establish a controlled, rotational limited-access scallop fishery within the Northern Edge Habitat Areas of Particular Concern. This will allow time to evaluate the request alongside all potential 2027 priorities. The Council considered four potential management options to open the area to scalloping including a holistic habitat management review; a dedicated habitat action; a scallop action that builds on previous analyses and alternatives; or not including this work as 2027 priorities which could lead to a Secretarial Action. The Northern Edge is currently designated a Habitat Management Area, which closes it to dragging gear to minimize impacts on essential fish habitat for Atlantic cod, American lobster, Atlantic herring, among other species.
IMPLEMENT SCALLOP PERMIT STACKING
NOAA tasked the Council with pursuing an action on scallop permit stacking but due to capacity constraints, the Council will not include this issue as a 2027 priority, deferring to NOAA and a potential Secretarial Action. While the Council does not have a position on stacking permits, it last took up the issue of consolidation at the September 2022 meeting when it opted not to develop an action to allow leasing in the Limited Access component of the fishery following a scoping process. At the time, the Council cited concerns about job losses and other negative economic impacts on waterfront communities as reasons for not developing an action. The July 2026 NOAA letter also cited these associated risks of stacking including “foreign ownership, job reductions, and erosion of our critical working waterfronts.” Proponents of stacking cite the economic relief of reduced operational costs, reduced congestion in ports and while fishing, and the ability to fish two allocations on their safest and best vessel.
September 18, 2026 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
The Atlantic herring Area 1A fishery regulations include seasonal spawning closures for portions of state and federal waters in Eastern Maine, Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board approved a forecasting method that relies upon at least three samples, each containing at least 25 female herring in gonadal stages III-V, to trigger a spawning closure. However, if sufficient samples are not available then closures will begin on predetermined dates.
September 2, 2026 — Atlantic Herring Management Board members from the states of Maine, New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will meet via webinar on September 21, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., to discuss Season 2 (October 1 – December 31) days out measures for the 2026 Area 1A fishery (inshore Gulf of Maine). Days out measures include consecutive landings days for Season 2. The webinar and call information is included below:
July 28, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries recently held what it is describing as its first-ever international cooperative research knowledge exchange with Scotland.
NOAA hosted 16 members of the Scottish Fishermen’s Association in a three-day event which involved tours of multiple ports, fishing vessels, and seafood processing facilities. The goal of the exchange was to share fisheries knowledge between the two organizations, which share management of multiple fisheries species in the Atlanic including Atlantic cod, Atlantic pollock, haddock, Atlantic mackerel, and Atlantic herring.
June 21, 2026 — A delegation of commercial fishing leaders from Scotland toured ports across the Northeast last month to study how cooperative research between fishermen and scientists is shaping fisheries management, with hopes of applying similar approaches as Scotland revises its own fisheries policies.
According to NOAA Fisheries, 16 members of the Scottish Fishermen’s Organisation participated in the agency’s first international cooperative research knowledge exchange, visiting four ports over three days. The group toured 12 commercial fishing vessels, six seafood processing facilities and dealers, a net manufacturing company in Point Judith, R.I., and the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.
The delegation focused on fisheries shared by the United States and Scotland, including Atlantic cod, haddock, Atlantic pollock, Atlantic mackerel, Atlantic herring, dogfish, and shortfin and longfin squid.
July 17, 2026 — 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 via webinar on July 17 to discuss the start date for the 2026 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery. The Board members previously set the start date for July 19 at 6:00 p.m. as part of days out measures discussed in April 2026 (press release here). The additional meeting was scheduled after some industry members reported a significant increase in bait from the menhaden fishery and imported bait from the Canadian weir fishery on the market. As a result, there are some concerns about the possibility of a surplus of bait at the dock, lack of storage capacity for herring, a crash of the bait market, and general waste if the fishery were to open on July 19. However, not all members of industry expressed those concerns and noted that there are markets for bait. In addition, those industry members expressed that changing the start date at the last minute would cause hardships because crews were already lined up and vessels are prepared to begin fishing on July 19.
Given the lack of consensus among industry and only two days until the original start date, the Board maintained the July 19 start date with landing days starting at 6:00 p.m. this Sunday, July 19.
The effort control measures set in April 2026 are unchanged.
Days Out of the Fishery
Weekly Landing Limit
At-Sea Transfer and Carrier Restrictions
The following applies to harvester vessels with an Atlantic herring Category A permit and carrier vessels landing herring caught in Area 1A to a Maine, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts port.
Harvesters are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A until July 19, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. Landings will be closely monitored and the fishery will be adjusted to zero landing days when the Season 1 quota of 1,748 metric tons is projected to be reached.
For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfoc.org or 703.842.0740.
The press release can also be found at https://asmfc.org/news/press-releases/atlantic-herring-area-1a-start-date-remains-july-19-2026-at-600-p-m/
June 29, 2026 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council met from June 23–25, 2026, in Mystic, Connecticut. The following is a summary of actions taken and issues considered affecting several Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). Meeting materials, motions, and the meeting audio recordings are available on the Council’s June 2026 meeting page.
HERRING INDUSTRY-FUNDED MONITORING TO BE REVISITED
The Council decided to consider rescinding the Atlantic herring Industry Funded Monitoring (IFM) program as a possible 2027 priority, to be further discussed at its December 2026 meeting. The discussion was sparked by a letter from NOAA requesting the Council rescind the Herring IFM program in response to Executive Order 14276 and ongoing litigation.
Multiple Council members spoke about the importance of completing current Herring priorities as planned. The Council and NOAA partners noted that other existing IFM programs for scallops and groundfish would not be affected. The Council plans to respond to NOAA in a letter following the June meeting.
More information can be found here.
HERRING SPECIFICATIONS PRIORITIZED; SEPARATED FROM OTHER MANAGEMENT MEASURES
The Council voted unanimously to separate Atlantic herring specifications for fishing years (FY) 2027–2031 into a standalone action distinct from ongoing work to modify river herring and shad (RHS) management measures. The Council plans to take final action on the specifications at its September 2026 meeting.
In a separate action, the Council directed the Plan Development Team (PDT) to continue working on:
with final action targeted for April 2027.
The full herring report can be found here.