Atlantic herring Archives - Page 22 of 28

Drop in herring a mystery in Maine as bait price booms

March 13, 2017 — ROCKLAND, Maine — Maine’s booming lobster industry has a big problem involving a little fish.

The state’s iconic lobster fishery is healthy, having set records for volume and value in 2016. But the fishery for herring, a small schooling fish that lobsters love to eat, is another story.

Herring is suddenly the second-most valuable fishery in the state, and Maine’s most valuable species of fish, bringing in $19 million at the docks in 2016. It’s also the most popular bait used in lobster traps, and the climb in value corresponds with demand from the hungry lobster fishery and a drop in catch of herring off of New England.

Scientists and fishermen are trying to figure out why Maine’s Atlantic herring catch — the largest in the nation — has fallen from 103.5 million pounds in 2014 to 77.2 million last year. The per-pound price of the fish at the dock has gone up 56 percent since 2014, and that price is eventually borne by people who buy lobsters.

“The whole dynamic of the fishery has changed,” said Jeff Kaelin, who works in government relations for Lund’s Fisheries, which lands herring in Maine.

Kaelin, and others who work in and study the fishery, thinks climate and the way the government manages herring may have played a role in the decline of catch. Atlantic herring are managed via a quota system, and regulators have slashed the quota by more than 40 percent since the early 2000s.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Atlantic Herring MSE Peer Review, March 13-15, 2017, Live Streaming

March 8, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is conducting a peer review of the Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) that is being used to help identify the range of possible Atlantic herring acceptable biological catch control rules. The peer review will be conducted Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, March 13-15, 2017. The public is invited to listen-in via webinar or telephone. Here are the details.

MEETING LOCATION: Embassy Suites, Boston Logan Airport, 207 Porter Street. Hotel information is available at Embassy Suites.

START TIME: 9:00 a.m. each day.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION: Online access to the meeting will be available at:

https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/473795069

There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION: To listen by telephone, dial +1 (312) 757-3121.

The access code is 473-795-068.

Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply. Also, please be sure to mute your telephone or computer microphone upon joining the meeting so there will be no interference.

AGENDA: A panel of experts has been invited to evaluate the methods, data, and results of the MSE and determine whether the MSE is sufficient for the Council to use in identifying and analyzing a range of ABC control rule alternatives for Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. As part of this process, Atlantic herring, predator, and economic models were developed to evaluate control rules and performance metrics.

MATERIALS: Meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at MSE documents.

QUESTIONS: Call Deirdre Boelke at (978) 465-0492 ext. 105 or email her at dboelke@nefmc.org.

Plan Aimed at Preventing Lobster Bait Shortage Up For Debate

February 21, 2017 — Fishing regulators say public hearings will take place on a plan to make the Atlantic herring fishery run more smoothly.

Herring are a key fish on the East Coast because they are important bait for lucrative species, especially lobster. Last year’s lobster season was hindered for several weeks by a herring shortage.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is working on a plan to more evenly distribute the herring quota during the fishing year. Public hearings are planned in several states that are home to herring fisheries.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at CapeCod.com

States Schedule Hearings on Atlantic Herring Draft Addendum I

February 8, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New Jersey have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum I to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring. Draft Addendum I includes management options to ensure the seasonal quota is distributed throughout Trimester 2, are applied consistently by the states adjacent to Area 1A, and address excessive capacity. The details of the scheduled hearings follow.

Maine Department of Marine Resources

April 3, 2017; 6-8 PM

Lincoln County Communications Conference Room

34 Bath Road

Wiscasset, Maine

Contact: Terry Stockwell at 207.624.6553

New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

April 4, 2017; 7 PM

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

April 5, 2017; 6 PM

DMF Annisquam River Station

30 Emerson Avenue

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Contact: David Pierce at 617.626.1532

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

March 27, 2017; 6 PM

Fisheries Cooperative Center, Rutgers University

1636 Delaware Avenue

Cape May, New Jersey

Contact: Tom Baum at 609.748.2020

The Draft Addendum was initiated in response to the accelerated rate of Area 1A Trimester 2 (June through September) landings in recent years and the increasingly dynamic nature of days out measures to control effort that have varied across states. The Section utilizes days out of the fishery to slow the rate of Area 1A catch by restricting the number of available landing days. Landing reports indicate vessels are harvesting herring on days out of the fishery and transferring fish at-sea to carrier or larger vessels until landing is permitted. The practice of fishing outside of landing days has limited the effectiveness of the days out program in controlling the rate of harvest.

The Draft Addendum presents six management options to improve the performance of the Area 1A fishery, ranging from restricting a vessel from landing fish caught on days out of the fishery to limiting transfers at sea as well as the amount a vessel can land per week. The document also seeks input on a tiered weekly landing limit for future management consideration.

Fishermen and interested stakeholders are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum can be obtained athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/AtlHerringDraftAddendumI_PublicComment_Feb2017.pdf or via the Commission’s website, www.asmfc.org under Public Input. Public comment will be accepted until 5 PM (EST) on April 7, 2017 and should be forwarded to Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at aharp@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum I).

The Section will review submitted public comment and consider final approval of Addendum I at the Commission’s Spring Meeting in May 2017. For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

The press release is also available athttp://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/589b91f5pr08AtlanticHerringAddendum_Hearings.pdf.

Fishing managers seek to avoid another herring shortage

February 1, 2017 — Interstate fishing regulators are considering new rules to help the herring fishery run more smoothly in the future.

The Atlantic herring is an important bait fish that’s caught off of several East Coast states, especially Massachusetts and Maine. The fishery suffered from supply issues last summer, which caused a bait shortage in the lobster fishery.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is looking at new ways to manage the fishery. Options include limiting the amount of herring a vessel can land per week.

Read the full story at the New Jersey Herald

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Approves Draft Addendum I for Public Comment

February 1, 2017 — Alexandria, VA — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Section approved Draft Addendum I to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring for public comment. Draft Addendum I includes management options to ensure the seasonal quota is distributed throughout Trimester 2, are applied consistently by the states adjacent to Area 1A, and address excessive capacity.

The Draft Addendum was initiated in response to the accelerated rate of Area 1A Trimester 2 (June through September) landings in recent years and the increasingly dynamic nature of days out measures to control effort that have varied across states. The Section utilizes days out of the fishery to slow the rate of Area 1A catch by restricting the number of available landing days. Landing reports indicate vessels are harvesting herring on days out of the fishery and transferring fish at‐sea to carrier or larger vessels until landing is permitted. The practice of fishing outside of landing days has limited the effectiveness of the days out program in controlling the rate of harvest.

The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org (under Public Input) by February 10, 2017. It is anticipated Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New Jersey will be conducting public hearings in March/April. The details of those hearings will be released in a subsequent press release. The Section will review submitted public comment and consider final approval of Addendum I at the Commission’s Spring Meeting in May 2017.

For more information, please contact Ashton Harp, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at aharp@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Stakeholder Input at Core of Atlantic Herring Amendment 8; Council Votes for “No Action” on Framework Adjustment 5

January 25, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council yesterday reviewed results from its second Atlantic Herring Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) Workshop, which was held in early December.

After considering extensive input from workshop attendees and, subsequently, the Herring Plan Development Team (PDT), Herring Advisory Panel (AP), and Herring Committee, the Council whittled down the list of potential acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules to be analyzed for further deliberation.

The Council is developing a new ABC control rule as part of Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. A control rule is a method for establishing an annual catch limit or target fishing level based on scientific advice, and the Council is using the MSE process to incorporate ground-level stakeholder input and early-stage technical analyses before selecting a range of alternatives to send to public hearing later this fall.

Workshop attendees were asked to provide input on potential tradeoffs in the fishery, some of which involved choosing desired levels of herring yield and harvest while accounting for factors such as predator needs and uncertainty related to issues such as climate change.

Given the collective feedback, the Council took four types of control rules off the table: constant catch; conditional constant catch; biomass-based for five years; and biomass based for three years with restrictions.

This move allows the PDT to focus on analyzing annual and three-year-based biomass control rules, which were favored by a majority of workshop attendees.

In March, an independent peer review panel will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the MSE methods and data used to develop Atlantic herring ABC control rules and comment on any constraints that may hinder use of the MSE model and outcomes in preparing management alternatives.

Amendment 8 also contains a set of alternatives to address potential localized depletion and user conflicts. The Herring Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Sheraton Harborside in Portsmouth, NH to continue its work on refining these alternatives.

Framework Adjustment (FW) 5: The Council has been working on a range of alternatives to potentially modify the Georges Bank haddock accountability measures (AMs) that apply to the herring midwater trawl fishery. However, after reviewing the alternatives and receiving advice from the Herring AP and Committee, the Council voted to select “no action,” which means existing regulations will continue to govern AMs for the herring midwater trawl fishery.

The Council had considered using “proactive” closures to prevent herring vessels from fishing in areas where haddock are prevalent at certain times of the year. Ultimately, the Council concluded that haddock distribution is too unpredictable to select fixed closures, and offshore closures have the potential of forcing the herring fleet closer to shore.

Framework 5 included another option to seasonally split the haddock catch cap for herring midwater trawlers with 80% of the allocation made available on May 1 and 20% on Nov. 1. However, monitoring concerns led the Council to reject this alternative as well. Technical analyses indicated that both the seasonal quota split and proactive seasonal closures could produce negative, unintended consequences, which factored heavily into the Council’s final decision.

The Council’s November vote to increase the herring midwater trawl fishery’s Georges Bank haddock sub-annual catch limit from 1% to 1.5% through FW 56 to the groundfish plan also played a role in the decision. The higher haddock sub-ACL, if approved, will reduce the risk of triggering the herring AMs, which, in turn, will provide the midwater trawl fleet with more opportunity to maximize revenue from herring landings.

The AMs that remain in place are:

Inseason closures when the haddock bycatch cap is reached (see map); and
A pound-for-pound payback for any overages that do occur.

Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank Haddock Accountability Measure Areas that apply to Atlantic herring midwater trawl vessels when haddock bycatch caps are reached.

ASMFC: The Council also agreed to send a letter to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requesting that a New England Council representative be allowed to serve on the Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section in a non-voting capacity.

Read the release at the New England Fishery Management Council

Herring management plan to be considered

December 6th, 2016 — If you were planning to attend the New England Fishery Management Council’s herring workshop this week in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and have not registered, you might want to save yourself the trip.

The two-day workshop, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday to provide continued public input into the establishment of a “long-term control rule for specifying Acceptable Biological Catch for the Atlantic herring fishery,” is fully booked at the Portsmouth venue where the event is taking place.

To accommodate the overflow interest in the herring workshop, the NEFMC will make the proceedings available live to the public on a free online webinar and a corresponding dial-in option that requires an access code.

The website for the webinar and the phone number and access code for the dial-in option are available on the NEFMC website.

The two-day workshop at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth continues the process begun in January, when the NEFMC voted to conduct a management strategy evaluation “to support the development of alternatives regarding the ABC control rule.”

The council currently is working to develop Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Times

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section Initiates Addendum to Improve Performance of Area 1A Fishery

October 27, 2016 — The following was released by the ASMFC:

Bar Harbor, ME – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Section initiated Addendum I to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring to improve the performance of the Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) Atlantic herring fishery. The purpose of the addendum is to develop additional management alternatives for the days out program. It is in response to the accelerated pace of Area 1A Trimester 2 (June through September) landings in recent years and the increasingly dynamic nature of days out measures to control Trimester 2 effort that have varied across states.

The Section utilizes days out of the fishery to slow the rate of Area 1A catch so the seasonal quota can be distributed throughout each trimester. Currently, the days out program is specific to landing day restrictions. The increase in the number of larger carrier vessels in the area has rendered days out less effective in controlling effort because vessels can transfer catch to large carrier vessels at-sea, allowing harvesters additional days of fishing beyond the days that are open to landings.

In 2016, Maine’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) implemented a series of emergency rules that were more restrictive than Commission measures in an attempt to extend the Trimester 2 quota into September. These rules included a weekly landing limit, restricted landing and fishing days, as well as at sea transfer restrictions. DMR’s measures only applied to vessels landing in Maine. New Hampshire and Massachusetts implemented one of these management measures – three consecutive landing days. The Draft Addendum will explore these measures and potentially others that could be uniformly applied by the Area 1A of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

For more information on Area 1A fishery performance in the 2015 and 2016 fishing year that brought about the need for alternative management measures refer to a white paper, which is available on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/58124582AtlHerringArea1AFisheryPerformance_2015_2016.pdf.

Herring fishing to be closed off New England in October

September 28, 2016 — YORK, Maine — Herring fishing off of part of the New England coast will be shut down for most of October.

The closure begins on Sunday and lasts until Oct. 29. It is the product of a spawning forecasting method that interstate regulators approved earlier this year.

Regulators say an analysis of samples necessitates a closure of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire spawning area for most of October. The area stretches from the north side of Cape Cod to southern Maine.

Vessels will not be allowed to possess Atlantic herring caught in the area during the closure.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Greenwich Time