Saving Seafood

Directed herring fishery closed for rest of the year, incidental catch still allowed 

October 19, 2021 — The directed herring fishery has been closed for the rest of the year for the inshore Gulf of Maine, according to officials.   

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board voted late last month to set the number of landing days at zero for the second half of the herring season, meaning a vessel can’t go out fishing directly for herring.   

Fishermen are allowed to fish for other species and may land up to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip as incidental catch only, said Emilie Franke, the fishery management plan coordinator at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.   

Herring is a prized bait fish for lobstermen in Maine, though many have resorted to other species, such as  pogies,  as  herring numbers have  declined  and quotas have tightened. Herring is considered overfished, but overfishing  by fishermen  is  not  currently happening, leaving officials searching for an answer on how to help the species  rebound. 

The New England Fishery Management Council met late last month to talk about how to move forward with the conservation of the species across New England. The council decided to go forward with an acceptable biological catch strategy that allows for sustainable harvest of the fish while accounting for the species role as a forage species  and baitfish. The rule works by allowing fishing mortality rate to fluctuate with the highs and lows of the species’ biomass, allowing flexibility depending on how the fish is doing. It also adds accountability measures.   

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

 

Atlantic Herring: NEFMC Approves Stock Rebuilding Plan and Adjustments to Accountability Measures in Framework 9

October 7, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its September 28-30, 2021 webinar meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council selected preferred alternatives for Framework Adjustment 9 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and then voted to submit the framework to NOAA Fisheries for review and implementation.

The framework contains two components:

• A stock rebuilding plan for Atlantic herring; and
• Adjustments to accountability measures that are triggered when overages to catch limits occur in individual herring management areas.

Stock Rebuilding Plan: The Council received a letter from NOAA Fisheries on October 13, 2020 saying the agency “formally determined that the Atlantic herring stock is overfished based on the best scientific information available.”

The Council was given two years from the date of the letter to develop a rebuilding plan that could be implemented by NOAA Fisheries within that timeframe, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The Council’s Herring Committee initially developed three rebuilding alternatives for this action, and the Scientific and Statistical Committee reviewed the technical basis of the projections that were prepared to evaluate the alternatives. In mid-September, the Herring Committee added another alternative, known as 3A, for the Council to consider. The options presented to the full Council are summed up in the Framework 9 Decision Document.

Aside from “no action,” which was not a viable alternative given the letter from NOAA Fisheries, the Council had two distinct paths to choose from: (a) use the acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule that was developed under Amendment 8 to guide the rebuilding program; or (b) go with a constant fishing mortality rate target that would remain fixed – regardless of increases or decreases in biomass – for seven or five years depending on which alternative was selected.

Read the full release from the New England Fishery Management Council

 

 

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Days Out Meeting on September 24

September 10, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Members of the Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board from the states of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will meet via webinar on September 24, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., to discuss Season 2 (October 1 – December 31) days out measures for the 2021 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:

Atlantic Herring Days Out Meeting

September 24, 2021

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone at the following link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/517895485. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. For audio, the meeting will be using the computer voice over internet (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (872) 240-3412 and enter access code   517-895-485 when prompted. The webinar will start at 9:30 a.m., 30 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.

The 2021 Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL) is 1,453 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for the carryover from 2019, the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside, and the 8% buffer (Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL). There is no research-set-aside for 2021 because the participants in the RSA program will not continue their RSA project in 2021.

The Board established the following seasonal allocations for the 2021 Area 1A sub-ACL: 72.8% available from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% available from October 1 – December 31.

Please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0716 or efranke@asmfc.org for more information; or visit http://www.asmfc.org/calendar/9/2021/Atlantic-Herring-Area-1A-Days-Out-Meeting-on-September-24/1797.

The meeting announcement can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerringSep2021DaysOutMeetingNotice.pdf

Atlantic Herring Eastern Maine Spawning Closure in Effect Starting August 28, 2021 through October 9, 2021

August 23, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic herring Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery regulations include seasonal spawning closures for portions of state and federal waters in Eastern Maine, Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 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.

There are currently no samples from the Eastern Maine spawning area to determine spawning condition. Therefore, per Addendum II default closure dates, the Eastern Maine spawning area will be closed starting at 12:01 a.m. on August 28, 2021 extending through 11:59 p.m. on October 9, 2021. The Eastern Maine spawning area includes all waters bounded by the following coordinates:

Maine coast     68° 20’ W
43° 48’ N          68° 20’ W
44° 25’ N         67° 03’ W
North along the US/Canada border

Vessels in the directed Atlantic herring fishery cannot take, land or possess Atlantic herring caught within the Eastern Maine spawning area during this time. The incidental bycatch allowance of up to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip per day applies to vessels in non-directed fisheries that are fishing within the Eastern Maine spawning area. In addition, all vessels traveling through the Eastern Maine spawning area must have all seine and mid-water trawl gear stowed.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or efranke@asmfc.org.

The closure announcement can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/M21-98AtlHerring_EM_SpawningClosure_Aug2021.pdf

Maine herring area 1A shuts for two months

August 11, 2021 — With 92 percent of its seasonal allocation projected to have been landed, the inshore Gulf of Maine herring area 1A officially closed at midnight Aug. 3, with zero landing days until Sept. 30, according to Maine state officials and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

As prescribed in Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring, vessels participating in other fisheries may not possess more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip per day harvested from Area 1A.

In addition, all vessels traveling through Area 1A must have all seine and mid-water trawl gear stowed.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Herring fishing in Gulf of Maine to shut down for about 2 months

August 9, 2021 — Commercial fishing for herring will all but shut down in the inshore Gulf of Maine for about two months to help conserve the species.

Atlantic herring are an important bait fish that are harvested extensively off New England. The fishery has been limited by new restrictions in recent years because of concerns about the health of the fish’s population.

Interstate regulators said herring fishing will essentially be shut down in inshore areas off Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire until Sept. 30. They said that’s because fishermen are approaching their limits for the quota of the fish.

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

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Fishery Moves to Zero Landing Days for Season 1 on August 3, 2021

August 2, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) Atlantic herring fishery is projected to have harvested 92% of the Season 1 (June 1 – September 30) allocation by August 3, 2021. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, August 3, 2021, the Area 1A fishery will move to zero landing days through September 30, 2021, as specified in Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring.

Vessels participating in other fisheries may not possess more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip per day harvested from Area 1A. In addition, all vessels traveling through Area 1A must have all seine and mid-water trawl gear stowed.

Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are expected to reconvene in September via conference call to set effort controls for the 2021 Area 1A fishery for Season 2 (October 1 – December 31). An announcement will be issued once the meeting is scheduled.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 703.842.0740 or efranke@asmfc.org.

The announcement can be found athttp://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerringSeason1ZeroLandings_08_2021.pdf

Industry-Funded Monitoring Coverage in the Atlantic Herring Fishery Will Begin on July 1, 2021

May 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Beginning on July 1, 2021, NOAA Fisheries will begin selecting vessels with Category A or B herring permits fishing on declared herring trips for industry-funded monitoring (IFM) coverage. Vessels issued a Category A or B Atlantic herring permit will be required to secure and pay for at-sea monitoring coverage on trips that are selected for IFM coverage.

These vessels must log into their Pre-Trip Notification System (PTNS) web account to review the list of approved providers in PTNS and rank them in order of preference. Vessels should rank their providers in PTNS by June 20, 2021 to avoid any delays in the IFM assignment process.

For more information, go to our IFM website, which includes information on reporting requirements, approved IFM providers, the midwater trawl electronic monitoring exempted fishing permit, and other details.

Questions?

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

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103

MAINE: Years of tight herring quotas have lobstermen using new baits

May 10, 2021 — For decades, lobstermen have filled their bait bags with Atlantic herring, the small fish that plays a tremendous role in the food chain and is the preferred bait of Maine’s biggest fishery.   

“We’ve trained and raised our lobsters on it,” said James Hanscom, a Bar Harbor-based lobstermen who also sells bait. “It’s definitely the bait of choice.”  

But as quotas for Atlantic herring have tightened over the years, lobstermen and bait dealers have been forced to look elsewhere for other baits to lure in lobsters.  

Over the course of the last few years, the quotas on herring have been cut by 88 percent and the quota will drop again next year as the herring stock has been deemed overfished.   

“The demand is high, but the supply just isn’t there,” said Brittany Willis, a partner and general manager of JBR Maine, a wholesale bait and lobster company with locations in Gouldsboro and Winter Harbor.  

The problem is, while it’s considered overfished, Atlantic herring isn’t currently being overfished, leaving officials scratching their heads on what’s preventing the species from thriving.   

For the past seven or eight years, there’s been little to no “recruitment,” or new baby herring, in the fishery, said Emily Gilbert, who supervises the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s herring team.   

Without young herring being added to the mix, the stock hasn’t been able to recover.  

Herring are found on the Atlantic coast from Canada to Virginia. Catch in the U.S. peaked in 1986 around 1.05 billion pounds. By the 2000s, landings held stable at about 250 million pounds but since dropped to 39 million pounds in 2019.   

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

Atlantic Herring Area 1A 2021 Effort Controls

April 23, 2021 — 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 set the effort control measures for the 2021 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery for June 1 – September 30.

The Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) is 1,453 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for the carryover from 2019, the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside, and the fact that Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL. In October 2020, the Board established the following seasonal allocations for the 2021 Area 1A sub-ACL: 72.8% available for season 1 (June 1 – September 30) and 27.2% available for season 2 (October 1 – December 31).

Days Out of the Fishery

  • Landing days will be set at zero from June 1 until the start of the fishery on June 13 at 6:00 p.m.
  • Vessels with an Atlantic herring Limited Access Category A permit that have declared into the Area 1A fishery may land herring five (5) consecutive days a week. One landing per 24 hour period. Vessels are prohibited from landing or possessing herring caught from Area 1A during a day out of the fishery.
  • Landing days begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m. starting June 13.

Weekly Landing Limit

  • Vessels with an Atlantic herring Category A permit may harvest up to 240,000 lbs. (6 trucks) per harvester vessel, per week starting June 13.

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.

  • A harvester vessel may transfer herring at-sea to another harvester vessel.
  • A harvester vessel may not make any at-sea transfers to a carrier vessel.
  • Carrier vessels may not receive at-sea transfers from a harvester vessel.

Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A until June 13, 2021 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 is projected to be reached.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

The announcement can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerring2021Area1A_DaysOutMeasures_Aprl2021.pdf