November 17, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council today discussed two actions related to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan.

• Amendment 8: The Council looked over the draft goals and agenda for its second Atlantic Herring Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) Workshop (see blue box). MSE incorporates more public input and technical analyses upfront before alternatives are selected. The approach is being used to establish an acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule for the Atlantic herring fishery under Amendment 8 that: (1) may explicitly account for herring’s role in the ecosystem; and (2) deals with biological and ecological requirements of the herring resource itself. The amendment also contains a set of still- evolving alternatives to address potential localized depletion and user conflicts in the herring fishery.
• Framework Adjustment 5: The Council received an overview of the range of alternatives under consideration to modify the Georges Bank haddock accountability measures (AMs) that apply to the herring midwater trawl fishery. The Herring Plan Development Team will conduct additional analyses on the alternatives, and the Council is scheduled to take final action during its January meeting

The reactive AM requires a shutdown of all green and red areas in the charts below to directed herring midwater trawl fishing – for the remainder of the groundfish fishing year – once the haddock sub-ACL is caught. Framework 5 proposes a proactive approach that would prevent midwater trawl fishing in Closed Areas I and II – either with or without a 15-nautical-mile buffer around the red areas – under three possible seasons: (a) a year-round proactive closure; (b) a May-October proactive closure; or (c) a June-August proactive closure.

The premise is that a seasonal proactive closure of Closed Areas I and II would help keep the midwater trawl fishery within its Georges Bank haddock sub-ACL and prevent a closure of the entire green/red area, which defines the reactive Georges Bank Haddock AM Area. In 2015, the reactive AM was triggered, and the whole AM area was closed to herring midwater trawling from Oct. 22, 2015 through April 30, 2016.