The numbers were also messed up when some fishermen violated a “gentlemen’s agreement” and set their nets prior to landing days.

Fishing effort is controlled under a ‘days out’ measure. If regulators project an area’s catches will be harvested early, states can implement days out of the fishery to control effort. Fishermen are prohibited from landing herring during a day out, but may still catch them. Days out were designed to prolong the total allowable catch (TAC), or quota, in an area in order to ensure a steady supply of herring. They were also expected to shift fishing pressure from an overutilized area to an underutilized one.

But problems showed up in 2007 and 2008. The Area 1A TAC was reduced by 25 percent, which greatly increased the competition for these fish. In addition, new federal regulations for the 2007 fishing season prohibited mid-water trawlers from fishing in Area 1A from June 1 – Sept. 30.

In 2008, several mid-water trawlers switched over to purse seining for a number of reasons, including good weather and a large concentration of fish inshore. Several mid-water trawlers operate as carrier vessels from January 1 – Sept. 30 until they are allowed to catch herring on Oct. 1. As a result, catch rates for the 2008 fishing season in Area 1A were much larger than the historic average and despite significant days out effort controls, there was not a steady supply of herring throughout the entire fishing season.

Additionally, an increase in the number of carrier vessels have rendered days out less effective in controlling effort than they were designed to do. Purse seine fishermen may still legally fish for herring during days that are closed to landing by transporting their catch to large carrier vessels, some of which carry refrigeration systems that allow fishermen additional fishing days beyond the days open for landings.

“I’m not proud of what we did last year,” said Terry Stockwell of the Department of Marine Resources, and a Maine representative on the ASMFC.

ASMFC is looking at ways to refine the fishing schedule to insure a steady supply of herring throughout the year. Maine in particular is looking for ways to take its fair share, before the larger Massachusetts boats sweep up the fish.

Toward that end, ASMFC is considering parceling up the annual quota into bimonthly or seasonal portions, while still using days out to control the catch rate within each quota period.

Stockwell said that, as a constituency especially dependent on herring, it is important for lobstermen to voice their views.

“We really need the lobstermen to help us work through the issues here,” said Stockwell.

Jim Dow, Maine Lobstermen’s Association board member, said the MLA plans to attend upcoming ASMFC meetings.

Last year, the quota and no-fishing days system worked well to slow down the catch rate and leave a significant percentage of the quota available for fall fishing.

But in September, Maine fishermen had a particularly difficult time. Only four landings days were assigned for the month. Hurricanes that coincided with two of those days made it impossible to fish. When fishermen headed out on the other two days, they found themselves either catching juveniles – and having to let them go, or finding nothing.

In Ellsworth, fishermen asked ASMFC to change the existing zero tolerance on the taking of juveniles to provide flexibility during spawning closures, in order to take better advantage of the days they’re allotted if there are no fish anywhere else.

Maine has twice advocated without success for a change on zero tolerance, Stockwell said, but the subject will be on the table during ASMFC’s upcoming meeting in February.

The catching and landing of juvenile fish and spawning area efficiencies were removed from this particular addendum because more time is needed for discussion. It will likely come up as a separate action, said Stockwell.

“It’s contentious,” Stockwell said.

“It’s more important than this addendum,” one man said.

One man said he steamed out from Stonington a couple of times in search of fish and headed back in with nothing.

“I needed nine hours to even find a fish,” he said.

Even when a spawning closure opens back up, the catch quota is sometimes already filled, fishermen said.

One man suggested ASMFC do away with blanket spawning closures, which force fishermen into areas with no fish.

Fishermen also said that, while it was all right for ASMFC to specify the number of days per month they could land fish, as part of the effort to the extend the quota, they should not set exact dates.

Last year’s summer ban on midwater trawlers in Area 1A turned out to have unintended consequences, people said. A lot of trawlers simply converted their gear to purse-seining, and took just as many fish, if not more.

The numbers were also messed up when some fishermen violated a “gentlemen’s agreement” and set their nets prior to landing days – catching, for example, two or three days’ worth of fish per one landing day, rather than one day’s worth.

For bimonthly and seasonal quotas, ASFMC developed quota percentages using the average, by month, of Vessel Trip Reports from 2000-2007. There is also a trimester option.

An additional provision would prohibit landings prior to June 1. Currently, the National Marine Fisheries Service allocates 5,000 mt to the Area 1A fishery from Jan. 1 – May 31. The fishery would be closed in Area 1A once the quota for a period is projected to be harvested.

For example, said Stockwell, if the quota is spaced bimonthly, and the quota for June/July is filled in just a few weeks, the area would be closed down for fishing until Aug. 1.

The fixed gear fishery (weirs and stop seines) would be exempt from effort control restrictions, and may remove and can land herring on any day until the 500 metric ton fixed gear quota has been harvested.

Stockwell said the proposed actions could at least spread out the quota in a way that gives fishermen, especially those to the east, a window of opportunity. What any system can’t do is predict where the fish are going to be at any given time.

“In the past, there’s been a lot of heartache from the seiners’ point of view,” Stockwell said. “I’m looking at this as, ‘How are we going to make things better for next year?’ ”

Fishermen agreed that a bimonthly system could work best for Maine. The addendum seeks to adjust the procedure for determining which days will be designated as days out of the fishery, or no-fishing days.

Currently, days out are designed to control the catch rate as an area’s TAC approaches full utilization. The days out are also designed to allow a vessel to fish in an open area when another area is closed, moving effort out of the areas where catches are approaching the TAC. All vessels take the same “no-fishing” days for a particular area. Fishing is allowed in other areas, and catch may be landed in an area that is closed to fishing.

The current measure provides that, by April of each fishing year, if the catch in a particular area is projected to be harvested before the end of a given period, states will meet to discuss days out. To prevent an early closure of the area, the states annually agree to the start date of landing restrictions, number of days out of the fishery, and which days of the week have landing restrictions. The start time for the landing restriction may vary by state.

To refine this system, options basically involve having the states decide on the start date, number of days out, and start time of the days out. Adjustments may be made to the days out specifications any time during the rest of the fishing season.

Other proposed adjustments to the days-out system involve extending the prohibition on landing herring on a day out to the federal waters that are within Area 1A, allowing vessels to land only once per calendar day, and requiring that vessels may only fish for 24 hours prior to landing.

“This would tie landing days to fishing days,” and the quota would last longer, said DMR biologist Matthew Cieri.

The system still leaves Maine, Massachusetts and New Hamp- shire grappling over the number of days per month to fish, and which days to use.

“We have to get the three states together, which is like herding cats,” said Stockwell. “Then we’ve got to get them to agree.”
Because of the influx of trawlers in 1A in the fall, Maine should lean toward catching more of the quota early, said one man, so as not to leave it all to Massachusetts in the fall.

Before ASMFC can decide on the options, Stockwell said, the panel must determine the legality of those options that would dictate landing days to federally permitted boats. Dow suggested expanding the ban on trawlers in 1A from October to December.

“This would tie landing days to fishing days,” and the quota would last longer. -DMR biologist Matthew Cieri

“That’s a political hot potato,” said Stockwell.

Per period, paybacks of overages and rollovers to underages are also considered in the addendum, both of which would occur in the same fishing year.

For overages, options include deducting the amount over from the following period, or dividing it equally by the number of periods remaining, or subtracting it from each remaining period based on the percent share allocated to each remaining period, or from the same period in the following fishing season.

Options to prevent overages include closing the fishery when 90 percent, or 95 percent, of the quota is projected to be harvested.

Fishermen said scheduling should be flexible, with the ability to add and subtract days so that no overages occur. The problem, they said, is how to get the 45,000 metric ton quota smoothed out through the year so that purse-seine fishermen don’t kill themselves and lobstermen get a steady supply of bait.

A tight monitoring system would help, they said, with real-time landings information. Currently, there’s a lag of a week and a half or so in getting all landings reports.

Options for underages include rolling over any amount under the limit to the next quota period, or dividing it by the number of periods remaining, or distributing it to each remaining period based on the percent share allocated to each period, or adding it to the same period in the following fishing season.

The consensus for underages was to roll it into the next period.

To manage the quota system, fishermen agreed that reporting should be done weekly.

Currently, only federal limited-access permit holders and Maine fixed gear fishermen west of Cutler are required to report weekly using interactive voice reporting. Maine state-only permit holders are required to report trip-level harvest and catch on a monthly basis, which are then incorporated into the IVR to determine status relative to the quota.

Options to address this difficulty basically involve requiring all non-federally permitted harvesters to report on a weekly basis.

A June stock assessment will be used to come up with new 3-year specifications. That assessment could result in higher quotas, said Stockwell.

“There are fish out there,” one man said.

In the meantime, 2009 is the final year of the latest three-year spec period. The quota for Area 1A is 45,000 metric tons.

A session on herring management, science, the New England Fishery Management Council and ASMFC process, and the assessment process will be give at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum.

The ASMFC’s herring management section will consider final action on the addendum during the first week of February.

The comment deadline has passed, but for more information, contact Chris Vonderweidt, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, (202) 289-6400, mail to: cvonderweidt@asmfc.org.