Unfortunately, said Overholtz, current survey methods don’t provide for the type of fine detail needed to understand local areas. But there’s plenty of evidence that herring, as one of about 25 small prey species in the gulf, is a crucial linchpin for the overall ecosystem that must be considered for its importance, not only as a direct fishery resource, but as forage for larger predators. As such, the new management measures aim to prevent overfishing and preserve spawning components in a way that provides for the orderly development of the fishery, accounts for all participants who harvest the fish in multi-faceted ways, and minimizes the race to fish. Among the new measures, the NEFMC provides for a multi-tiered limited access program that sets certain qualification criteria for the gulf’s Area 1 and Areas 2/3 (southern New England and offshore); and provides for a seasonal pursue seine/fixed gear-only area in 1A, which bans midwater trawlers during the summer. NEFMC also: • Set significantly lower harvest allocations, or specifications, for the three-year period of 2007-2009. • Modified boundary lines of the management areas to better reflect distribution of the offshore component of the resource, • Made provisions for research funds, clarified the definition of midwater trawl gear, • Set measures for the fixed gear fisheries Down East, • Established the specification process should take place every three years, • Addressed bycatch issues.
NEFMC hopes NMFS will approve Amendment 1 by May 1, the period when permits come up for renewal, Steele said. The ASMFC’s Amendment 2 is written to agree with the NEFMC plans, but also uses days-out as a primary effort control, with the aim of spreading out catch and ensuring a steady supply of bait. ASMFC decided on Saturday and Sunday for days-out and, if 50 percent of the TAC is reached by Oct. 1, Friday would also become a day-out. The goal, he said, is to have at least 15,000 mt of herring available for the rest of the year, after Oct. 1. ASMFC imposes spawning closures of a minimum of four weeks, for eastern Maine, western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. Exemptions from days-out and spawning closures are provided for the fixed gear fishery east and west of Cutler, although fixed gear fishermen will need to get into a federal reporting system for monitoring purposes. The new specs allow an overall catch limit of 194,000 metric tons, bringing previous specs down quite a bit. NEFMC and ASMFC propose 50,000 mt for 2007-2009 in Area 1A, down from 60,000 mt. NMFS proposes a further reduction for 2008 and 2009, with a limit of 45,000 mt for 1A. Fishing interests expect the new qualification criteria for Areas 2/3 to put at least some of the midwater trawlers out of business, or force them to switch to purse seines. Ellenton said one of his three vessels would be grounded. A number of trawlers are already converting to purse seine, Ellenton said. The regulations mean a loss of investment and revenue, as well as losses for ancillary businesses supplying fuel, packaging, freezing capacity and the like, Ellenton said. And it’s likely, he said, that all the switching over to purse seining would result in just as much effort in 1A. Jeff Kaelin, a consultant who works with the Raber family’s fleet of fishing vessels in Portland, said the use of hard TACs makes the trawler ban in 1A and new qualification criteria in Areas 2/3 unnecessary, and only causes hardship for fishermen who have substantial investments in their boats and gear. The Raber family, he said, is investing half a million dollars to convert the 100-foot-long Providian for purse seining. The family’s investment in another fishing vessel for Area 2/3 fishing is now worthless, he said. Kaelin said the feds can expect lawsuits from offshore fishermen who are now out of business. The purse seine-only area will also likely be the subject of a lawsuit, he said. Spawning closures were considered acceptable for conservation, but difficult to tell what impact they would have on supply. There was a concern that all three closures would coincide. Large areas of the ocean will be closed to the bait market, Ellenton said, and there’s no doubt spawning closures will impact availability of herring during the summer. NMFS’ Area 1A TAC of 45,000 mt was considered arbitrary. “Five thousands metric tons is a substantial reduction,” said Ellenton. “There will be a little dogfight over that 5,000 metric tons,” said Kaelin. |
