Big boats, big traps, big seas – offshore Maine lobster fishing. In May the New England Fisheries Management Council held a 2-day workshop to further the effort on Atlantic herring ABC control rules. The public workshop sought to develop recommendations for a range of potential objectives, how these objectives may be tested, and the range of control rules that would undergo testing. In the mix are issues being pressed by a range of interests. Joel Woods photo
Council Moves Forward
on Localized Depletion
of Herring
by Laurie Schreiber
MYSTIC, Conn.—Although the nature and extent of the “localized depletion” of herring is uncertain, there’s a consensus among many herring fishermen, fishermen of predator species such as bluefin tuna, and other interested parties such as whalewatch companies and environmentalists, that it’s occurring and must be addressed.
The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) moved forward on the discussion at their April meeting when it accepted a problem statement that formed a foundation for discussion, with the ultimate goal of developing a process for determining the extent of the problem, and then solutions to the problem in Amendment 8 to the Herring Management Plan.
The statement reads:
“Scoping comments for Amendment 8 identified concerns with concentrated, intense commercial fishing of Atlantic herring in specific areas and at certain times that may cause detrimental socioeconomic impacts on other user groups (commercial, recreational, ecotourism) who depend upon adequate local availability of Atlantic herring to support business and recreational
