Mackerel Cove, Bailey Island, Maine. One of the many fishing villages of Maine that will be looking at potentially dramatic shortages of a key component for the lobster industry-bait. Quota cuts to the Atlantic herring fishery are expected to require a shift to other bait. Whether or not there are enough to fill the gap is unknown. Fishermen’s Voice photo.
Herring Protections
Seek Ecosystem/
Fisheries Balance
by Laurie Schreiber
PLYMOUTH, Mass.—At its September meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) decided on an acceptable biological catch control rule that would slash the fishing quota for the Atlantic herring fishery for fishing years 2019 through 2021.
Chris Weiner, a tuna fisherman who said he was speaking for the majority of full-time purse seiners, said the drastic reduction of fishing quota, with a low 16,000 mt figure for 2020, needs some discussion about how the industry will get through the next three years.
