Atlantic Herring: Council Approves Framework 6 Containing 2019-2021 Specifications and Revised
Overfishing Definition

The New England Fishery Management Council has approved Framework Adjustment 6 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which contains 2019-2021 specifications for the fishery and a new overfishing definition for herring that is more consistent with the 2018 benchmark stock assessment. The Council took several steps during its April meeting that helped guide the development of Framework 6. Here at its June meeting in So. Portland, ME, the Council made three additional decisions to complete the package:

Overfishing Limit (OFL) and Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC)

The Council voted to set OFL and ABC based on the ABC control rule that’s proposed in Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring FMP while using the original projections made by its Scientific and Statistical Committee. This was referred to as “Alternative 2 Original” in the draft framework.

The Council approved Framework 6 for submission to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries). The agency still needs to review and approve the framework before implementing it.

* If the New Brunswick weir fishery catch through October 1 is less than the associated “trigger,” then 1,000 mt of the management uncertainty buffer will be added to the Area 1A sub-ACL.

Management Uncertainty Buffer

The buffer is the difference between ABC and the Annual Catch Limit (ACL) and is factored into specifications to help ensure that the ABC is not exceeded primarily due to Canadian catch in the New Brunswick weir fishery. Management uncertainty previously was set at 6,200 metric tons (mt). This time, the Council supported using a 10-year average of Canadian catches, which resulted in an uncertainty buffer of 4,560 mt. If the New Brunswick weir catch through October 1 is less than the 4,000-mt trigger in 2019 or the 2,942-mt trigger in 2020 and 2021, then 1,000 mt will be subtracted from the buffer and added to Area 1A.

Border Transfer

This specification applies to fish caught in Area 1A by U.S. fishermen that is transferred to Canada via a Canadian carrier. The fish must be used for human consumption. Until 2019, the border transfer allocation was set at 4,000 mt annually. In 2019, however, it was zero. For 2020 and 2021, the Council voted to set it at 100 mt. The specification has not been utilized in recent years.