The summer of 2004 has produced a phenomenon on Georges Bank for the Atlantic herring fishery, as the unprecedented size of the 2003 “baby boom” year class of haddock is making its presence known. Strict federal regulations that require immediate discard of this species have severely curtailed herring fishing operations, and to date, the fishery has landed only 6 percent, or approximately 3,500 metric tons, of the total allowable catch of herring from the area. There is a high level of concern within the industry, as some vessels have stayed tied to the dock, and some plants have reduced or stopped production and filling the bait needs of thousands of New England lobstermen.
In July, 12 vessels operating in the Atlantic herring fishery are known to have begun the annual trek to Georges Bank in search of fish. As fish were being pumped from mid-water nets full of herring, to the surprise of Captains and crew, a small percentage of juvenile haddock began to show in the catch. Haddock are generally considered bottom dwellers, and at certain life stages can school and move up in the water column. However, fishermen had not seen such mixing of pelagic stock in years past.
Understanding the seriousness of the situation, vessels moved off the Bank and redirected their efforts into the Gulf of Maine. Moving all of the fleet into the Gulf of Maine provided short-term relief for some vessels. However, the 60,000 metric ton cap on total catch removals in the inshore fishery will not provide enough fish required to satisfy the market needs in the coming weeks.
In the latter part of July, a few vessels tried to work around the haddock issue on Georges, and 0.29 percent of haddock bycatch was documented in a herring catch landed in Gloucester, Massachusetts. At this juncture, the majority of the herring industry officially agreed to stay off the grounds for two weeks to eval-uate the problem in a proactive manner with state and federal agencies.
On August 7, 2004, two vessels returned to Georges Bank to scope out the situation, and reported no issues with haddock bycatch to the fleet. During the week of August 10, 2004, eight additional vessels were known to return to fish on Georges Bank. Dockside monitoring of six vessels offloading catch in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire were observed by state and federal enforcement officers. The catch of four vessels yielded insignificant haddock bycatch of 0.12 – 0.02 percent. Catch from two other vessels were sub-sampled with haddock bycatch from 0.2 - 4.5 percent. In one effort, five enforcement officers were present for 17 hours to document 133 lbs of bycatch. The NOAA Office of Law Enforcement will receive reports of all documented bycatch.
The Atlantic herring industry will continue to work with state and federal agencies, make every effort to operate within the regulations and strive for solutions to this unusual event. Herring fishermen desire to participate with all fishing industry sectors to seek appropriate resolution that benefits conservation of marine resources and preservation of access to those resources. Many hope that this is a short-term event for the fishery; but recognize if all groundfish species rebuild to levels projected by scientists, bycatch for all fisheries in the Northeast will be a growing problem.
For further information contact: Mary Beth Tooley, East Coast Pelagic Association, 207-763-4176.
