The recent herring assessment has pointed out areas of concern the NEFMC has said will likely be reflected in reduced Total Allowable Catch in 2019–2021. Fishermen appear to be divided by gear type over the councils response to locally depleted herring stocks. Joel Woods photo.
Severe Cuts Projected for Herring Fishery
by Laurie Schreiber
PORTLAND—The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) is projecting large quota reductions for the Atlantic herring fishery from 2019 through 2021.
NEFMC held a public hearing on draft Amendment 8 to the herring management plan on June 12.
“The near-term future of this fishery looks quite bleak,” said Terry Stockwell, one of Maine’s two representatives on the council.
NEFMC member David Pierce noted that four of the lowest recruitment years in the herring stock has have occurred since 2013.
“I would assume we will continue to get low recruitment, and maybe these numbers that are pessimistic should be even more pessimistic,” Pierce said.
According to a NEFMC news release, Amendment 8 (nefmc.org/library/amendment-8-2) contains measures to:
• Establish a new Allowable Biological Catch (ABC) control rule; and
• Address potential localized depletion and user conflicts in the fishery.
The amendment’s goals are to account for the role of herring within the ecosystem, including its role as forage; to stabilize the fishery at a level designed to achieve optimum yield; and to address localized depletion in inshore waters.
