Atlantic Beach, NC – The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section today voted to reduce the amount of herring available to the fishery for 2007-2009 in Area 1A, an inshore region off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The total allowable catch for Area 1A is now set at 50,000 metric tons. The Section committed to review stock status annually to determine if quota adjustments are necessary.
The specifications are consistent with those recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council to NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator in late September 2006. The table below outlines the Commission’s final herring specifications for 2007-2009 and the Council’s recommended measures for the same period. The Council’s measures await approval by the Northeast Regional Administrator.
Summary of ASMFC Atlantic Herring Specifications and the NEFMC Recommendations for 2007-2009
| SPECIFICATIONS | ASMFC Specifications for 2007- 2009 | NEFMC Recommendations for 2007-2009 |
| ABC | 194,000 | 194,000 |
| U.S. OY | 145,000 | 145,000 |
| TAC Area 1A | 50,000 (5,000 available Jan-May) | 50,000 (5,000 available Jan-May) |
| TAC Area 1B | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| TAC Area 2 | 30,000 | 30,000 |
| TAC Area 3 | 55,000 | 55,000 |
| Research Set-Aside | 3% from each area TAC (2008 and 2009 FY only) | 3% from each area TAC (2008 and 2009 FY only) |
While the herring resource is considered fully rebuilt and overfishing is not occurring, scientific models have suggested that total herring biomass may be overestimated and fishing mortality underestimated. In addition, abundance survey trends in the inshore Gulf of Maine are declining. Given these findings, the Section opted to manage the fishery in a more cautious manner, limiting the Area 1A TAC to 50,000 metric tons – a 10,000 metric ton reduction from the initial specification that the Section set back in September. For more information, please contact Christopher Vonderweidt, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, at (202)289-6400 or cvonderweidt@asmfc.org.