Bycatch of river herring has led to sharp decline in alewife, blueback populations and in order to check this East Coast fishery managers are calling for emergency action from the federal government. River herring once flooded Chesapeake Bay tributaries during their spring spawning runs, but those migrations have dwindled to a trickle in recent decades as populations hit historic lows around the Bay and in most other East Coast rivers.
It is observed that there are number of factors may contribute to the decline, fishery managers suspect that large numbers are caught by fishermen targeting other species in federal waters-those more than three miles off the coast, where river herring spend most of their lives. Pam Gromen, executive director of the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, opined that calling on the secretary for emergency action was a bold statement.
It is said that river herring are often overshadowed by their cousin, the American shad, which is the target of multimillion dollar restoration efforts, and whose return each spring is eagerly awaited by recreational fishers. Alewife and blueback herring are anadromous fish species, spending most of their lives in coastal waters but returning to their natal rivers to spawn.
It is told that bycatch in these fisheries is poorly monitored, as few observers are on the fishing boats. Also, various species of shad and herring are difficult to tell apart. There are limited studies which suggest that the amount of alewives and bluebacks taken in the small-mesh fisheries could be twice the annual harvest from state waters. Further, those studies hint that large numbers of shad-whose population has also plummeted in recent years-are also being caught.
The ASMFC urged Locke to take emergency action to step up bycatch monitoring in federal waters, a move that could result in new restrictions. It is mentioned that under the ASMFC’s action, states also must monitor river herring bycatch in state waters. And they must close any commercial or recreational fishery that targets river herring unless they can show by 2012 that those fisheries are sustainably managed.
