The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has said that these public hearings help gather comments on its proposed plan for Atlantic sea herring. It is said that the changes set out in the name “Draft Addendum I to Amendment 2 to the Herring FMP” are aimed primarily at ensuring that lobstermen have access to a steady supply of herring throughout the fishing season.
ASMFC informed that downeast fishermen will have a chance to comment on the draft at a hearing scheduled on Wednesday, Jan. 21, in the council chambers of the Ellsworth City Hall. It is told that another hearing is scheduled for the same night in Portsmouth, N.H. Hearings were held in Rockland on Jan. 12, and in both Portland and Gloucester, Mass., Jan. 13.
According to ASMFC the draft addendum includes provisions calling for setting herring catch quotas for the inshore New England waters known as Area 1A on a seasonal, bimonthly or trimester basis. The draft also suggests several options for modifying both the way “days out” of the herring fishery are set, and what a day out means.
Fisheries managers opined that on certain days fishermen are prohibited from landing herring. Those days out are supposed to control fishing effort, but the development of a fleet of carrier boats has made that conservation tactic less than effective. ASMFC also consider the changes to the way days out of the fishery are determined. Currently, the states bordering Area 1A, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, are supposed to agree in April of each year as to which days of the week will be days out.
