According to the information revealed the new rule for the Atlantic herring fishery would require all fish caught inside a critical spawning ground for cod, haddock and other groundfish to be brought onboard and documented by federal observers. The former rule had a loophole which allowed for the dumping of catch before observers could inspect it, violating the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Experts informed that the new rule is the result of a lawsuit Earthjustice filed in December 2009 against NMFS on behalf of commercial fishermen Peter Taylor and Stuart Tolley of Chatham, Mass., and Bob St. Pierre of West Yarmouth, Mass. Tolley it is good to know that NMFS has taken a decision because it is extremely important that the entire catch be monitored.
Herring industrial trawlers were initially banned from fishing in groundfish spawning areas, but in 1998 federal regulators re-opened them to midwater trawlers who claimed their fishing gear would not catch groundfish. The new rule eliminates the loophole that allowed industrial trawlers to dump the fish left in their nets after fish pumps used to bring most of the catch on board were turned off. This change will restore the intent of the original rule to require that all fish be brought on board and accounted for, with limited exceptions for safety and mechanical failure.
