Tag Archives: Atlantic herring

Huge herring haul worries rival fishermen, environmentalists

A little fish that New Englanders have sought since the Colonial era is at the center of a battle over how to manage massive boats that trawl swaths of ocean off the East Coast. The catch for the Atlantic herring, which travels in groups sometimes numbering in the billions, is in the midst of a massive boom. Last year fishermen caught more than 95,000 metric tons of the fish for the first time since 2009, federal statistics show. Now rival fishermen are raising concerns about the high catches, and regulators are starting to consider whether the big haul is adversely impacting the environment, marine mammals or other fisheries. Read the rest here 14:29

Regulators consider changes to herring catch limits. Because.

The New England Fisheries Management Council is working on an amendment to the existing rules that is designed to make sure future catch limits are based on “scientific uncertainty” and the status of the herring stock, according to federal documents. The document is up for public comment now and could be approved sometime in the latter half of this year, said Lori Steele, a fishery analyst for the council. Atlantic Herring are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, according to ASMFC Read the rest here 20:01 ASMFC Herring page

Nils Stolpe: Atlantic herring – lots of smoke but where’s the fire? – Click Here

Peter Shelley is a lawyer who works for the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). Apparently among his duties is providing entries to the CLF website “Talking Fish.”

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the groundfish debacle in New England, Mr. Shelley and the CLF, utilizing the court system and a whole bunch of money (according to their IRS Form 990 filed in 2011- the last year available on the Guidestar website – total CLF revenue was $5,800,000, up $1,250,000 from the year before), have been playing a pivotal role in the groundfish fishery management program via the management process and the courts since before it was a debacle. Evidently the groundfish fishery wasn’t enough to fill Mr. Shelley’s plate so he has been involved in Atlantic (sea) herring management as well. Read more here 14:34

Changes in forage fish abundance alter Atlantic cod distribution, affect fishery success – What do you think?

Writing in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, researchers from NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) show how the fishermens’ observations and the assessment results could both be accurate. Read more here 17:41

Pew/NatGeo Column Oversimplifies Ecosystem-Based Management of “Forage Fish”

smfWASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) May 7, 2014 — In a recent article, “The ABCs of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management-Part II,” the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Director of Federal Fisheries Policy and National Geographic online guest writer, Lee Crockett, focuses on the management of “forage fish” — a much used, though highly debated categorization for a number of small, marine species. The article’s title suggests,,, Read more here  14:13

An Evolutionary Family Drama

0421OPEDnyquist-master675Alewives are anadromous fish: Born in freshwater, they spend their lives in the ocean, returning annually to their birthplaces to spawn. Until colonial-era dams cut off their migration,,, Read more here NYT 08:05

Catch Limits Increased in Atlantic Herring Fishery

nmfs_logoNOAA Fisheries NMFS today announced that we are  it is increasing the catch limits for Atlantic herring fishery, due to the healthy condition of the Atlantic herring stock, [email protected]  22:09

Atlantic Herring Management Area 2 Trip Limit Removed Effective October 1, 2013

nmfs_logoNOAA Fisheries NMFS today announced that it will temporarily remove the 2,000-lb trip limit for the Atlantic herring fishery in Management Area 2 because catch data indicate that 95 percent of the total sub-annual catch limit threshold in Area 2 has not been fully attained. Click here for more information. (if you can find noaa fisheries on that notice, I’ll eat your crusty skivvy’s) BH 20:37

Fallout follows after New England plan for protecting herring is shelved after much ado

sct logo(AP) — A plan to protect the important Atlantic herring from what many believe is its biggest threat has been shelved indefinitely after years of work devising it – and even after winning support from the very vessels being targeted. Last month, federal regulators at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rejected a measure that would have required independent catch observers aboard every trip taken by mid-water trawlers, which can scoop herring out of sea hundreds of thousands of pounds at a time. read more here

The Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council (RIMFC) held meeting in preparation of November 8, 2012 public hearing

Captain Dave Monti. The Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council (RIMFC) held commercial fluke (summer flounder), scup/black sea bass and herring advisory panel meetings on October 2 in preparation for a Thursday, November 8, 2012 public hearing.  The purpose of the advisory panels is to provide industry (fishermen) and the general public with the opportunity to offer input and proposals to be considered at public hearing.

Advisory panels reviewed Department of Environmental Management (DEM) presentations on stock assessment, historical fishing activity and allocations. The November 8th public hearing on proposed management plan changes is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, Corless Auditorium, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI.  Commercial and recreational fishermen are urged to attend and provide input on proposals.

http://www.warwickonline.com/stories/Fishing-advisory-panels-meet-on-management-plans,76027?town_id=1&sub_type=stories