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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 2
October 2008
Herring bait to flow in October, November
DURHAM, NH – In a hard-won and delicately crafted compromise intended to ensure a steady flow of fresh bait into the marketplace for lobstermen entering the peak of their fishing season, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Herring Section voted at a Sept. 24 meeting here to authorize seven more herring “landing” days in October for fish coming out of Area 1A in the inshore Gulf of Maine.
And, if the Area 1A total allowable catch (TAC) isn’t filled by the end of October, the section further authorized four more landings days in November.
No one walked out of the room happy, but given the competing and very different interests among herring purse seiners, midwater trawlers, and lobstermen using the end product, many said they accepted the results.
“It was the fairest settlement that was available given how much quota was left,” said ASMFC Commissioner Ritchie White of New Hampshire. “Both the state of Maine and the commonwealth of Massachusetts had to give up something to come to an agreement.”
Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), said, all in all, she was resigned to the decision.
“We went into that meeting hoping to shake out another day in September because we need bait now, so this is not the optimal outcome for us,” she said. “But at least we know what’s going to happen in October.”
Mary Beth Tooley of the Small Pelagic Group, which represents several vessels that converted to purse seining to fish in Area 1A, also expressed resignation.
“There’s only so much fish available,” she said. “At least we’ll be able to get some fish into the market on a weekly basis. I think we made the best we could out of a bad situation.”
The herring section agreed on the following landing days for the remaining Area 1A fish:
Oct. 1, 8, and 15;
Oct. 21 and 22;
Oct. 28 and 29; and, if quota remains available,
Nov. 4 and 5; and
Nov. 11 and 12.
For all three states – Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts – allowable landing hours on designated landing days will run from 12:01 am to 11:59 pm, commonly referred to in industry as “midnight to midnight.”
Roughly 13,700 metric tons (mt) of the 2008 Area 1A TAC remained available as of late September, and the section estimated that roughly 2,000 mt would be landed during each of the designated “landing” days.
That means fish should be available at least for the seven October landing days and maybe into November if bad weather and spawning closures become significant factors.
Both the Western Maine Spawning Area and the New Hampshire/Massachusetts Spawning Area still will be closed on Oct. 1, leaving only the eastern Maine area available for fishing in the innermost portions of Area 1A.
According to Terry Stockwell of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR), DMR officials were planning to meet with Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol officers on Sept. 30 to discuss ways to avert potential gear conflicts between midwater trawlers, purse seiners, and lobstermen who all will be concentrated in the relatively small eastern area on Oct. 1.
After Oct. 1, however, things will ease up. The western spawning closure ends Oct. 3, so that area, along with the eastern area, will be open for the Oct. 8 and 15 landing days, assuming the western closure isn’t extended due to high levels of spawning fish.
The biggest issue is that the New Hampshire/Massachusetts closure doesn’t end until Oct. 19, so all of Area 1A won’t become available to the fleet until the Oct. 21-22 landing days.
A middle ground
Stockwell said the state of Maine went into the Sept. 24 meeting seeking one additional landing day in September – Sept. 29 – and then, at a minimum, one landing day per week thereafter “so we could have a steady trickle of bait coming into the state.”
Massachusetts, however, fought on two fronts. First, most of its directed herring boats are midwater trawlers that have been prohibited from fishing in Area 1A for the past four months due to the June-September ban on midwater trawling in the area. Massachusetts wanted no additional landings to come out of 1A until at least Oct. 1 when both midwater trawlers and purse seiners could fish the area together.
Second, the commonwealth, significantly impacted by the New Hampshire/Massachusetts Spawning Area closure, wanted to save the few remaining landing days for later in October after the closure was lifted on Oct. 19.
In the end, Maine gave up the idea of a Sept. 29 landing day, while Massachusetts agreed to an Oct. 15 landing day, which it originally opposed.
Stockwell credited New Hampshire’s ASMFC delegation for helping the section reach this tenuous middle ground.
“They broke the deadlock between Maine and Massachusetts,” said Stockwell.
Ritchie White, however, said the only reason an agreement was possible was because both Maine and Massachusetts were willing to give up something of great importance to them.
“This was the best solution we had,” said White.
Several industry members acknowledged the negotiations were intense.
Mary Beth Tooley said, “The section worked really hard to get there.”
Bait issues
The issue of bait availability drove the discussion.
Since late summer/early fall is a “make-or-break” part of the season for many lobstermen and because weather becomes a limiting factor by mid-October, every day in August, September, and October is important.
Patrice McCarron said, “We can’t afford for a dock or a buying station not to have bait on a good lobster fishing day.”
Dave Ellenton, general manager of Cape Seafoods Inc. in Gloucester, said the problem was not “the availability of bait.” It was all about fresh herring.
“Cape Seafoods has always committed to holding frozen and salted bait for the lobster fishery,” he said. “There are 8 million pounds of bait in cold store in Gloucester.”
Further, he said, the ready availability of fresh menhaden has more than compensated for the lower availability of herring from Area 1A.
“There has been more than enough menhaden available to supplement this shortfall,” he said.
McCarron agreed.
“There’s a pretty strong supply of pogies coming into the market from New Jersey and the Gulf of Maine,” she said. “But the preferred bait is fresh herring and it fishes the best for most people.”
The herring section will meet on Oct. 20 in Rehoboth, DE during ASMFC’s annual meeting to look for alternatives to address the many problems that occurred during this year’s Area 1A fishery.
Janice M. Plante
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