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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 35 Number 3
November 2008
Bycatch only part of river herring decline
GLOUCESTER, MA – Midwater trawling may be a contributing factor, but it is not the main reason for the recent precipitous decline in river herring populations along the eastern seaboard.
That’s the conclusion of a study titled “Estimates of River Herring Bycatch in the Directed Atlantic Herring Fishery” released on Sept. 23. Matt Cieri of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) and Gary Nelson and Mike Armstrong of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) conducted the study.
Armstrong presented the details of the report during an Oct. 2 meeting of the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Commission.
The findings suggested that the level of bycatch in the directed Atlantic herring fishery prosecuted by midwater trawlers and purse seiners is not nearly enough to be responsible for the near disappearance of river herring from coastal rivers.
“It may be a piece of the pie, but it’s not the primary cause,” Armstrong said of the directed fishery. “Seventy percent of all observed trips had no river herring in them. Another 24% had less than 2.5% river herring.”
River herring is the collective term for blueback herring and alewives, which are currently listed as species of concern by the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS). Furthermore, several states – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and North Carolina – have banned the harvest of river herring altogether in recent years due to stock concerns.
Armstrong said that scientists now believe there are several elements involved in the decline of river herring populations: overfishing; predation, particularly by abundant striped bass stocks; alterations of spawning grounds; and “unknown environmental factors.”
He added that a closer look at fisheries statistics showed that blueback herring had “disappeared” from the Connecticut River before the emergence of midwater trawling.
Two data sources
The report provides estimates of river herring bycatch in the directed fisheries for the years 2005, 2006, and 2007 based on NMFS observer data and the DMR Portside Bycatch Project.
The portside project began in 2005. It involves examining Atlantic herring and mackerel catches at processing plants and bait dealerships in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey and collecting and counting all bycatch in sampled lots of fish. According to the report, a “lot” is fish caught by one vessel on a particular trip and delivered to the plant by truck or boat.
In total, 502 directed Atlantic herring trips were observed by the portside project or observers from 2005 to 2007. Of those, 18 trips were examined through both methods. The analysis concluded there was “no significant difference” between the two observer methods.
Most bycatch
According to the report’s findings, river herring bycatch was observed in trips made off the backside of Cape Cod, Cape Ann, Nantucket, and an area around Block Island from the late fall through spring periods. The highest bycatch of river herring occurred in the Southern New England area, particularly in 2007 near New Jersey.
Generally, bycatch was highest in the late fall and winter periods when Atlantic herring, mackerel, and river herring are known to mix during their fall migrations and their overwintering period in areas from Block Island south.
Overall, the report found that bycatch was highest in both single and paired midwater trawl gears and lowest in purse seines. However, a finding that surprised the scientists was that bycatch was high in bottom trawls in 2007.
“Catch of Atlantic herring are usually only 3,000-7,000 metric tons (mt) for bottom trawls compared to 50,000-60,000 mt for single and paired midwater trawls,” they wrote. “Thus, the high bycatch possibly indicates a higher encounter rate of river herring for bottom trawls.”
The scientists further suggested that the low bycatch rate among purse seiners likely has more to do with where and when they fish than with the gear type.
“It is important to note that the lack of large bycatch estimates for purse seiners may not reflect the gear’s inability to catch river herring,” they wrote. “Rather, purse seines are not currently operating in areas and seasons where the vast majority of estimated river herring removals occur.”
The scientists concluded that further analysis was needed to see if other small-mesh fisheries operating in Southern New England and Cape Cod areas from late fall to early spring, including scup, squid, and mackerel, may also have significant river herring bycatch.
ASMFC hearings
States from Maine to North Carolina are conducting public hearings on draft Amendment 2 to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for River Herring in November and December.
The draft amendment proposes a number of management measures to address river herring stock abundance concerns. Among the steps being proposed are mandatory data and bycatch monitoring provisions, options to close fisheries in specific rivers, and a coastwide moratorium on river herring catches.
Other proposed measures include area closures, limited access, and escapement provisions in the commercial fishery, as well as gear, creel, and area/seasonal restrictions in the recreational fishery.
Fishermen are urged to comment either in writing or at one of the public hearings. Copies of the draft amendment are available on the commission’s web site at <www.asmfc.org> or by calling (202) 289-6400. The public comment deadline is Jan. 1, 2009.
Lorelei Stevens
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