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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 35 Number 4
December 2007
ASMFC herring tech committee to conduct review of spawning closure impacts
ANNAPOLIS, MD – With a nod of concurrence from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Herring Section, section Chairman Terry Stockwell of Maine has charged the herring technical committee with conducting a comprehensive review of the conservation benefits of spawning closures.
The decision to go forward with the review was made on Oct. 29 during ASMFC’s annual meeting.
The spawning closure issue came to a head this year when Maine was forced to abandon its long-standing 20% tolerance allowance to stay in compliance with ASMFC’s interstate herring plan (see CFN September 2007 for details).
Last year, the ASMFC plan was changed to stipulate that zero directed fishing on herring could take place during spawning closures. Maine used to allow fishing during closures, as long as no more than 20% of the fish onboard were in spawn condition, defined as herring in gonadal stages V and VI.
After ASMFC adopted “zero tolerance,” Maine first tried to implement a regulation that continued to allow fishing in closure areas but prohibited possession of all “spawn” herring – the fish in stages V and VI.
That didn’t fly with ASMFC, which demanded a complete ban on fishing, and, in the end, Maine adopted the no-directed-fishing language.
Even before Maine officially implemented the measure in September, industry members voluntarily agreed to stop fishing in spawning closure areas to prevent Maine from being found out of compliance with ASMFC rules.
Consequences
The three consecutively timed spawning closures in New England – first in eastern Maine, then western Maine, and, finally, in New Hampshire/Massachusetts – all cover large areas.
Industry members said that during closure periods, the no-direct-fishing rule squeezed effort into other – often less desirable – areas and greatly changed the nature of the summer/fall fishery.
They also said people were forced to fish in ways they didn’t like and that ultimately weren’t good for the resource.
Section member David Pierce of Massachusetts said, “The industry has raised enough issues to convince me that it needs a look-see to review the consequences of the actions we took.”
Technical committee Chairman Matt Cieri of Maine urged section members to be clear about what they wanted the committee to analyze.
“This is a complicated analysis,” he said. “Be as specific as possible as to what you want us to do.”
In response, section members agreed to draft detailed questions and submit them to ASMFC herring plan coordinator Chris Vonderweidt. ASMFC’s Bob Beal said the staff would compile the questions and draft a memo for the technical committee with specific tasks.
Industry members were appreciative of the section’s willingness to conduct the review.
“It wasn’t good this year,” said Jeff Kaelin, who represents the fishing vessels Providian and AJ. “We’d like to get back to some sense of a tolerance.”
Dave Ellenton of Cape Seafoods Inc. in Gloucester, who chairs ASMFC’s herring advisory panel, asked that advisers be given a chance to have input into the technical committee’s review.
In addition to spawning closure issues, Ellenton said, “There are various aspects of the fishery that need to be talked about by the industry.”
Stockwell assured audience members that an advisory panel meeting would be scheduled.
In one final action, the herring section elected Rep. Dennis Abbott of New Hampshire to serve as section vice chair.
Janice M. Plante
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