NEFMC Decides On Amendment 8, Herring Quota Slashed

Can the Maine lobster industry survive a 70% reduction in herring? Lobstermen will find out next year as a result of sweeping changes to the herring management plan adopted by the New England Fishery Management Council in late September. The lobster industry will be put to the test when it faces a quota of only 14,558 metric tons in 2019. This is about half the quota allocated to inshore Area 1A in recent years. On September 25, the Council adopted Amendment 8 to the herring management plan. Specifically, the Council adopted a long-term Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) Control Rule, which results in significant quota reduction for the commercial herring fishery. The Council took this action to avert a herring collapse, based on the fact that recent studies show that the stock biomass is very low.

The Amendment supports the health of the ecosystem and the long-term health of the herring resource by leaving a greater proportion of herring unharvested. The Council also adopted measures to reduce localized depletion and user conflicts by prohibiting the use of midwater gear within a coast-wide 12-mile buffer zone from the shore. This is in addition to the existing ban on midwater vessels in Area 1A from June 1 to September 30.The Council meeting drew a contentious crowd of commercial fishermen, environmental groups, recreational and charter boat fishermen and the public. The testimony revealed a deep divide between many who fear the midwater fleet could wipe out the fishery and who are steadfast about leaving more herring unharvested to support tuna, marine mammals, sea birds and predator fish and those who favor allocating more fish to support the commercial herring and lobster fisheries.Patrice McCarron, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association’s (MLA) executive director, testified emphatically on the devasting economic impacts that the new long-term control rule will have on the Maine lobster fishery. “Supporting this option will result in the loss of more than 77 million pounds of fresh herring from the lobster bait supply.

The lobster fishery has already absorbed herring landings dropping by half since 2013 and the resulting spike in bait prices,” she said. McCarron noted that bait prices have climbed steadily from $26/bushel in 2013 to nearly $50/bushel this year. “Some island lobstermen are reporting bait prices in excess of $60/bushel,” she said. “To make matters worse, we lose this steady, local, fresh source of bait during our peak lobster fishing months. It will be impossible to replace all those fish.”

Amendment 8 Alternative 4b amended Accepted by Council2018 2019 2020 2021ABC 49,900 21,266 16,131 30,659Mgt uncertainty 6,200 6,200 6,200Research & fixed gear set aside 508 508 508Projected quota 49,900 14,558 9,423 23,951Probability overfishing .5 .15 .02 .03Quota decrease vs 2018 (mt) 0 35,342 40,477 25,949Quota decrease vs 2018 (lbs) 0 77,893,768 89,211,308 57,191,596*adjustment for management uncertainty used in past specs packages

Maine’s Commissioner of Marine Resources, Patrick Keliher, also expressed concern over the impacts of deep herring quota cuts on Maine’s lobster fishery. Keliher made a motion to maximize the commercial herring catch while still providing strong protections to the stock. He argued that Maine’s lobster fishery, and particularly those who live in Maine’s most remote rural communities, will be extremely hard hit by the quota cuts. Keliher’s motion was coolly received by his Council colleagues and was soundly defeated. Keliher also expressed concern over the impact the Amendment will have on the herring fleet.

The results of the recently completed herring stock assessment complicated the Council’s discussions. The prognosis for future stock size appears poor given the low recent recruitment. Scientists were clear that the stock decline is not due to overfishing. Yet the stock assessment shows a significant decline in recruitment and spawning stock biomass over the last five years, with 2016 representing the lowest level of recruitment on record.

Deirdre Boelke, the Council’s lead fisheries analyst for Atlantic herring, presented preliminary figures on how the new ABC control rule might translate into quota next year. She noted that the Science and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Council, which meets on October 10, has the final word on setting the ABC for the fishery. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in turn will have the final word on the 2019 quota through an in-season adjustment. That said, Boelke estimated that the quota for 2019 could be somewhere around 14,558 metric tons after adjusting for management uncertainty and set-asides.The Council voted to request that NMFS take an in-season action to set the quota for 2019. Otherwise, the existing specifications package would carry forward until Amendment 8 is officially adopted in mid-2019.

The Council recommended that NMFS adopt the Amendment 8 long-term control rule in setting the 2019 quota and harvest the fish according to current allocation schemes. Under this scenario, only 4,200 metric tons will be landed from inshore Area 1A and 5,600 from offshore Area 3. NMFS will consider the Council’s recommendations before ultimately deciding the quota and area sub-allocations for 2019.Council’s recommendation to NMFS for 2019 sub-ACLArea Sub-ACL % by area1A 4,208 28.9%1B 626 4.3%2 4,047 27.8%3 5,678 395Total 14,588

The most heated debate erupted over options to manage localized depletion, specifically actions that would prevent midwater trawl vessels from fishing certain areas. Many stakeholders blame the poor state of the herring resource on the midwater fleet, although the stock assessment is clear that the herring resource is not overfished. Many also voiced concern that midwater gear cannot coexist around inshore fishing gear because it causes significant gear conflicts.

Opposition to midwater boats was strong from Massachusetts charter boat captains and recreational fishermen and representatives from the herring purse seine fleet, who strongly supported pushing the midwater boats 25 to 50 miles offshore but were willing to compromise on a 12-mile buffer. The Council approved a 12-mile buffer zone across all herring management areas providing a coastwide prohibition of midwater trawl gear inside the buffer. In addition, the Council included blocks 99 and 114 on the back side of Cape Cod, extending the prohibition of midwater gear in that area to approximately 20 miles from shore.“It’s hard to wrap your head around exactly what these changes will mean for Maine lobstermen. Eighty million pounds is a lot of fish to lose,” commented McCarron. “We will certainly see acute bait shortages and significant increases in bait prices. Lobstermen are likely to lose fishing days due to lack of bait and will probably be on rations when there is bait.”Implementation of Amendment 8 is expected in mid-2019 by National Marine Fisheries Service.