The Commonwealth will host an ASMFC hearing on October 17th to gather comments on Draft Amendment 2 to the Atlantic Herring Plan. Two hearings will be held on Monday, October 17th beginning at 6PM at the Hampton Inn in Fairhaven, MA (1 Hampton Way) and on Wednesday,
October 19th at 6PM at the Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station in Gloucester, MA (30 Emerson Ave.). Please see the ASMFC press releases below and visit www.asmfc.org for further information.
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ASMFC Releases Draft Amendment 2 to the Atlantic Herring Plan for Public Comment
ASMFC & NEFMC to Conduct Joint Hearings in October

The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section has approved Draft Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Herring for public review and comment. The Draft Amendment was developed in order to maintain the resource's abundance level while balancing the needs of current and new interests in the fishery.

The latest stock assessment, conducted in 2003, indicated that the Atlantic herring resource was not overfished and overfishing was not occurring. Its current level of abundance and spawning stock biomass has generated an increasing level of competing demands for the resource stock-wide. These demands include maintaining traditional use patterns in the fishery, increasing the bait fishery, and protecting herring’s role as forage in the northwest Atlantic ecosystem. Issues addressed in Draft Amendment 2 include management area boundaries, biological reference points, effort control measures, spawning areas and restrictions, research set-asides, bycatch, and the role of herring as forage.

The States of Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and New Jersey, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have scheduled the dates and times of their public hearings. The majority of these hearings will be held jointly with the New England Fishery Management Council as it solicits public input on Draft Amendment 1 and a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) to the federal Atlantic Herring FMP. For those public hearings addressing both the Commission and Council amendments, public comments onthe two amendments will be taken at separate times during the hearings.

The details of the scheduled hearings follow:

New Hampshire Division of Marine Fisheries
Tuesday, October 4, 2005; 7:00 PM
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Contact: John Nelson at (603) 868-1096
*ASMFC hearing only

Maine Department of Marine Resources
Wednesday, October 12, 2005; 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Eastland Park Hotel
157 High Street
Portland, Maine
Contact: George Lapointe at (207) 624-6553

Thursday, October 13, 2005; 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Samoset Hotel
220 Warrenton Street
Rockport, Maine
Contact: George Lapointe at (207) 624-6553

Friday, October 14, 2005; 6:00 -- 9:00 PM
Perry Elementary School
1587 US Route 1
Perry, Maine
Contact: George Lapointe at (207) 624-6553

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
Monday, October 17, 2005; 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Hampton Inn
1 Hampton Way
Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Contact: David Pierce at (617) 626-1532

Wednesday, October 19, 2005; 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Annisquam River Station
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, Maine
Contact David Pierce at 617-626-1532

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Thursday, October 20, 2005; 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Congress Hall
251 Beach Avenue
Cape May, New Jersey
Contact: Bruce Freeman at (609) 633-2408

Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection
Monday, October 24, 2005; 7:00 PM
Boating Education Center
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: Dave Simpson at (860) 434-6043
*ASMFC hearing only

The Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section will meet in early November to review public comment on Draft Amendment 2 and consider its final approval. All interested parties are encouraged to provide input on Draft Amendment 2 either by attending public hearings or providing written comments. Copies of Draft Amendment 2 can be obtained via the Commission's website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400.

Public comment on the Commission’s Draft Amendment 2 will be accepted until 5:00 PM on November 7, 2005 and should be forwarded to Ruth Christiansen, Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (fax) or comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Atlantic herring). For more information, please contact Ruth Christiansen at (202) 289-6400 or rchristiansen@asmfc.org.

Copies of the Council's Draft Amendment 1, DSEIS, and public hearing document are available on the Council's website at www.nefmc.org or by contacting the Council at (978) 465-0492. For more information on the Council's documents or process, please contact Lori Steele at (978) 465-0492.

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PR05-21

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Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 I Street. NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202)289-6400
FAX: (202)289-6051
Email: tberger@asmfc.org
www.asmfc.org

ASMFC Vision: Healthy, self-sustaining populations of all Atlantic coast fish species or successful restoration well in progress by the year 2015.