Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission to Complete Fax Poll by May 20, 2011:
Atlantic Sea Herring Days-Out Specifications for Management Area 1A
June 1 – July17, 2011
Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 30A § 20, the Division of Marine Fisheries (MarineFisheries) is informing interested parties that the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission (MFAC) will vote by fax poll to implement June 1- July 17, 2011 Atlantic Sea Herring Days-Out Specifications for Management Area 1A, as approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Sea Herring Section’s Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Commissioners. The fax poll closes on Friday, May 20, 2011 and is consistent with the procedure detailed at 322 CMR 9.00.
The proposed Management Area 1A days-out specifications for June 1 – July 17, 2011 are as follows:
Vessels in the directed sea herring fishery:
- During June 1 – June 26 vessels in the directed fishery are allowed to land Atlantic sea herring only on Mondays and Tuesdays and are prohibited from landing Atlantic sea herring from Wednesday through Sunday;
- These vessels may only land Atlantic sea herring once per day on Mondays and Tuesdays;
- There will be a default closure option authorizing no landing days from June 27 – July 17.
Vessels in the non-directed fishery:
- From June 1 – July 17 vessels may retain an incidental bycatch daily trip limit of sea herring, provided it does not exceed 2,000 lbs. These vessels are not subject to days-out specifications.
ASMFC Commissioners from Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire will meet on June 24, 2011 to assess catch rates and landings relative to the Area 1A quota. At this time days-out specifications will be made for the July 18 – September 30, 2011 period, with the goal of authorizing at least three landing days. Once days-out are established for this period, directed fishery vessels may be authorized landing days during the June 27 – July 17, 2011 default landing closure period. This authorization is dependent on catch rates and landing data indicating additional quota is available for harvest. Information about this meeting will be made available through ASMFC (www.asmfc.org).
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For further information regarding Atlantic sea herring management please visit our website at www.mass.gov/marinefisheries.
