Atlantic Herring Management Board members from the States of Maine and New Hampshire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will meet via webinar on April 27, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., to discuss days out measures for the 2023 Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishing season. Days out measures can include specification of the number of consecutive landings days, weekly landings limits, and restrictions on at-sea transfers. 

You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone at the following link: meet.goto.com/989454749. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. For audio, the meeting will be using the computer voice over internet (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (408) 650-3123 and enter access code 989-454-749 when prompted. The webinar will start at 8:45 a.m., 15 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.

Federally-permitted Herring Category A vessels must declare into the Area 1A fishery at least 45 days prior to the start of the fishing season. Small-mesh bottom trawl vessels with a federal Herring Category C or D permit must declare into the Area 1A fishery by June 1, 2023. Vessels should check with each state of landing regarding their notification procedures.

The 2023 Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL) is 3,345 metric tons (mt). The initial specification for the 2023 Area 1A sub-ACL of 3,592 mt decreased by 247 mt due to the catch overage in Area 1A in 2021. After adjusting for the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside and the 8% buffer (Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL), the Area 1A sub-ACL is 3,050 mt. There is no research-set-aside for 2023.

In November 2022, the Board established the following seasonal allocations for the 2023 Area 1A sub-ACL: 72.8% available from June 1 – September 30 and 27.2% available from October 1 – December 31. Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per day harvested from Area 1A until June 1, 2023.

For more information call or email Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator: 703-842-0716 or [email protected].