Some recreational fishermen in Rhode Island say they are pleased with new rules for the Atlantic herring fishery, but a commercial fishing company in the state is expressing concern over the new plan.
The New England Fishery Management Council approved Tuesday a new formula used to set catch limits that more explicitly takes into account herring’s ecological role as a food source for its predators.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit based in Philadelphia, estimates the new rule will keep an additional 31 million pounds of herring in the water over the next three years.
The council also banned the use of large fishing nets the size of football fields, called mid-water trawls, within 12 miles of most of New England's coastline.
"Everybody from a recreational angler to somebody who enjoys watching birds or watching whales stands to benefit from the increased amount of herring in the water," Zach Cockrum, director of conservation partnerships for the National Wildlife Federation, said.
The federation was pushing for an even more conservative management plan but Cockrum said the council's decision is a step in the right direction to recovering Atlantic herring's population, which has reached historic lows over the past five years.
Rich Hittinger, first vice president of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, agreed this is a step in the right direction.
The association originally wanted a ban on mid-water trawls within 25 miles of the coast, but Hittinger said 12 miles will help rebuild the stock too.
"That 12-mile buffer gives us most of the areas that we think are important, relative to protecting herring from those mid-water trawlers," Hittinger said.
Hittinger added the buffer zone will help reduce the risk of other fish, such as river herring and striped bass, from getting caught in the mid-water trawls by accident.
However, Meghan Lapp, spokeswoman for Seafreeze Ltd., said the new management plan will lead to painful reductions in quota for some commercial fishermen.
“I don’t know if they’re going to survive. They can’t if all they’re going to do is herring because there’s not only such a small amount of quota but they’ve lost a lot of fishable area as well," Lapp said.
Lapp also has concerns about the effects of the new buffer zone coupled with offshore wind development.
"If south of Cape Cod, millions of acres are being looked at for offshore wind development, if you put in buffer zones, boats may not have any other place to go. There might not be enough fishable area left for them," she said.
The changes to the management plan for Atlantic herring have been submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service for final approval.
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