The following is a press release from the Atlantic States Marine Fishereies Administration:
Please note that this press release revises and replaces the September 26 th press release by adding the details of the VMRC hearing and an additional NYSDEC hearing on December 2, as well as modifying RIDFW's hearing date from November 6th to the 18th ; all other information remains the same.
States Schedule Hearings on Draft River Herring Amendment
Public Comment Accepted Until January 1, 2009
Atlantic coastal states have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for River Herring. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow:
Maine Department of Marine Resources
December 2, 2008, 6 PM
Wiscasset High School
272 Gardinner Road
Wiscasset, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at (207) 624-6553
December 8, 2008, 6PM
Ellsworth High School
299 State Street
Ellsworth, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at (207) 624-6553
December 11, 2008, 6PM
University of Maine Machias Science Center
9 O'Brien Avenue
Machias, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at (207) 624-6553
New Hampshire Fish and Game
November 5, 2008, 7PM
Urban Foresty Center
45 Elwyn Center
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Contact: Doug Grout at (603) 868-1095
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
December 1, 2008, 6PM
Plymouth Radisson
180 Water Street
Plymouth, Massachusetts
Contact: Melanie Griffin at (617) 626-1528
December 2, 2008, 6PM
Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Contact: Melanie Griffin at (617) 626-1528
Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
November 18, 2008, 6PM
URI Narragansett Bay Campus, Corless Auditorium
215 South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Phillip Edwards at (410) 789-0281
Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection
November 6, 2008, 7PM
Marine Headquarters
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson at (860) 434-6043
New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation
December 2, 2008, 7PM
Bureau of Marine Resources Headquarters
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at (631) 444-0433
December 8, 2008, 7PM
Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve
256 Norris Point Way
Staatsburg, New York
Contact: Andy Kahnle at (845) 256-3072
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
November 6, 2008, 7PM
Galloway Township Public Library
Galloway, New Jersey
Contact: Tom McCloy at (609) 292-7794
Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources
October 27, 2008, 6PM
Matapeake Natural Resources Police Training Academy
Conference Room
Stevensville, Maryland
Contact: Bob Sadzinski at (410) 643-6776 x 2121
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
November 17, 2008; 6PM
Charles City Government Administrative Building
10900 Courthouse Road
Charles City, Virginia
Contact: Jack Travelstead at (757) 247-2247
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
November 18, 2008, 6:30PM
College of Albemarle
1208 North Road Street
Room FC121B/C
Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Contact: Sara Winslow at (252) 264-3911
South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources
October 14, 2008, 6PM
Santee-Cooper Auditorium
1 Riverwood Drive
Monks Corner, South Carolina
Contact: Bill Post at (843) 953-9821
Draft Amendment 2 seeks input on proposed requirements for river herring population and bycatch monitoring, as well as commercial and recreational management measures. It is anticipated that the majority of coastal states will be conducting public meetings on the Draft Amendment; information on those meetings will be released once they become finalized.
The Draft Amendment has been developed in response to widespread concern regarding the decline of river herring stocks. While many populations of blueback herring and alewife, collectively known as river herring, are in decline or remain depressed at stable levels, lack of fishery-dependent and independent data makes it difficult to ascertain the status of river herring stocks coastwide. Between 1985 and 2004, commercial landings of river herring dropped by 90 percent from 13.6 to 1.33 million pounds. In 2007, Commission member states reported river herring landings of approximately 1.1 million pounds. In response to declining stocks within their own waters, four states-Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and North Carolina-have closed their river herring fisheries. River herring stocks are a multi-jurisdictional resource occurring in rivers and coastal waters. River herring bycatch continues to be a significant concern. Preliminary analyses indicate that, in some yea!
rs, the total bycatch of river herring species by the Atlantic herring fleet alone could be equal to the total landings from the entire in-river directed fishery on the East Coast.
The Draft Amendment proposes a suite of management measures to address these concerns and ensure the survival and enhancement of depressed stocks or the maintenance of presently stable stocks. The Draft Amendment proposes mandatory data and bycatch monitoring provisions, as well as options to close fisheries by river system or establish a coastwide moratorium on the river herring fishery. Specific commercial measures include area closures, escapement provisions, and landings reductions by river systems, as well as limited access. Recreational measures include recreational license/permit, limiting recreational harvest by the days of the week, coastwide creel limit, gear restrictions, and area or seasonal
closures by river system.
Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Amendment 2, either through attending public hearings or providing written comments. Copies can be obtained by contacting the Commission at (202) 289-6400 or via the Commission's website at
www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM on January 1, 2009 and should be forwarded to Kate Taylor, FMP Coordinator, 1444 'Eye' Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: River Herring). For more information, please contact Kate Taylor at (202) 289-6400.
