Atlantic Herring Inseason Adjustments, Accountability Measures, and Areas

In-Season Adjustments

When Atlantic herring catch reaches 92 percent of the management area sub-Annual Catch Limit (ACL) before the end of the fishing year, vessels will be prohibited from possessing more than 2,000 lb of herring per trip or calendar day from that management area until the end of the fishing year.

When herring catch reaches 95 percent of the herring fishery’s total ACL before the end of the fishing year, vessels will be prohibited from possessing more than 2,000 lb of herring per trip in or from any management area until the end of the fishing year.

Vessels may transit through a management area with more than 2,000 lb on board, as long as the herring was not caught in that management area and that all fishing gear has been stowed and cannot be used

Up to 295 mt of the Area 1A sub-ACL is allocated for the fixed gear fisheries in Area 1A (weirs and stop seines) that occur west of 44° 36.2 N. Lat. and 67° 16.8 W. long (Cutler, Maine). This set-aside is available for harvest by fixed gear within the specified area until November 1 of each fishing year. Any portion of this allocation that has not been harvested by November 1 is restored to the sub-ACL allocation for Area 1A.

Accountability Measures

In addition to limiting the fishery to 2,000 lb per trip/day when an area or overall ACL is harvested, the sub-ACLs for each management area will be reduced when a prior year’s sub-ACL was exceeded. These are the accountability measures for the herring fishery, implemented in Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan. They are designed to minimize the frequency and magnitude of catch exceeding ACLs (overages) and provide for subsequent harvest adjustments when ACLs are exceeded.

Annual Catch Limit Overage Deduction

• If total herring catch exceeds the stock wide-ACL or any management area sub-ACL during a fishing year, then the amount of the overage will be deducted from that ACL or sub-ACL in a subsequent year. 
• Overages are calculated during the year following the fishing year and deducted the next year. For example, any overages in 2018 will be calculated during 2019 and deducted during 2020.

Sub-ACL Carryover

If total herring catch does not exceed the stock wide-ACL and if a management area’s sub-ACL has not been fully harvested during a fishing year, then the amount of the underage, up to 10 percent of the sub-ACL, will be carried over and added to the sub-ACL for that management area in a subsequent year. Additional herring harvest added to each sub-ACL will not be added to the stockwide herring ACL.

Herring Gulf of Maine Haddock Accountability Measure Area

The Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area is defined by the straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated:

Herring Georges Bank Accountability Measure Area

The Herring GB Haddock Haddock Accountability Measure Area is defined by the straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated:

Coordinates for Haddock Stock Areas

The Gulf of Maine Modified Haddock Stock Area is bounded on the east by the U.S./Canadian maritime boundary and straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated:

The Georges Bank Modified Haddock Stock Area is bounded on the east by the U.S./Canadian maritime boundary and straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated: