Data from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans indicate that the New Brunswick weir fishery landed less than 2,722 mt of herring through October 1, 2023. Consistent with herring regulations, NOAA Fisheries is subtracting 1,000 mt from the management uncertainty buffer and reallocating it to the herring annual catch limit (ACL) and Area 1A sub-ACL because the New Brunswick weir fishery landed less than 2,722 mt of herring through October 1. Therefore, this inseason adjustment decreases the management uncertainty buffer from 4,220 mt to 3,220 mt, increases the ACL from 12,287 mt to 13,287 mt, and increases the Area 1A sub-ACL from 3,345 mt to 4,345 mt for the remainder of 2023 (Table 1).
Atlantic Herring Specifications for 2023
|
|
Current Specifications (mt) |
Adjusted Specifications (mt) |
|
Overfishing Limit |
29,138 |
29,138 |
|
Acceptable Biological Catch |
16,649 |
16,649 |
|
Management Uncertainty |
4,220 |
3,220 |
|
Optimum Yield/ACL |
12,287 |
13,287 |
|
Domestic Annual Harvest |
12,429 |
13,429 |
|
Border Transfer |
0 |
0 |
|
Domestic Annual Processing |
12,429 |
13,429 |
|
U.S. At-Sea Processing |
0 |
0 |
|
Area 1A Sub-ACL (28.9 percent) |
3,345 |
4,345 |
|
Area 1B Sub-ACL (4.3 percent) |
555 |
555 |
|
Area 2 Sub-ACL (27.8 percent) |
3,589 |
3,589 |
|
Area 3 Sub-ACL (39 percent) |
4,806 |
4,806 |
|
Fixed Gear Set-Aside |
30 |
30 |
|
Research Set-Aside (RSA) |
0% |
0% |
NOAA Fisheries will use the adjusted specifications for the remainder of 2023 when evaluating whether we need to implement a possession limit adjustment for Area 1A or for the whole fishery. Consistent with herring regulations, NOAA Fisheries will implement a 2,000-lb possession limit for herring for Area 1A beginning on the date that catch is projected to reach 92 percent of the sub-ACL for that area, and NOAA Fisheries will close the herring fishery and implement a 2,000-lb possession limit for herring beginning on the date that catch is projected to reach 95 percent of the ACL.
This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.
