Atlantic Herring Regulated and Closed Areas
Herring are distributed from North Carolina to Maine and from inshore to offshore waters to the edge of the continental shelf. The species is most abundant north of Cape Cod and become increasingly scarce south of New Jersey. The majority of the harvest comes from federal waters, specifically between May and November in the Gulf of Maine.
Regulated Areas
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Management Area 1 (Gulf of Maine)
All U.S. waters in the Gulf of Maine north of a line extending from a point at 41°39' N. lat. and 70°00' W. long. to 42°53'14" N. lat. and 67°44'35" W. long., and northerly along the Hague Line to the U.S.-Canadian border, including state and federal waters adjacent to the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
Area 1 is divided into Area 1A (inshore) and Area 1B (offshore).
The line dividing these areas is defined by the following coordinates:
| N. Latitude | W. Longitude |
|---|---|
| 41°58' | 70° 00' |
| 42°38' | 70° 00' |
| 42°53' | 69° 40' |
| 43°12' | 69° 00' |
| 43°40' | 68° 00' |
| 43°58' | 67° 22' |
Management Area 2 (South Coastal Area)
All waters west of 70° 00' W. long. and south of 41°39' N. lat., including state and federal waters adjacent to the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Management Area 3 (Georges Bank)
All U.S. waters east of 70°00' W. long. and southeast of the line that runs from a point at 70°00' W. long. and 41°39' N. lat., northeasterly to the Hague Line at 42°53'14" N. lat. and 67°44'35" W. long.
Northeast Multispecies Closed Areas
A vessel fishing for herring in federal waters must also comply with closed areas for other fisheries, including northeast multispecies, unless using gear defined as not capable of catching northeast multispecies. Exempted gear includes the following: Pelagic hook and line, pelagic longline, spears, rakes, diving gear, cast nets, tong, harpoons, weirs, dipnets, stop nets, pound nets, pelagic gillnets, pots and traps, shrimp trawls (with properly configured grates), and surfclam/ocean quahog dredges. These include seasonal and year-round closures, Essential Fish Habitat closures, and transiting/gear stowage requirements. In addition to this list, each closed area has specific exemptions for other gears and fisheries.
Mid-water trawl herring vessels fishing in northeast multispecies closed areas
The Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment, which went into effect on April 9, 2018, revised the Groundfish Closed Areas. The revisions change where midwater trawl herring vessels must carry an observer on all trips. The updated area requirements for observer coverage on midwater trawl vessels fishing in Groundfish Closed Areas are below. Full Closed Area coordinates can be found in 50 C.F.R in Section §648.81)
Closed Area I North
100% observer coverage required beginning Feb. 1 and ending April 15 of each year.
| North Latitude | West Longitude |
|---|---|
| 41° 30' | 69° 23' |
| 41° 30' | 68° 30' |
| 41° 26' | 68° 30' |
| 41° 04' | 69° 01' |
| 41° 30' | 69° 23' |
Closed Area II
100% observer coverage required year-round.
| North Latitude | West Longitude |
|---|---|
| 41° 00' | 67° 20' |
| 41° 00' | 66° 35.8' |
| 41° 18.45' | U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary (Approximately 41°18.45′ N lat. and 66°24.89′ W long.) |
| U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary (Approximately 42°22.06′ N lat. and 67°20′ W long′) | 67° 20' |
| 42° 22' | 67° 20' |
| 41° 00' | 67° 20' |
Cashes Ledge Closure Area
100% observer coverage required year-round.
| North Latitude | West Longitude |
|---|---|
| 43° 07' | 69° 02' |
| 42° 49.5' | 68° 46' |
| 42° 46.5' | 68° 50.5' |
| 42° 43.5' | 68° 58.5' |
| 42° 42.5' | 69° 17.5' |
| 42° 49.5' | 69° 26' |
| 43° 07' | 69° 02' |
Western Gulf of Maine Closure Area
100% observer coverage required year-round.
| North Latitude | West Longitude |
|---|---|
| 43° 15' | 70° 15' |
| 42° 15' | 70° 15' |
| 42° 15' | 70° 00' |
| 43° 15' | 70° 00' |
| 43° 15' | 70° 15' |
The Nantucket Lightship Groundfish Closed Area was eliminated by the Habitat Amendment. Therefore, there is no longer a requirement for 100 percent observer coverage aboard midwater trawl vessels inside the previous boundaries of this area.
At-Sea Observer Requirement
NOAA Fisheries may require vessels to carry an observer on any midwater trawl trip. Mid-water trawl herring vessels fishing in the closed areas listed above must carry a NOAA-approved observer. Mid-water trawl herring vessels not carrying a NOAA-approved observer may not fish for, possess, or land fish in or from these closed areas. If catch is released (a.k.a., net slippage) in a closed area prior to making it available for sampling by an observer, the vessel operator musts immediately exit the closed area. The vessel may continue to fish outside the closed area, but it may not fish in any closed area for the remainder of that trip.