http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/50043.htmlFisheries regulators from Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have taken a big bite out of the number of days that fishing boats can land herring, alarming Maine fishermen who depend upon herring for their livelihoods.
And it’s not just Maine’s purse-seine fishermen who are concerned. Maine’s lobstermen, who use predominantly herring as bait for their lobster traps, fear that they may not have enough herring ready when the busy fall lobstering season kicks in. If they don’t, it could mean fewer landings for an industry that last year caught $280 million worth of lobster in Maine waters.
Since June, smaller purse-seine fishing boats have been landing herring from the inner Gulf of Maine, known to herring fishermen as Area 1A, three days a week, according to fishing industry officials and regulators. The catches have been good, but have been so good that the total catch is quickly approaching the annual limit set by federal regulators. The catch limit was 60,000 metric tons before 2007 when it was reduced to 55,000 metric tons. This year, it was reduced to 45,000 metric tons with a few thousand of those tons being set aside for research and other noncommercial purposes.
Because of the good catches and lower limits, fishing regulators from the three states decided last week at a meeting in Durham, N.H., to cut the number of days that herring boats can fish in September to a total of four. As it stands, purse-seine vessels have been allowed to fish for herring in Area 1A on Sept. 1 and 2 and on Sept. 15 and 16. Not only does that mean fewer days of making money for herring fishermen, but it also could mean not enough bait for the 9,000 licensed Maine lobstermen who hope to be busy hauling traps by the end of the month.
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