Sometimes it seems that every bit good many people, including fishery managers, forget that fish have got to eat.
Thus, nosotros larn high-volume fisheries for fodder species, the depression trophic marking fish that feed largely on plankton and, inward turn, serve every bit nutrient for everything else inward the sea.
For far every bit good long, those who cope such fisheries have got remained focused exclusively on maintaining the sustainability of the fodder fish harvest, too pass every bit good piddling fourth dimension focusing on the importance of such fodder species to both larger predators too to the fisheries that such predators support.
That is tardily firstly to change.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council has adopted protections for previously unmanaged fodder species; the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has done the same, amongst an Unmanaged Forage Omnibus Amendment that prevents the creation of novel fisheries for many prey species unless at that spot is adequate scientific discipline to demo that whatever such fishery won’t crusade impairment farther upwards the nutrient web.
As the Draft Amendment notes,
“Atlantic herring have got supported an of import commercial fishery since the tardily 19th century too play a rattling of import role inward the ecosystem every bit fodder fish for many predators including marine mammals, larger fish, too seabirds, which back upwards additional commercial, recreational too ecotourism industries…
“The primary purpose of Amendment 8 is to modify the fishery administration conception for Atlantic herring fishery by:
1. Proposing a long-term acceptable biological choose grip of (ABC) command dominion for the Atlantic herring fishery that may explicitly trace of piece of work organisation human relationship for herring’s role inward the ecosystem too to address the biological too ecological requirements of the Atlantic herring resource.
2. Proposing measures to address potential localized depletion of Atlantic herring to minimize possible detrimental biological impacts on predators of herring too associated socioeconomic impacts on other user groups.”
The minute point, addressing potential localized depletion, has e'er been a contentious issue, whether the target species is herring or another fodder fish. The point has been raised amongst abide by to menhaden inward Chesapeake Bay, too with abide by to squid off Massachusetts’ Elizabeth Islands.
With regard to such localized depletion, the Draft Amendment states that
“Localized depletion occurs when harvesting takes to a greater extent than fish than tin give the sack locomote replaced either locally or through fish migrating into the choose grip of surface area inside a given fourth dimension period.”
The Draft Amendment provides additional special yesteryear including a “Council Problem Statement” that says
“Scoping comments for Amendment 8 identified concerns amongst concentrated, intense commercial line-fishing for Atlantic herring inward specific areas too at sure enough times that may crusade detrimental socioeconomic impacts on other user groups (commercial, recreational, ecotourism) who depend upon adequate local availability of Atlantic herring to back upwards trace of piece of work organisation too recreational interests both at sea too on shore. The Council intends to farther explore these concerns through exam of the best available scientific discipline on localized depletion, the spatial nature of the fisheries, reported conflicts amid users of the resources too the concerns of the herring fishery too other stakeholders.”
In other words, the occupation is non a shortage of herring, at to the lowest degree if the electrical flow biomass is evaluated on a single-species, rather than on an ecosystem, basis. Although the stock is managed rattling aggressively too amongst a minimum of precaution—the full allowable choose grip of for 2018 is laid too so high that at that spot is a 50-50 run a jeopardy that overfishing volition occur—the most recent operational stock assessment, conducted inward 2015, found that spawning stock biomass was good over the target level, piece line-fishing mortality was good below the overfishing threshold inward 2014.
Instead, the occupation is an influx of large, mid-water trawlers that come upwards into nearshore waters too take many thousands of pounds of herring inward a unmarried tow, badly depleting the local fodder base of operations too causing larger fish, including such recreationally too commercially of import species every bit striped bass, bluefin tuna, too cod, to larn elsewhere inward search of to a greater extent than abundant forage. John Pappalardo, executive manager of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, noted
“Our guys are non line-fishing the agency they did 12 years agone or too so the Cape because those fish aren’t at that spot because the bait isn’t there. We alive inward a migratory corridor here. We depend on the bait to locomote there.”
“Mid-water trawlers are breaking our local nutrient spider web yesteryear removing millions of pounds of herring too inward plough harming everything from cod fishermen to whale boat operators. The residents of Cape Cod experience the effects of sea too river herring beingness taken from nearshore waters, are penalized for harvesting, possessing or selling it, nevertheless the industrial fleets are not.
“They tin give the sack legally choose grip of hundreds of thousands of pounds of river herring that are tossed overboard dead. Predators (striped bass, cod, tuna) locomote out our surface area because they don’t have got plenty to eat. We remember this is the most of import offshore number facing us now.”
There are therefore a lot of voices calling for the New England Council to force the large herring trawlers farther offshore.
In Rhode Island, anglers are strongly supporting options inward the Draft Amendment that would consider Atlantic herring’s role inward the ecosystem when setting choose grip of limits, too force the mid-water trawlers at to the lowest degree 25 miles offshore.
“For Rhode Island a 25 mile buffer is of import to assist foreclose localized depletion too user conflicts considering the major role herring plays or too so Block Island too Cox Ledge every bit fodder fish for striped bass, cod, tuna, whales too other species.”
Conservation groups are also pushing for recognition of Atlantic herring’s importance every bit a fodder fish, too for inshore buffers that exclude the mid-water trawlers.
The Conservation Law Foundation, Wild Oceans too the National Audubon Society, amid others, are holler for that the large trawlers locomote pushed at to the lowest degree fifty miles offshore, to render an adequate feeding corridor for the herring’s predators.
Not surprisingly, nigh the exclusively opposition to managing herring every bit fodder fish, too to creating the no-mid-water trawler buffer zone, comes from a grouping that disingenuously calls itself the “Sustainable Fisheries Coalition,” too describes itself as
“an arrangement of the Atlantic herring too Atlantic mackerel mid-water trawl too handbag seine industry, operating from Maine through New Jersey. The Coalition was established inward 2007 to improve populace outreach too instruction too increase awareness of the economical importance environmental sustainability of the Atlantic herring too Atlantic mackerel fisheries.”
“said inward an e-mail the electrical flow command dominion [which ignores the Atlantic herring’s role inward the ecosystem] is amend because it allows for to a greater extent than flexibility inward setting choose grip of limits,”
and
“opposes whatever novel restrictions because they claim at that spot is no evidence that electrical flow regulations are harming herring.”
Of course, that latter comment ignores the whole signal of ecosystem-based management—it’s non nigh non harming the targeted species, exactly nigh non harming the entire ecosystem inside which the targeted species functions—but it’s nigh what you lot tin give the sack hold off from a grouping that specializes inward removing many, many tons of fodder fish from the sea each year.
The very terminal thing they desire anyone thinking nigh is their acquit on on the ecosystem…
But for those who believe that the wellness of the ecosystem matters, fourth dimension is getting short. The New England Fishery Management Council volition locomote accepting comments on Draft Amendment 8 through 5:00 p.m. on Monday, June 25.
Such comments should locomote addressed to Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, fifty Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. If sent yesteryear mail, comments should locomote sent early on plenty that they are received yesteryear the June 25 deadline.
Given the uncertainties of post delivery, it mightiness brand to a greater extent than feel to e-mail all comments to comments@nefmc.org, or fax them to 978-465-3116.
To brand sure enough that all comments are sent to the correct place, they should nation “DEIS for Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring FMP” on the message trace of all emails or elsewhere on mailed or faxed correspondence.
And if folks are concerned nigh a salubrious ecosystem too fodder fish stock, all comments relating to setting an Acceptable Biological Catch command dominion should back upwards Alternative 2, which
“would prioritize herring predator fodder needs based on limiting line-fishing mortality to 50% of [fishing mortality at maximum sustainable yield],”
and amongst abide by to potential localized depletion too user conflicts, either Alternative five (25-mile buffer) or Alternative vi (50-mile buffer) to continue the mid-water trawls offshore too amend assure that predators inward nearshore waters volition detect plenty herring to render for their fodder fish needs.
Of course, the Sustainable Fisheries Coalition—the folks who tow those large mid-water trawls—hope that no i does that form of thing.
Which should locomote plenty to larn you lot off of your couch too onto your keyboard, to brand sure enough that your comments are heard.
Time To Assistance Out The Herring--And Their Predators
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Oleh
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