Council Actions
This section provides information and documents related to Council actions that have addressed river herring and shad management. These actions are listed in chronological order.
Amendment 14: River Herring and Shad Bycatch and Monitoring
Amendment 14 was developed by the Council to improve the catch monitoring program for the Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish fisheries, with a focus on better evaluation of the incidental catch of river herring and shad, and to address river herring and shad bycatch issues in the mackerel fishery.
Approved Measures: The final amendment included measures to: (1) Revise vessel reporting requirements (vessel trip reporting frequency, pre-trip and prelanding vessel notification requirements, and requirements for vessel monitoring systems); (2) Expand vessel requirements to maximize observer’s ability to sample catch at-sea; (3) Minimize the discarding of unsampled catch; and (4) Allow the Council to set a cap on river herring and shad catch in the Atlantic mackerel fishery.
Disapproved Measures: NMFS disapproved three measures in Amendment 14 after determining that those measures are inconsistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and other applicable laws. The disapproved measures included: (1) A dealer reporting requirement; (2) A cap that, if achieved, would require vessels discarding catch before it had been sampled by observers (known as slippage) to return to port (This issue has been addressed by a slippage framework action); and (3) A requirement for increased observer coverage on limited access midwater trawl and small-mesh bottom trawl mackerel trips, coupled with an industry contribution of $325 per day toward observer costs (This issue is being further considered via the Industry Funded Monitoring (IFM) Amendment).
Documents:
River Herring and Shad Management (formerly Amendment 15)
In June 2012 the Council initiated an amendment to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish FMP to consider whether the existing management framework for river herring and shad was sufficient for conservation and management of these species and whether Federal management under the MSA would address any deficiencies and/or inefficiencies.
At its October 2013 meeting, the Council voted to address additional conservation of river herring and shad through an interagency working group. The Council reviews the progress of the working group on a regular basis (e.g. http://www.mafmc.org/briefing/june-2015) and in October 2016 will conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the working group approach and determine if it, or a different strategy, is most appropriate for Council involvement in the conservation of river herring and shad.
Documents:
Framework 9: Slippage in the Atlantic Mackerel Fishery
Framework Adjustment 9 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan establishes measures to enhance catch monitoring and address slippage (catch that is discarded before it has been sampled by observers) in the Atlantic mackerel fishery. Framework 9 requires Tier 1, 2, and 3 mackerel vessels on observed trips to move 15 nautical miles following an excepted slippage event, which includes safety, mechanical failure, or excess catch of spiny dogfish. These vessels are also required to terminate a fishing trip and immediately return to port following a non-excepted slippage event, which would be due to any reason other than those listed above. In addition to submitting a Released Catch Affidavit, vessels carrying an observer are required to report slippage events through the vessel monitoring system daily catch report for mackerel and longfin squid.
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