Back in November the New England Fishery Management Council decided to undertake reforms to the fishery for Atlantic herring, responding in part to an unprecedented number of calls for action from fishery stakeholders and the public.

The first step in the creation of these changes is a comment period in which the Council seeks input from the public on what changes should be made to the management plan.  This process is called Scoping, and now is the time for interested parties to make sure their voices are heard.

Take action now and tell New England fishery managers that you think herring is too important to our ocean to allow a 21st century industrial fishery to operate with 20th century management tools proven not to work. Please take action by June 30th.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am concerned about the impact that industrial midwater trawling is having on the eco-system and traditional fisheries of New England. It's time for National Marine Fisheries Service and the New England Fishery Management Council to reform the Atlantic herring fishery. Being a keystone of our marine ecosystem, herring are vital forage for whales and other marine mammals, sea birds, and a host of finfish species including striped bass, tuna, and cod.

The monitoring system currently in place for industrial midwater herring trawlers is inadequate to document the impact these ships have on our marine resources, including bycatch of species such as river herring, haddock, hake, and dolphins. Additionally, allowing industrial trawl ships to fish as close as three miles from shore and in areas closed to New England?s historic groundfish fleet is wrong. Finally, recent studies have shown that the rebuilding of predator populations are not being adequately accounted for in the herring annual catch setting process. At-sea discards (dumping) of herring by trawlers is also not considered in annual catch setting.

This fishery must be brought into the 21st century with reforms that include:

* No midwater trawling within 50 miles of shore

* No midwater trawling in areas closed to groundfishermen

* 100 percent catch and bycatch monitoring of midwater trawlers, including a prohibition of dumping fish at sea

* A real-time catch and bycatch recording system to prevent midwater trawlers from catching more than the annual catch limit

* Enforceable bycatch caps monitored in real-time.

* Establishing a herring set-aside that meets the needs of predators as their stocks rebuild

The management structure in place for sea herring now is inadequate to protect our marine resources from the threats of industrial herring trawling. Take action in Amendment 4 to bring the herring fishery management plan up to speed.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 21, 2008