CONTACT:
Doug Grout: (603) 868-1095
Renee Zobel: (603) 868-1095
May 20, 2019
DURHAM, NH — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Board established the allowable ‘days out’ measures for 2019 commercial herring harvesters at a meeting on April 3, 2019.
The 2019 Area 1A allowable catch was set at 3,850 metric tons of Atlantic Herring after adjustments for research set-aside, fixed gear set-aside, and the 8% bycatch buffer. The seasonal quotas were adjusted by the Board at their October meeting from trimesters to periods. The period quotas and percentages are in the table below. The Board voted to roll the Period 1 quota into Period 2.
| Period | 1A Quota | % of 1A Overall Quota | 1A Quota Adjusted for Period 1 Closure |
| Period 1: June | 631 MT | 16.4 | – |
| Period 2: July – August | 1,544 MT | 40.1 | 2,175 MT (56.5%) |
| Period 3: September – October | 1,309 MT | 34 | 1,309 MT |
| Period 4: November – December | 366 MT | 9.5 | 366 MT |
Beginning July 15, vessels with federal herring Category A permits that have declared into the June through September fishery in Area 1A may land herring on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. These vessels may harvest and land up to 160,000 pounds per harvester vessel, per week.
Category C or D permit holders in Area 1A may land herring in New Hampshire on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Herring harvester vessels may transfer at-sea to other herring harvester vessels. Carrier vessels may not land Atlantic herring caught from Herring Management Area 1A in New Hampshire.
For more information, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or (703)842-0740 or Renee Zobel at (603)868-1095.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission coordinates the conservation and management of the 15 Atlantic coast states’ shared near-shore fishery resources – marine, shell, and anadromous – for sustainable use. Visit www.asmfc.org.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state’s marine, fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. The Department’s Marine Fisheries Division is located in Durham, NH. Visit www.wildnh.com/marine.