Courant.com

Protect The Atlantic Herring

November 5, 2007

With the Atlantic herring, the New England Fisheries Management Council has a chance to start reversing decades of short-sighted decisions about managing the region's commercial fish stocks.

Reports indicate this little fish is still abundant in the Gulf of Maine, where it swims off the coast in giant silvery schools that feed on plankton. The Atlantic herring serves as a key link in the food chain.

A broad range of predators feast on its eggs, larvae and adult fish - cod, sculpin, tuna, bluefish, pollock, striped bass, puffins, gulls, terns, seals, dolphins, porpoises, sharks, whales and, yes, humans.

But stocks of Atlantic herring aren't endless. There are signs the population may be shrinking, resulting in fewer whale sightings, leaner tuna and more breeding failures among seabird populations that feast on the fish.

Midwater trawling is a prime suspect. Unlike bottom trawling, in which nets are dragged across the ocean floor, midwater trawling sweeps the upper water column where herring spend most of their time.

Last year, the council imposed a summertime ban on midwater trawling within 50 or 60 miles of Maine's shore. The results were encouraging, but scientists need better data.

On Wednesday, the fisheries council will meet to decide its priority issues for 2008. The management of the Atlantic herring fishery should be right at the top.

In addition, any management plan should set mandatory, science-based catch limits for the Atlantic herring with an eye to the needs of the ocean ecosystem. Midwater trawlers should be kept at least 50 miles offshore. Catches should be independently monitored to ensure compliance, and there should be a mandatory system for weighing catches and so-called "by-catches" (unwanted marine creatures caught in trawler nets that are otherwise tossed overboard) each day.

Midwater trawl ships should also be given enforceable caps for by-catches such as river herring, striped bass, scup, whiting, dogfish and groundfish species.

One of eight regional councils established around the country 30 years ago, the New England Fishery Management Council has the worst record for protecting commercial fish stocks.

That must change. Taking steps to protect the health of the Atlantic herring fishery - a key link in the ocean's food chain - would be a good place to start.

Originally published in the The Hartford Courant , November 5, 2007. Click here to read the original article.