The Herring Committee of the New England Fishery Management Council yesterday approved a motion aimed at delaying a radical cutback in the size of future herring catches, pending a benchmark assessment of the strength of the fishery which is considered strong and stable.
But the data on the fishery show a "retrospective pattern" — a term that means the presence of worrisome trends as ever-more current data is fed into the model.
Lobster fishing interests said a major cutback in herring catches could leave traps without bait, and do deep damage to the lobster industry.
"In the 20 years I've been involved in lobstering," said an official of the Corea Lobster Co., "I've never seen a greater threat to the fishery."
Meeting in Portland, the Herring Committee yesterday focused on the recommendation of an independent Science and Statistical Committee, which was given authority to set catch levels by Congress in the 2007 reauthorization of the Magnuson Act, and announced its intention to reduce the biological catch to 90,000 metric tons, down from 145,000 metric tons.
Such a reduction could translate into a reduced landings by about 50 percent, according to industry estimates.
The effort to push back the announced cutback in the herring take was led by David Pierce, the deputy director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
In a Saturday letter to the council, Pierce described the situation as "surreal."
He wrote that sea herring "is not overfished and overfishing isn't occurring, yet we will dramatically reduce herring catch next year."
The impact of cutbacks, said Dwight Rogers, who manages the Corea Lobster Co. in Corea, Maine, could be disastrous.
"We have 50 fishermen, and 75 percent of our bait is used between September and December. This is when fishermen try to make money for the rest of the year. Current projections (of the impact of the pending cut) shows running out in August," Rogers said.
Rogers said the announced reduction in the size of the herring catch would push up the price of the preferred bait by 60 percent of more. This year, he said, lobster prices fell to $2.85 a pound or 40 percent while bait prices were up 11 percent.
Final action on the future size of the herring fishery will not be taken until next March, but this year is the first time the authority rests with the Science and Statistical Committee. It was not clear what impact the council can have on that decision, which was announced during last month's council meeting.
Lori Steele, the staff employee of the council responsible for herring actions, told the meeting she hoped to have some information by Nov. 2 on the social and economic impact of the cutback level announced by the Science and Statistical Committee.
"It will be the document we use for the November council meeting," she said. "We'll do the best we can, and hopefully that will be enough to allow for decision-making."
If approved by the full council, Pierce's motion would put the body on record as seeking a delay in a cutback in the size of the herring fishery for one year — until 2011 — when the total allowable catch would drop from 145,000 to 90,000 metric tons.
"We strongly support this motion," said David Ellenton, an owner of Cape Seafoods and Western Fishing Co., processing and fishing elements in an industry centered in Gloucester.
Support for an immediate benchmark survey of the status of the herring in the Gulf of Maine was nearly unanimous, but no date was set for the survey.
The herring stock biomass has remained relatively stable. Landings have dropped from 116,000 metric tons in 2006 to 90 metric tons in 2008; landings in 1982 totaled almost 830,000 metric tons.
The dollar value of the fishery is relatively low, about $20 million a year, but herring are essential to the operation of the vastly more valuable lobster fishery, which grossed $349 million in 2008.
Richard Gaines can be reached at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com
