ASMFC SEEKS INPUT ON AMENDMENT
TO ADDRESS RIVER HERRING DECLINE

Please support measures to reduce at-sea bycatch

11/4/08  Atlantic river herring populations (alewives and blueback herring) have fallen by more than 95% over the last two decades, prompting the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list them as “species of concern.” Since river herring spend most of their lives at sea, bycatch in industrial trawl fisheries for Atlantic herring, mackerel and other small pelagic fish is suspected to be a significant source of mortality, but adequate data collection, monitoring, and reporting programs to control bycatch have yet to be implemented. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) reports, “Preliminary analyses indicate that, in some years, the total bycatch of river herring species by the Atlantic herring fleet alone could be equal to the total landings from the entire in-river directed fishery on the East Coast.”

In response to the river herring decline, the ASMFC released Draft Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring for public comment. Hearings are being held throughout the Atlantic states until mid-December, and written comments will be accepted through January 1, 2009.

At-sea bycatch must be minimized if we are to restore river herring runs. Please contact the ASMFC in support of the following recommendations:

The ASMFC should call on the Secretary of Commerce to make river herring recovery a priority. With the assistance of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the ASMFC should:

Attend a public hearing in your state or jurisdiction

HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS
**IMPORTANT** indicate "River Herring" on any correspondence

Mail to:                 Kate Taylor
                                 Fishery Management Plan Coordinator
                                 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
                                 1444 Eye Street NW, 6th Floor
                                 Washington, DC 20005