Herring and other small schooling fish are crucial to the ocean ecosystem because they provide food for larger fish and marine mammals. Yet vast quantities of these forage fish are removed by large-scale midwater trawlers with detrimental ripple effects.

Cape Cod fishermen had a major victory this year. On September 25th, the New England Fishery Management Council voted overwhelmingly to enact a coast-wide 12- mile buffer with additional protections off the back side of the Cape and Nantucket that extend out to 25 miles.This buffer will protect forage fish and the livelihoods of the small boat fleet that rely on them from the impacts of industrial midwater trawl vessels.

For over a decade, Fishermen’s Alliance members have been piloting the use of cameras on their fishing vessels, instead of taking human at sea monitors. We currently partner with The Nature Conservancy, the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and fishermen from Northeast Fishery Sectors V & XI, the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector, the Maine Coast Community Sector, and the Sustainable Harvest Sector, as well as National Marine Fisheries Service staff from GARFO and NEFSC, to develop electronic monitoring in the region. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Nature Conservancy have provided funding that will allow up to 29 groundfish vessels to use EM in fishing year 2018.  

EM documents groundfish discards and verifies fishermen’s logbook data. The project is refining protocols to allow EM to be widely used in the region, as well as developing expanded uses for EM data and providing important fishery statistics. Additionally, we are exploring how 100% EM coverage can provide business flexibility for fishing businesses, like access to closed areas.

Launched in 2017, the MSI was a first-of-its-kind partnership that brought together the Commonwealth's major shellfish sectors (aquaculture, wild harvest, and restoration), with a mission to maximize the economic, environmental, and social benefits of the State's shellfish resources.

Thanks to a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant, in 2018-19 the MSI will develop a 5 year strategic plan, based on recommendations from a broad range of coastal and shellfish stakeholders. Near shore shellfish resources support robust recreational fisheries in our coastal communities and directly generate over $43 million annually from commercial wild harvest and aquaculture production.  Shellfish also provide significant environmental benefits and contribute to the health of coastal ecosystems. Interest in shellfish has been on the rise in recent years, driving the need for a comprehensive statewide plan that will support continued responsible growth, while improving communication among stakeholders and leveraging ongoing state and municipal efforts.

For more information on how you can comment on the MSI plan, sign up to receive meeting notices and updates here. 

MSI work to date, including extensive stakeholder outreach via public meetings and listening sessions and online survey results, can be viewed here.  

Fisheries management is moving in a new direction, and the Fishermen’s Alliance is excited to be partnering with local fishermen and industry leaders to support the new paradigm. The traditional fisheries management strategy has been to focus on each species in isolation, but the new approach that is being embraced across the country is something called Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management.

In this new system, the entirety of an ecosystem - food fish, small schooling fish, predators, other marine life and humans - are taken into account, as are changing climate conditions and environmental factors. It provides opportunities to rebuild habitats and fish populations, diversify fishing businesses and better understand the entirety of the marine environment. 

Check back in the upcoming months to see how you can contribute to this important work.