Full report - Conservation Gateway

Chapter 8 - Small Pelagic FishAnother source of mortality is entrainment of eggs, larvaeand small fish in power plants; mortality can occurfrom thermal effluents emitted by power plants as well.As many of these plants are located within large estuaries,it is important to gather high-quality data on the magnitudeof this threat in order to determine necessary actions(US EPA 2010). Once again, it is likely that Atlanticmenhaden is most impacted. Finally, ocean acidificationis a looming threat that has the potential to severely altermarine chemistry, food webs, and a host of other criticalprocesses. The full potential impacts of this threat are unknown.Management andConservationRegulatory AuthorityAtlantic herring, Atlantic mackerel, short-finned inshoresquid, long-finned squid, and butterfish are managedin federal waters by NMFS under the authorityof the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation andManagement Act. Atlantic herring are managed by theNew England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC),while the two squid species, butterfish, and mackerel aremanaged together under the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid,and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. Atlantic menhadenare managed by the Atlantic States Marine FisheriesCommission (ASMFC), while the two species of sandlance are unmanaged.Atlantic herring are unique as they are jointly managed byASMFC and NEFMC because they occur and are fishedin both state and federal waters. A variety of tools areused to manage the species, including area management,spawning closures, controls on catch, and a total allowablecatch (TAC) for the inshore fishery in the Gulf of Maine.While Atlantic menhaden are managed by ASMFC,they are also under the jurisdiction of the various statesthroughout their migratory range, each of which hasunique rules and regulations regarding harvest.As all of these species except Atlantic menhaden aretransboundary stocks relative to our international maritimeborder with Canada, they are also subject to themanagement authority of the Canadian governmentand the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Also,several species migrate beyond the limits of the U.S.and Canadian Exclusive Economic Zones.Current Conservation EffortsAtlantic herring are being managed by NEFMC in concertwith ASMFC. The Georges Bank stock has fullyrecovered from collapse, biomass is at very high levels, andexploitation rates are moderate (Overholz 2006a). Thereis a broad age/size distribution and spawning closures inmajor spawning areas prevent damage to egg beds. A recentlyenacted NEFMC nearshore Gulf of Maine closurewas initiated by the Coalition for the Atlantic HerringFishery’s Orderly, Informed, and Responsible Long-TermDevelopment (CHOIR), a coalition of commercial andrecreational fishing interests, whale watch enterprises,and environmentalists, in response to an expansion ofthe midwater trawl fishery. There was a perception thatthe large scale capture of Atlantic herring was leading tolocalized depletion resulting in loss of forage for whales,other wildlife, and species sought by commercial and recreationalvessels which prey on herring.Atlantic mackerel are managed solely by the Mid-AtlanticFisheries Management Council (MAFMC). Stock levelsare high (Overholz 2006b), and there is currently nonon-governmental organization (NGO) conservationeffort directed toward the species (nor are there such effortsaimed at any of the other federally managed species).Butterfish are at or near historic lows (NEFSC 2008)and NMFS is working on reducing the high bycatch ofthis species in other fisheries (Overholz 2006c). The Illexsquid population, which has not recovered from overfishingthat took place in the 1970s, is closely monitoredand strict quotas are adhered to in the fishery (W. Macy,Personal communication 2008). There are no conservationefforts directed toward the two unmanaged speciesof sand lance. In the United States, localized bait fisheriesNorthwest Atlantic Marine Ecoregional Assessment • Phase 1 Report 8-17