Quantifying and reducing river herring and American shad bycatch in the U.S. northwest-Atlantic herring and mackerel fisheries

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

Mid-water trawling, the primary method of harvesting Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and Atlantic mackerel (Scomber Scombrus) in the U.S., can capture hundreds of tons of fishes in a single tow. Vessels using this fishing gear are efficient but have the potential to catch large amounts of non-target species that are difficult to quantify. Decreases in the number of anadromous river herring (Alosa pseudoharengus,, A. aestivalis) and American shad (A. sapidissima) returning to spawn has led to speculation that these fishes are incidentally caught in large numbers by mid-water trawl vessels. Although the role of bycatch in the decline of river herring and American shad is unclear, mid-water and bottom trawl Atlantic herring and mackerel fishermen collaborated with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) to quantify and minimize bycatch. This collaborative project increased portside sampling of vessels landing in Massachusetts and Rhode Island from ≤15% to 50% and created a near-real time communication system to notify vessels of areas with high bycatch. Portside sampling is an efficient, cost-effective method to estimate catch of river herring and American shad, which are pumped aboard vessels along with targeted catch. Industry cooperation and the appearance of small scale spatial and temporal bycatch patterns suggest rapid communication may be effective for reducing bycatch. As managers of the Atlantic herring and mackerel fisheries consider adding regulations to reduce bycatch, this project provides fishermen with a tool to achieve this goal without increased regulation