This action increases the Atlantic herring Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) and the ACL for the remainder of fishing year 2022. Because NOAA Fisheries determined herring landings in the New Brunswick weir fishery were less than 3,012 mt through October 1, 2022, we subtracted 1,000 mt from the management uncertainty buffer and re-allocated it to the herring Area 1A sub-ACL and the ACL.
When 92 percent of the adjusted herring Area 1A sub-ACL is reached, no person may fish for, possess, transfer, land, purchase, or sell more than 2,000 lb of herring in or from Area 1A per trip or per calendar day from a vessel issued and holding a valid federal herring permit, and dealers are prohibited from receiving or purchasing from a vessel more than 2,000 lb of herring catch from Area 1A per trip, per calendar day.
When 95 percent of the adjusted herring ACL is reached, no person may fish for, possess, transfer, land, purchase, or sell more than 2,000 lb of herring in or from all herring management areas per trip or per calendar day from a vessel issued and holding a valid federal herring permit, and dealers are prohibited from receiving or purchasing from any vessel more than 2,000 lb of herring catch per trip, per calendar day.
Atlantic Herring Specifications for 2022
| Current Specifications (mt) | Adjusted Specifications (mt) | |
| Overfishing Limit | 26,292 | 26,292 |
| Acceptable Biological Catch | 8,767 | 8,767 |
| Management Uncertainty | 4,669 | 3,669 |
| Optimum Yield/ACL | 3,813 | 4,813 |
| Domestic Annual Harvest | 3,813 | 4,813 |
| Border Transfer | 0 | 0 |
| Domestic Annual Processing | 3,813 | 4,813 |
| U.S. At-Sea Processing | 0 | 0 |
| Area 1A Sub-ACL | 1,075 | 2,075 |
| Area 1B Sub-ACL | 0 | 0 |
| Area 2 Sub-ACL | 1,300 | 1,300 |
| Area 3 Sub-ACL | 1,824 | 1,824 |
| Fixed Gear Set-Aside | 30 | 30 |
| Research Set-Aside (RSA)* | 0 percent of each sub-ACL | 0 percent of each sub-ACL |
* Because RSA participants are not pursuing RSA in 2022, we did not deduct it from the sub-ACLs. RSA will be revisited for 2023-2025 specifications.
This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.
Original source can be found here.
