M A K I N G WAV E S | S u m m e r 2 0 2 2
PROPOSED REBUILDING PLAN FOR ATLANTIC MACKEREL DRAWS QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS FROM THE RECREATIONAL SECTOR Capt. Barry Gibson, RFA New England Regional Director
A new amendment on tap to rebuild Atlantic mackerel stocks has raised serious questions about survey methods and areas, stock shifts due to the effects of warming Gulf of Maine waters, and how the proposed measures will affect recreational fishermen.
plenty of mackerel right along the coast but explained that in offshore areas the survey ships did not encounter very many mackerel where they had found them during previous surveys, nor did they find the amount of eggs and larvae they had in the past.
In the Winter 2022 edition of Making Waves I explained to readers that in June of 2021, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released what they call a “Management Track Survey” of Atlantic mackerel along the East Coast of the U.S. The survey was designed to create a snapshot of the size and health of the current mackerel stock.
That triggered a lot of speculation that perhaps the offshore mackerel stock may have moved north or east due to the warming of Gulf of Maine waters over the past few years, as has happened with other fish species. Some fishermen questioned the timing of the survey samplings, saying that if they had been performed during other months the results may have been different.
Unfortunately, according to the survey, the news is not good. The stock has apparently been overfished for the past eight years. Although the mackerel stock tripled between 2014 and 2019, it is said to be only 24% of the target biomass of some 180,000 metric tons. So now, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), the board that develops management plans in federal waters off New York down through Virginia and which is responsible for Atlantic mackerel management, is tasked with creating a rebuilding plan, which is called the “Atlantic Mackerel Rebuilding 2.0 Amendment.” According to the MAFMC, a 70% reduction in commercial landings and a 50% reduction in recreational landings will likely be needed in order to rebuild the mackerel stock within 10 years. Needless to say, fishermen from Massachusetts through Maine were blindsided by the news. There were plenty of mackerel along the New England coast in 2021, and there have been for the past few years, so everyone was mystified as to how the survey could indicate there was a serious problem. The MAFMC staffer who conducted the webinar agreed that there were
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Since the first article on the subject appeared in Making Waves, and after a number of public hearings in April, MAFMC has proposed that commercial mackerel cutbacks include a 3” minimum net size for trawl vessels, and a reduced overall annual quota. Recreational measures would consist of a 10- or 15-fish bag limit per person per day (including mackerel used as bait and/or chum) which is expected to reduce the recreational catch by 10% to 30%. The management plan and the above catch reduction proposals triggered a torrent of response from recreational anglers and for-hire operators. The Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association, based in Plymouth, MA, drew up some representative comments and recommendations (listed below) and submitted them to MAFMC on April 30th. • The observations of the recreational and commercial fisherman in state and federal waters from Maine to south of Massachusetts is that there has been no lack of mackerel, from small to large, in these waters in the past several years. • No doubt, due to increased water temperatures, the stock has shifted farther north and/or east. Fewer mackerel landings in the continued on page 6
