Fishermen Concerned Over The Loss Of River Herring in Local Waters

Fishermen concerned over loss of river herring in local waters

Written by Bill Donovan
The Newburyport Current
Mar. 27, 2008

Newburyport - New England Charter Capt. Scott Maguire of Newbury is wishing for a plentiful summer on the water this year.

Last June it seemed like a lot of the hot spots off the coast of Newburyport had dried up. The 30- to 40-inch fish he’d been catching in years past weren’t there anymore.

Maguire, a sales representative in the ski industry, moved to Newbury with his family in 1980. Aboard his vessel, Summer Job, Maguire offers sports fishing for striped bass and bluefish to those just starting their fishing careers. The captain sets course out of Newburyport Boat Basin.

“I’m just not seeing as high a concentration of larger fish like I used to,” said Maguire. “And these used to be my bread-and-butter areas. The bigger fish aren’t hanging around these spots.”

The captain believes the diminishing river herring population in the Merrimack is a key factor. River herring are a main food source for bass, sea birds, marine mammals and more. According to Maguire, the commercial fishing industry is playing a major role in the shrinking numbers.

“These companies are taking all of the food out of the water,” said Maguire. “While there’s a total ban on using river herring for bait, pair trawlers are taking thousands of pounds of them as by-catch.”

By-catch describes unwanted fish and animals that are caught unintentionally in fishing nets.

Pair trawlers are two fishing boats that tow a single large net between them. Maguire said these factory vessels range from 45- to 165-feet and stay along the coastline to save fuel. The trawlers have the ability to catch every fish in the herring school. The larger fish are forced to move away as river herring populations get depleted.

“There are ships in Gloucester that are 150-feet-long each,” explained Maguire. “These boats use these exotic high-tech nets the size of football fields. As a result, any by-catch caught in the mesh is crushed.”

The captain said some commercial ships use guesswork when calculating loads of fish.

“They have less than 5-percent observer coverage in Gloucester and New Bedford,” said Maguire. “Anyone can look at a hold and literally guess.”

Holds are cargo areas below the deck where caught fish are stored.

“Most of these companies go out, fill their fish quotas and head back. They’re not taking the time to get exact numbers on what they’ve caught,” he said.

Maguire thinks factory ships need to modify their practices, and spoke of a local fishing foundation working to collect funds to buy new scales to weigh these fish more accurately.

“A rigorous system is needed to monitor ship landings,” said Tom Rudolph, Herring Campaign Operations director with the Cape Cod Hook Commercial Fishermen’s Association. “We need an independent third-party observer who will use new scales and carefully examine how many river herring there are.”

Some commercial and recreational fishing groups have formed a partnership over the future development of herring. In 2002, the CHOIR Coalition banded over issues concerning the positioning of large boats offshore. Miss Halie Fisheries, Nantucket Fish Company and New Hampshire Marine Coalition make up a few of the industrial groups.

Environmental conditions also are playing a role in the lives of river herring. Dams can prevent the fish from passing.

“They’ve diverted so much water away from the Ipswich River,” said Maguire. “They’ve used so much of it for drinking water that levels are never going to be what they were before.”

Plum Island resident Leo Stevens is another local charter boat captain worried about the decline of river herring and the factory ships.

“These companies are making our jobs more and more difficult,” said Stevens, captain of Leading Star Charters out of Newburyport.

Customers fish along the Merrimack River as well as along Jefferies Ledge for haddock and cod. The ledge is a popular feeding ground for fish that starts off the coast of Gloucester and extends into the Gulf of Maine. Stevens feels commercial fishing groups are driving away big game fish from this area as well as from Ipswich Bay and Cape Ann.

“They’re stripping the banks clean,” said Stevens. “These factory boats tow anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple hours. A million to 5 million pounds of fish can be taken onto these ships. Stripers, cod, haddock and football tuna are dragged for extended periods of time. Many die in these nets and are discarded.”

Stevens said factory boats will fish alongside party boats during the daytime and continue to fish into the night after they’ve left.

He recalls a few summers back when butterfish, a rare catch, resurfaced for a few days in the Ipswich Bay.

“For three days and three nights, the big boats came in for them,” said Stevens. “They fished them right out — the big game fish can’t out swim their nets. It affects lobstermen, tuna men and even the whale watch business.”

Stevens said the size of most fish has changed over the past 15 to 20 years. He believes this is connected to the loss of river herring as bait for other fish.
“Years ago, you’d have people catching 15-inch, 22- to 33-pounders,” said Stevens. “Nowadays, it’s fish that range from 12 to 14 pounds.”

The captain believes something needs to be done to stop factory boats.

“It’s really hurting the smaller mom-and-pop businesses around here,” Stevens said. “I’m just one little guy in the pond with all of us. But I want my grandchildren to be able to come up here and be able to catch stripers with me. I’ve been living here for almost 16 years. We need change.”

As of now, decisions are being made on Beacon Hill that will impact the future of river herring in the state. A 2008 Environmental Bond Bill has been designed to support the management of herring fisheries. The Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fisherman’s Association is a firm supporter of this new piece of legislation, said Rudolph, who added it is also supported by state Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown.

“State lawmakers have been very supportive in getting the ball rolling with this bill,” said Rudolph. “They understand that river herring are culturally important to Massachusetts.”

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