Public Hearings on Mid Water Trawl Fleet Tonight in Plymouth MA & Wed in Warwick RI

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TONIGHT---Tuesday March 27@ 7PM
Radisson Hotel
180 Water Street
Plymouth MA

TOMORROW IS RHODE ISLAND
Wednesday March 28 @ 7pm
Hilton Garden Inn
One Thurber Street
Warwick RI

Now is the time for the recreational fishing community to show up in force and help bring accountability to the Atlantic Herring Mid Water Trawl Fleet. Every fish (Cod, Striped Bass, River Herring & Tuna) that relies on Atlantic Herring or is seen as by catch in this fishery is in some sort of trouble. This is no coincidence. Tonight is the Public Hearing for Boston & South Shore.

Please attend and sign the attendee list. Please go to the mic and give your opinions. The following is a list of items that have been prioritized by the MA Striped Bass Assn, the CHOIR Coalition and many small boat commercial fishermen. If you don't know what to say, go to the microphone and read this over and over. This is democracy and we need your vote. Your voice matters

1. 100 percent at-sea monitoring (Section 3.2.1.2 Alternative 2 )on all category A & B midwater trawl fishing trips in order to provide reliable estimates of all catch, including bycatch of depleted river herring and other marine life

2. Discourage the wasteful dumping of catch, Section 3.2.3.4 Alternative 4D including the fleet-wide limit of five slippage events per management area. Operational discards are dumping of valuable natural resources and must be included.
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3. No herring mid water trawling in areas established to promote rebuilding of ground fish populations (Section 3.4.4 Alternative 5).

4. We can not wait for new science to protect river herring. We support an immediate catch cap based on recent catch. To limit what is currently being killed as by catch is a good start. We support Section 3.3.5 only if modified to require immediate implementation of a catch cap.