More Herring Reductions?

They should just shut it down already. It's only a matter of time.

It Happened! Shut it down? Seriously?

2014 Catch > 200 million pounds
2019 Quota ~ 40 million pounds
2020 Quota - to be determined at June meeting, rumored to be another significant cut
2021 Quota - was supposed to be formulated at June meeting, but will probably wait until the Stock Assessment later
this year

The cuts in herring's impact on lobstermen will mean the need of new sources of bait, including bunker and "exotics" like Northern Redfish racks, pig butchering byproducts (REALLY, but impact of swine virus in China may impact this) and others like local boys going out and jigging up a mess of mackerel.

Some of that comes from pressure from fishermen vs the pair trawlers. Most other organizations can't / won't go against that lobby. Money has the power. I agree on the bait situation and i think cowhide will become more popular when the price of bait goe's up again. Right now bait is just a tad short of being 3 times what it was in 2005. Fuel up 2 times +. Lobsters same as in 2005. Guess it's about time to build a couple of Gurdy's for my and Dom's boat. 👍

2014 Catch > 200 million pounds
2019 Quota ~ 40 million pounds
2020 Quota - to be determined at June meeting, rumored to be another significant cut
2021 Quota - was supposed to be formulated at June meeting, but will probably wait until the Stock Assessment later
this year

The cuts in herring's impact on lobstermen will mean the need of new sources of bait, including bunker and "exotics" like Northern Redfish racks, pig butchering byproducts (REALLY, but impact of swine virus in China may impact this) and others like local boys going out and jigging up a mess of mackerel.

Redfish ? Pricey , NASTY BAIT !!!!!
Want a trip to the ER room , use Redfish for bait , plenty of extra sharp bones / spines to cut thru gloves and skin ... You can feel the poison entering your system when the bones puncture ......
A full time lobstering operation could NEVER 'jig' enough mackerel for bait .........

Some of that comes from pressure from fishermen vs the pair trawlers. Most other organizations can't / won't go against that lobby. Money has the power. I agree on the bait situation and i think cowhide will become more popular when the price of bait goe's up again. Right now bait is just a tad short of being 3 times what it was in 2005. Fuel up 2 times +. Lobsters same as in 2005. Guess it's about time to build a couple of Gurdy's for my and Dom's boat. 👍

Mud , what is bait going for nowadays ?

A full time lobstering operation could NEVER 'jig' enough mackerel for bait .........

The 600-trap Ops, absolutely, but some small guys will do it to reduce their herring usage. You can see them out there on Sundays in the summer, the day they can't pull their traps.

Yeah, redfish are spiny SOBs, one of the few fish I won't touch without a rag, but most of the big ops prep their bait bags ashore which helps avoid the pain...

The 600-trap Ops, absolutely, but some small guys will do it to reduce their herring usage. You can see them out there on Sundays in the summer, the day they can't pull their traps.

A 600 trap fisherman would be hard pressed to make a full time living .......... Korean markets locally selling previous frozen Mackerel over $3 pound ..........

Korean markets locally selling previous frozen Mackerel over $3 pound ..........

Reminds me of a typical "Roccus Rant" when I excoriated the person behind the fish counter at the local "Dominick's Supermarket", ironic, huh?, in Illinois. They had "Fresh Mackerel" in the display case, fish with totally sunken eyes and other hints that it was almost past being useful for even crab/lobster bait or shark chum. When I screamed, "How can you call this 'Fresh'?????", the response was, "It's 'Fresh', because it's never been frozen." And then, in too loud a voice because I was really pissed, "You know freezing this fish with 24 hours of it being caught would have been a much better idea than this disgusting crab bait!!!"

Reminds me of a typical "Roccus Rant" when I excoriated the person behind the fish counter at the local "Dominick's Supermarket", ironic, huh?, in Illinois. They had "Fresh Mackerel" in the display case, fish with totally sunken eyes and other hints that it was almost past being useful for even crab/lobster bait or shark chum. When I screamed, "How can you call this 'Fresh'?????", the response was, "It's 'Fresh', because it's never been frozen." And then, in too loud a voice because I was really pissed, "You know freezing this fish with 24 hours of it being caught would have been a much better idea than this disgusting crab bait!!!"

Korean supermarket locally sells a lot of EVIL looking fish ........ Seems more fit for chum than consumption .........
Sells a lot of '1lb ' lobsters as well . With the current gauge size its difficult to find a true 1 lb lobster .........
Some of their 'cooked ' product is labeled less a LB .....

Korean supermarket locally sells a lot of EVIL looking fish ........ Seems more fit for chum than consumption .........
Sells a lot of '1lb ' lobsters as well . With the current gauge size its difficult to find a true 1 lb lobster .........
Some of their 'cooked ' product is labeled less a LB .....

The 1 lb and less lobsters are almost certainly Canadian where the carapace minimum allows for those little guys...

The 1 lb and less lobsters are almost certainly Canadian where the carapace minimum allows for those little guys...

Not allowed in NY State according to DEC law ......... All lobsters in NY MUST meet NY standards ............
Constant problem for NY Wholesalers who do business with Canada .... Trucks are constantly 'raided '

Not allowed in NY State according to DEC law ......... All lobsters in NY MUST meet NY standards ............
Constant problem for NY Wholesalers who do business with Canada .... Trucks are constantly 'raided '

Joisey too, and their minimum is even greater than NY and ME, IIRC. Canada has many processing plants so the quick work around is sending the meat.

I have no idea why anyone would want such a small lobster. My minimum is 1.75 lbs. I find the rationalizations that "smaller lobsters taste better, are sweeter", etc. most amusing. It just mean a person is too cheap to buy a decent-sized lobstah!!

Mud , what is bait going for nowadays ?

Scup, right now Fresh herring is $175. a barrel , Pogies $210. Redfish $ 210.

Frozen Redfish $ $25, per 44 lb box. Pogies $26.50Tuna .65 a lb.

5 years ago a bushel of Herring was $26. Today it is $54 +. A tray = 1.5 bushel and in some places guys paid as much as $80.

Scup, right now Fresh herring is $175. a barrel , Pogies $210. Redfish $ 210.

Frozen Redfish $ $25, per 44 lb box. Pogies $26.50Tuna .65 a lb.

5 years ago a bushel of Herring was $26. Today it is $54 +. A tray = 1.5 bushel and in some places guys paid as much as $80.

Getting pricey to go lobstering , fuel , bait , upkeep , cost of traps , especially buoys keep going up .....
A hard core operation can use 1,500 lb's a day in bait ..............

Here's the herring recommendations. The Lobstahmen will not be happy...
Lobster industry faces another deep cut in bait fish
pressherald.com/2019/06/11/lobster-industry-faces-another-deep-cut-in-bait-fish/

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated PressJune 11, 2019

SOUTH PORTLAND — Lobster fishermen will likely have to contend with another deep cut to the availability of bait next year due to a Tuesday recommendation by a fishery management board.

Federal regulators have slashed the catch limits for Atlantic herring, which is an important source of bait for America’s lucrative lobster fishery, over the past year. The New England Fishery Management Council voted Tuesday to again reduce the catch limits, this time to a little more than 25 million pounds in 2020.

The cut would reduce the Atlantic herring catch to its lowest level in decades, and less than a quarter of the 2017 total. The reduction comes on the heels of an earlier cutback that reduced this year’s quota to less than 35 million pounds when the catch had been more than 200 million pounds just five years ago.

It remains to be seen how much of an impact the cut in bait supply will have on the lobster industry and consumers of lobster, but another reduction is “certainly not the news we want to hear,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.

“Maine lobstermen will continue to identify new bait sources to further diversify our bait supply and develop efficiencies in our bait use,” McCarron said.