Thursday, January 19, 2012

Maryland River Herring Moratorium

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced a statewide moratorium on the harvest of river herring (blueback and alewife herring).

The moratorium follows a 93 percent drop in commercial river herring landings along the Atlantic Coast since 1985. The Maryland commercial harvest of river herring has been falling since the early 1970s when the yearly average was about 700,000 pounds. From 2005 to 2010 the average was just 35,200 pounds.

Maryland is one of several states that are taking action to restore river herring. River herring are managed cooperatively by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

For more information, visit dnr.state.md.us/fisheries.

source: MD DNR

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