Principal Investigator Madeleine Hall-Arber
Herring is not overfished, nor is overfishing occurring in the herring fishery in the Northeast U.S. Nevertheless, conflicting demands for access to herring make careful management a high priority. Herring is the bait of choice for Maine's lobstermen. A plethora of species, including humpback whales, seabirds, groundfish, striped bass and squid, forage on herring. Humans too have an appetite for this pelagic species. Two projects focus on social impacts of herring management.
Managers are required by law to include a social impact assessment (SIA) when they develop new regulations (fishery management plans). Rarely does anyone look at prior SIAs to determine if they correctly anticipated the effects of past management efforts. Researchers at MIT Sea Grant and UMass-Boston are leading a two-year collaborative research effort, Socioeconomic impacts of herring fisheries management in the Northeast: Looking back to move forward, to analyze Amendments 1-4 to the Herring FMP. Joining anthropologist, Madeleine Hall-Arber, of MIT Sea Grant and economist, Sylvia Brandt, of UMASS Boston in the project, funded by the National Marine Fisheries' Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program, are five community researchers.
Amendment 5 to the Herring Management Plan is currently being developed. MIT Sea Grant's social scientist is working with the New England Fishery Management Council staff to develop the requisite social impact assessment for this new amendment.