Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery; Haddock Incidental Catch Allowance for the 2005 Atlantic Herring Fishery

NMFS is promulgating emergency regulations to establish an incidental haddock catch allowance for the 2005 Atlantic herring fishery. Emergency action was requested by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) at its meeting on March 30, 2005, to address haddock bycatch in the herring fishery. In developing these measures, NMFS considered recommendations made by the Council's Ad-hoc Bycatch Committee and the Council. The intent of these provisions is to allow the herring fleet to continue its normal fishing operations for the 2005 fishing year, despite the presence of two large year classes of haddock, without providing an incentive for the industry to target haddock, and without causing harm to the GB haddock resource. The proposed measures would reflect the intention of maintaining a haddock possession tolerance as close to zero as practicable, while allowing the herring industry to operate.