APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
The States have not set annual quotas on the herring 
catch. However, Maine has established regulations which pro- 
hibit catching less than 4-1/2-inch-long herring, except for 
bait, and which requires 4-1/2- to 9-inch-long herring to be 
used for food or bait. There are no specific herring regula- 
tions in Massachusetts, but the State prohibits otter trawling 
and purse seining in some areas. 
Nearly all the Pacific herring is caught within 3 miles 
of the U.S. coastline. Therefore the individual west coast State 
governments have management responsibility for this resource. 
The herring fishery on the west coast has been a regulated 
fishery. Regulations specify the type of gear used, length 
and size of mesh of the fishing gear, closed seasons, pro- 
tected areas, and quotas. 
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH AND 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FISHERY 
Resource availability 
Herring resources within 200 miles of the U.S coast in 
the Atlantic, while seriously depleted, are large enough to 
allow increased use by U.S. fishermen. The estimated MSY is 
about 300! “to 500) maiat:on- pounds’ 4 ‘Gatch statistics ston ais 
show that U.S. fishermen caught about 80 million pounds, or 
only 22 percent of the total catch of about 360 million 
pounds. If herring resources recover to levels of about the 
MSY, U.S. fishermen would have available an additional 220 to 
420 million pounds over the 1975 level. 
A 1972 NMFS report stated that the catch of Gulf of 
Alaska herring was considerably less than the estimated maxi- 
mum sustained yield of 500 million pounds. The total Alaskan 
herring catch for 1973 was 34.9 million pounds, indicating a 
very large underutilized stock. ; 
Major spawning areas for California herring are San 
Francisco and Tomales Bays. However, a 1973 NMFS report 
stated that the San Francisco Bay population had been esti- 
mated only once, in 1955, at 24 million pounds. The Tomales 
Bay population was estimated in 1972 by State biologists at 
about 8 million pounds. The total 1973 California herring 
catch was only 2.8 million pounds. 
Harvesting capability 
Technology is available to improve the harvesting capa- 
bilities of 1U.Se. vessels in the Atlantic. «NMES and *iandustry. 
officials described Canadian purse seiners as being much more 
efficient than U.S. vessels. According to these officials, 
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