July 1, 2013 — The nine Members of Congress from the Massachusetts Congressional delegation have written to newly-appointed Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, congratulating the Secretary on her Senate confirmation and requesting a meeting to discuss issues relating to the Department's role in managing Massachusetts fisheries.
The letter noted the current difficulties that New England fishermen face, citing the 2012 declaration by the Commerce Department of an economic disaster in the Northeast Multispecies fishery, and new catch limits implemented for the 2013 fishing year. "Effective May 1," they write, "New England's fishermen have been subjected to such drastic cuts in allowable catch for critical groundfish stocks for the 2013 fishing season that many of them will likely lose their principle source of income."
The Members of Congress reaffirmed their commitment to seeking Congressional approval for economic disaster relief, as well as reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act with "the implementation of several necessary reforms, including cooperative research between the Agency and the industry and more frequent assessments of all managed stocks."