Recently, a few representatives of the National Marine Fisheries Service have stated that they must work to regain the trust of the fishing industry.
Talk is cheap, actions are what matter. Here are a few suggestions that NMFS should take if its officials are serious about rebuilding trust between themselves and the fishing industry.
The most critical and easiest remedied involves the North East Fishery Science Center trawl surveys and stock assessments. Currently fish species stock assessments rely heavily upon trawl surveys, primarily conducted in the spring and the fall, using a three year moving average to estimate stock abundance.
If fishermen believe in the results of the stock assessments, they will certainly be more inclined to believe in the management measures implemented because of them. The overwhelming majority of recreational and commercial fishermen do not believe in the science NMFS presents because it does not come close to what they observe.
Since "Trawlgate," the NEFSC has taken a few positive steps to address this discrepancy through the Trawl Survey Advisory Panel. The new survey vessel, the H. Bigelowe, now uses an industry-designed net that fishermen may eventually have confidence in. Unfortunetely, the NEFSC has created large holes in the trawl survey data by a few of their actions.