Citing apparent shortcuts in routine procedures, a coalition of 16 members of Congress has urged the Secretary of Commerce to void cutbacks in the harvesting of scallops — the region's No. 1 cash species — announced last month by the New England Fishery Management Council.
The letter to Secretary Gary Locke is the latest expression of mounting frustration with the decisions of the council and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which regulates the fisheries of the nation's 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (December 19, 2009) – Garth Patterson of Congressman Barney Frank's office told a meeting here of Mayor Scott Lang's Ocean and Fisheries Council that the recent ruling cutting days at sea available for scalloping was "the straw that broke the camel's back for Barney."
The meeting — led by Frank's chief fisheries advisor, scientist and academic Brian Rothschild from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth's School of Marine Science and Technology — drew attendees from as far away as Maine. About 40 people attended the two-hour meeting at the Wamsutta Club.
Patterson said Frank had not received a response to the first letter, but he noted that the problems raised were complex and required research. He said Frank continued to expect a response from Lubchenco, who was Copenhagen for the global conference on climate this past week.
"As you know," Frank and his co-writers told Locke, "fishery managers are supposed to take into account the scientific recommendations of the Science and Statistical Committee in order to make informed decisions on allocation of fishery resources.
"However, in this instance, that clearly was not the case. It is also clear that economic impacts are not seriously considered when more conservative fishing proposals are implemented over less onerous ones despite the fact that they also meet the standards of acceptable fishing by the Science and Statistical Committee," they wrote.
Read the full story in the Gloucester Times