November 17, 2014 — Last Thursday, NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency responsible for managing the nation’s fisheries, instituted staggeringly restrictive area closures in the Gulf of Maine to combat what it regards as the ongoing deterioration of the region’s iconic stock, the cod fish.
Those emergency measures, according to Gloucester groundfishermen and other fishing stakeholders such as the Northeast Seafood Coalition, could be the act that finally cripples the Gloucester day-boat fleet beyond repair, pushing even more boats out of the water and out of business, particularly smaller boats that don’t have the range to get out beyond the closed areas.
”I’m guessing we’ll lose 10 boats right away, maybe more,” said Paul Vitale, owner and operator of F/V Angela & Rose.
Read the full story from the Gloucester Daily Times