December 8, 2014 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and their National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have just made the situation worse and not just for our local fishermen. NOAA is cutting the overall quota in the Gulf of Maine for cod fish for the 2015 fishing season by 75 percent from this year’s 1,550 metric tons (MT) to a mere 386 MT in the Gulf of Maine.
One thing many people agree on these days is that it is increasingly hard to make a decent living. Many point to the widening dichotomy between the incomes of the “haves” and “have-nots.”
Despite a robust stock market and signs of abundant wealth around us, the general feeling is that bringing home the bacon is harder than it was before the financial crisis. As if providing for ourselves is not enough of a challenge, many of us worry about our increasing waistlines, eating a healthy diet, procuring fresh locally sourced items to put on our family’s plates.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and their National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have just made the situation worse and not just for our local fishermen. NOAA is cutting the overall quota in the Gulf of Maine for cod fish for the 2015 fishing season by 75 percent from this year’s 1,550 metric tons (MT) to a mere 386 MT in the Gulf of Maine. This follows a 77 percent cut the year before. The “compromise” amount of 386 MT is still above the limit of 200 MT that NOAA desired.
Read the full opinion piece at The Scituate Mariner