July 13, 2015 — SEABROOK, N.H. — Groundfishermen monitored by a federal agency will soon have to pay roughly $700 for their own at-sea monitors, a cost they say is “one more nail in the coffin” to put them out of business.
The announcement comes at a time when the commercial and recreational groundfishing industry is struggling because of what they feel are strict federal regulations.
“The day I really have to pay for this is the day I stop going fishing,” said David Goethel, a commercial fisherman from Hampton.
“With the at-sea monitoring heaped upon fishermen, it very well could be the tipping point for many vessels, many permit holders,” said Dr. David Pierce, acting director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fishery.
At-sea monitors keep track of how vessels are doing with meeting their groundfishing allocations set by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that sets regulations. The allocations are in place to keep groundfish stocks from going too low. Groundfish refer to species like cod, haddock and flounder which live at or near the bottom of the ocean.
The daily cost for each vessel’s at-sea monitor will likely be near $710, a figure based on what NOAA paid in fiscal year 2015 to run the monitor program, according to Teri Frady, spokesperson for NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center. However, Frady said each region of fishermen, divided into “sectors,” will make its own agreement for cost with federally approved providers of monitors.
“We expect that industry funding for (at-sea monitoring) will be necessary in August,” NOAA Northeast Regional Administrator John Bullard said in a June 5 letter to state directors, including those in New Hampshire.
Read the full story at Seacoastonline.com