The federal government today finalized the most fundamental changes in New England fishing rules in more than a generation, over the strenuous objections of many fishermen who say they will be put out of business.
While some fishermen say the idea has merit, most say it is going into effect too quickly and the catch limits are too harsh. The end result, they say, will be fishermen losing jobs across New England.
“The bottom line is there hasn’t been enough analysis on these catch shares," said Richie Canastra, co-owner of the Whaling City and Boston Seafood auctions. He said that he feared 50 percent of the region’s fishermen could be squeezed out of business by the new rules. “We are getting these sectors forced down our throat,” he said.
While the new rules allow boats to still catch fish under the old rules, it makes it financially unattractive to do so. About 812 of the region’s 1,480 boats that fish for bottom-dwelling species have opted for sectors — they represent 98 percent of fish landings in recent years.
“Fishermen are understandably apprehensive about the changes, not only because they mean significant catch cuts, but also because for many it means doing business in a completely new way," said Patricia Kurkul, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration northeast fisheries regional administrator. “Taking these actions is critical to the long-term health of the fish and the fishing businesses that rely on them.”
The new rules are also highly complicated. While catch shares have worked in many fisheries, this is the first time the concept is being broadly applied to New England’s unique bottom-dwelling fish, where species of many types are found together and hauled up in nets.
“Under the plan, the weakest fish controls everything else," said Brian Rothschild, Montgomery Charter Professor of Marine Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Last week, New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang asked NOAA officials to temporarily delay the new rules until they get the “science straight” on fish populations.
But NOAA officials said the new rules allow Kurkul to alter catch limits far more quickly than in the past if stocks are shown to be improving. The agency is currently reanalyzing two species, including pollock.
“If these stocks are improving — and we do not know that yet — we will work to put that information into action, which could mean an increase in the allowable catch for both stocks without damaging rebuilding," said Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator for the NOAA Fisheries Service.
Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.