Rob Odlin, 40, says his fishing days may be numbered. He and other groundfishermen are facing major changes in regulations at the end of the month that some estimate will put half of New England's 1,480-vessel groundfishing fleet out of business.
he regulations encourage fishermen to form into cooperative-like groups, called sectors, which are allocated part of the annual quota for each species. At the same time, the government is setting stiff new quotas for haddock, pollock, flounder, halibut and other groundfish species.
The rules are the latest restrictions placed on the New England groundfishing industry, which has been under pressure to stop overfishing for the past three decades. In the past, fishermen have seen limits placed on the number of days they may fish. They have been told how many fish they may catch on each trip and where they may fish. They have lived through federal boat-buying programs. They have operated with the same number of fishing permits since 1996.
But technological improvements to gear and equipment have allowed fishermen to continue to overfish, according to federal regulators.
Odlin, one of the 65 remaining groundfishermen in Maine, says he fully expects to be among the losers under the new system. But he also vows to go down fighting.
Read the complete story at The Portland Press Herald.