The National Marine Fisheries Service is close to settling on — and announcing — a one-year regulatory scheme for New England’s hard-pressed, shrinking fleets that could squeeze $30 million out of the industry.
Announcement of the Interim Rule could come as soon as Wednesday or as late as April 15, according to sources at NMFS’ national offices outside Washington, D.C.
The uncertainty traces to the installation two weeks ago of Jane Lubchenco as administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NMFS’ parent agency.
Confirmed by the Senate, marine biologist Lubchenco took it upon herself to review the draft Interim Rule introduced by NMFS’ Gloucester-based regional administrator Patricia Kurkul — whose push for it has drawn a cascade of condemnations by a broad-based coalition of fishing interests, a few environmental voices and the united opposition of the coastal New England congressional delegation.
The congressional delegation has put Lubchenco on notice that it is prepared to take legislative action to negate the Interim Rule should it remain in its original form. Read the complete story from the Gloucester Times
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
Federal regulators are about to finalize new commercial fishing restrictions that some fear could be a fatal blow to Maine’s groundfishing fleet. "We’re all just kind of waiting to see what’s going to happen," said Bert Jongerden, general manager of the Portland Fish Exchange, a city-owned auction house where about 70 Maine boats sell their catches. Read the story from the Portland Press Herald
The federal government should regulate the commercial fishing industry, not take another step toward destroying it. And that very basic principle should guide the nation’s new top fishing regulator, Jane Lubchenco, as she makes a key decision in the days ahead. Read the editorial from the Gloucester Times