The Obama administration has opened the door to an emergency increase in the groundfish catch to relieve economic hardship on New England fishing fleets — something fishermen in Gloucester and other area ports have been desperately fighting for.
The new policy, announced by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke in a Thursday letter, signals a change of course for the administration, which for months has avoided discussion of a catch increase on the grounds that it would not be allowed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
While Thursday's announcement did not commit the government to increase the number of fish New England fishermen can catch, the mere acknowledgement that an increase is possible was hailed as a significant turning point by industry supporters. It came under a sustained multi-pronged political push from coastal congressmen, local politicians and industry leaders who have recently seen the administration as unresponsive, or even hostile to area fishermen.
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