Secretary Of Commerce Gary Locke rejected a request for emergency action to increase catch limits in the New England groundfish fishery.
We applaud Secretary Locke’s stand on adhering to the established process and to his commitment to economically and environmentally sustainable fisheries. Our understanding is that the new groundfish “sector” management system implemented by the New England Fisheries Management Council only 7 months ago is working. In fact, according to NOAA data, revenues in the groundfish fishery are up over 17% so far this fishing season, while the sector fleet seems to be staying within their catch limits. This is good news and given the decades of overfishing in New England exactly what Ocean Champions hoped for when we supported the council’s decision to implement a sector program last year. Managing New England fisheries has never been easy and we look forward to supporting Secretary Locke’s efforts to build a sustainable and thriving groundfish fishing industry to the benefit of current and future generations of fishermen.
Read the complete statement from Ocean Champions.