NEW BEDFORD — Without mentioning catch shares or sector management, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Wednesday it is deploying "economic assessment teams" to six Northeast fishing ports "to identify economic challenges and opportunities facing local industries and communities."
Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk told The Standard-Times she is pleased with the news, especially because the EPA will be one of the parties involved.
"It's a serious attempt to help distressed communities such as Gloucester," she said. "I especially like the fact that they're taking a holistic view and will include other federal agencies such as EPA. That's a huge deal for us in Gloucester."
The two-day visits, modeled after efforts in the Gulf Coast following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, will be to the ports of Portland, Maine; Seabrook, N.H.; New Bedford; Gloucester; Point Judith, R.I.; and Montauk, N.Y. Kirk said she was told the target dates are late April or early May.
The Commerce Department and its NOAA division have been sharply criticized by fishing ports in the Northeast for failing to conduct an adequate socio-economic assessment of new fishing rules as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.