New study spotlights same concerns over bogus NMFS scienceThe release of a new independent study looking into the hopelessly-flawed science used by the federal government to keep an unduly tight lid on catch limits for New England fishermen doesn't really seem to break any new ground.
Yet the outside study, carried out by former Atlantic States Fisheries Commission Chairman Preston Pate and released this week by the National Marine Fisheries Service, provides more vindication for fishermen who have long complained — justifiably, as now widely documented — that much of the science used as a base for the harsh National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regulations isn't worth the paper it was written on.
So one might think that the study's biting criticism of NMFS' science data — especially when coupled with the none-too-soon exit of Science Center Director Nancy Thompson, whose abrupt "resignation" last week on the eve of this report is interesting in its timing, to say the least — suggests NOAA and its NMFS are finally ready to give these issues the priority they deserve.
Read the complete editorial from The Gloucester Times.