NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco has made a series of policy commitments to relieve hardships and improve opportunity for the embattled groundfishing industry.
She also outlined steps her agency expects to take quickly to reach the conclusion that an "affected group" of fishermen warrants disaster assistance.
The commitments nearly complete a punch list of needs outlined in a letter to Lubchenco last week by U.S. Sen. John Kerry.
In a prepared statement, he described Lubchenco's actions as "a down payment" of "welcome steps" on the path to the disaster declaration that the state has been seeking since last fall.
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