A letter from 109 New England groundfishermen advocating for the regulatory status quo set off a fierce, internecine war of words Friday between haves and have-nots in catch share fishing allocations, leaving the mayors of Gloucester and New Bedford surprised and dismayed as well.
Rhode Islander Tina Jackson, president of the American Alliance of Fishermen and Their Communities and a fierce opponent of catch share commodification, which typically brings with it the fleet consolidation New England is experiencing, said the drafters of the letter "have started a war."
New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang called the signers "collaborators," fishermen willing to validate an inequitable system for a price.
Facilitated by officers of influential industry groups — including members of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition — the letter signed by the 109 fishermen, roughly a quarter of the current New England groundfishing fleet, included 15 from Cape Ann and asserted that elected officials, while responding to minority calls "amplified in the media," have put their businesses at risk with "a series of increasingly dangerous proposals."
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.