July 17, 2012 — A top federal fisheries official on Tuesday apologized to regional fishermen for the abrupt closure last week of the longfin-squid grounds, a move that some Long Islanders said cost them tens of thousands of dollars.
Managers usually provide several days notice of closures, which take place when the allotted quota of a targeted species is reached based on vessel landings reports, but in the case of the squid fishery, most fishermen received notice just hours before the closure.
Daniel S. Morris, acting regional director for the northeast at the National Marine Fisheries Service, in a publicly released letter acknowledged that two primary methods for alerting fishermen of the closure "did not work."
Fishermen such as Mark Phillips of Greenport said they did not receive word until the afternoon of July 9, just hours before the closure, while he had already steamed to the fishing grounds and had loaded his vessel with ice and supplies. He had to return by midnight.
Three Democratic New York lawmakers, Sen. Charles Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and Rep. Tim Bishop of Southampton, called the agency to task, and demanded that it explore more modern alternatives to communicate with fishermen, and a better system of advance notice.
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