BOSTON — September 13, 2012 — The U.S. Commerce Department declared a national fishery disaster Thursday in New England, opening the door for tens of millions of dollars in relief funds for struggling fishermen and their ports.
Federal and state lawmakers have pursued the disaster declaration since 2010, when new regulations were enacted in New England that put tough limits on how much fishermen can catch of a given species.
In the two years since, federal scientists have reported key stocks aren’t rebuilding quickly enough, including cod in the Gulf of Maine and yellowtail flounder in the Georges Bank fishing grounds off southeastern New England.
Cuts in the allowed catch have already been enacted, but ruinous catch reductions are projected for the 2013 fishing year that have put the future of the historic industry in doubt.
The money in the $100 million aid package forwarded by Kerry includes direct aid to fishermen and money to cover required costs, such as the independent observers to monitor their catch. It also includes funds to improve fishery science and stock assessments, which fishermen complain are inaccurate.
The Northeast Seafood Coalition, an industry group, applauded the disaster declaration and said regulations are needed that better account for how fisheries fit into the larger environment.
‘‘It is unfair to hold fishermen exclusively accountable for natural cycles of complex ecosystems,’’ the coalition said.
Johanna Thomas of the Environmental Defense Fund said a better grasp is critically needed on how fish abundance is affected by factors such as climate change, pressure on local coasts and warming ocean temperatures.
‘‘The problems facing the fishery … are long-term and the solutions should be also,’’ she said.
Read the full story by Jay Lindsay of the Associated Press at the Boston Globe.
Read an updated story at the Washington Post.