Vito Giacalone from the Northeast Seafood Coalition and Tom Dempsey from the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fisherman's Association sat down to discuss the recent groundfish allocation cuts.
Vito Giacalone explained how stricter regulations have made it difficult for fishermen to get re-permitted to abundant stocks.
"What's happened over 20 years is people have become specialized in the permitting process," said Giacalone. "We used to be very diversified…Now through specialized permitting, most of the fishermen are stuck with what they've got." Giacalone concluded that fishermen "can't just switch."
Giacalone also empasized how current management measures have created a smaller fishery that is more difficult to access.
Dempsey expressed serious concerns for the current status of Gulf of Maine cod, saying that the species is currently at "critically low levels." He explained that fishermen are facing an apparently dire future if current trends continue. As it stands, many are unable to locate and harvest cod stocks, he said.
He also spoke of the value of annual stock assessments, a policy that he'd like to see put in place. Currently, stock assessments are conducted every several years, depending on the stock being assessed.
Watch the full discussion at WGBH Boston