Restoring access can be done sustainably while still preserving much-needed jobs and fishing revenue.
Editor's Note: As the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) convenes this morning to begin a two-day meeting at which they'll discuss and decide matters affecting the future of New England's fishing industry, public concerns for the fate of areas currently closed to fishing in Georges Bank continue to mount. The following is an excerpt of an opinion piece that ran overnight in the Portland Press Herald, by Tim Healy of O'Hara Corp. in support of modifications to these closures, which would allow greater access to the scallop resource.
ROCKLAND, Maine — February 25, 2014 — In a region where years of harsh, inflexible regulations have led to a dwindling fishing fleet and shrinking dockside revenues, the scallop fishery stands out as one of the few success stories, producing one of the most valuable and sought-after seafood products in the country.
But in order to stay viable in the face of harvest cuts expected to go into effect next year, the fishery needs more flexibility from fisheries managers. One way to do this is to restore access to historic scalloping grounds from which the industry has long been excluded.
Since the early 1990s, sections of Georges Bank off the coast of New England have been closed to scallopers and groundfishermen, part of an effort intended to limit overfishing and protect habitats. In the process, these closures cut off access to some of the best scallop grounds in the region.
Georges Bank, particularly a section known as the Northern Edge, has long been important to the scallop fishery. The area may be home to as much as 10 percent of the region's scallops, and one closed section of the Northern Edge alone was recently estimated to contain around 20 million pounds of scallops.
In the 20 years that the Georges Bank closures have been in effect, serious questions have emerged over whether they have provided any benefit at all. The New England Fishery Management Council is finally set to re-evaluate, and possibly reverse, these closures. The council's Omnibus Habitat Amendment, and several of the currently included proposals, would finally grant the scallop fleet access to much of the closed areas.
Opening these areas will have many immediate benefits. The scallop beds that are now off-limits could contain millions of dollars' worth of harvestable scallops, and would help preserve badly needed waterfront jobs and fishing revenue for our struggling port communities.
Access would give the scallop fleet additional flexibility to harvest an abundant and sustainable resource. Access would allow for a more consistent supply of scallops to maintain the market that the fleet has built up and that has made scallops one of our nation's most in-demand seafood products. Most importantly, access can prevent a series of ultimately unnecessary harvest cuts that are expected for the next fishing year's scallop catch.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tim Healy is chief financial officer of the O'Hara Corp. in Rockland, Maine.
Read the full opinion piece at the Portland Press Herald