The industry that built New England is at risk of disappearing.
Editor's note: Four years ago, when the NOAA Fisheries Enforcement scandal broke, eventually bringing an apology from the Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of NOAA, Jonathan Elias of WBZ CBS-4 Boston was one of the first television journalists to cover the issue. When New England fishermen traveled to Martha's Vineyard during President Obama's vacation (see: New Bedford draggers welcome the president and Photo Gallery) he joined them, along with a crew from fellow Boston station WCVB-5. Two years ago, he reported on the plight of Gloucester fisherman Joe Orlando. He follows up this week, reporting that Mr. Orlando was forced to sell his boat and give up his career. In this report "Fishing Industry At Risk Of Disappearing In New England" he also speaks with NOAA's John Bullard who says "There's no cod out there. It's not about science being right or wrong." We also hear from Massachusetts senior Senator Elizabeth Warren, who recently held a hearing to listen to fishermen and scientists, and stated "I'm not comfortable at all with the science."
GLOUCESTER, Mass., (CBS) — November 27, 2013 — The industry that built New England is at risk of disappearing. Fishing has always been a mainstay, but things have drastically changed. Environmentalists say global warming has depleted fish stocks. Fishermen argue there are fish, and regulations that defy common sense.
"It's killing me," says Joe Orlando. "I come down to the dock every day and look at my boat rusting away."
Joe Orlando has fished off Gloucester his whole life. A couple years ago WBZ-TV was at sea with him and his son. At that time he said federal regulators were hurting business. Now he says they're ending it. All because federal scientists say there is no cod left in these waters.
"It's not about fish, we just want to know why they are doing this to us," Orlando says. "We have no trouble catching fish. Something is wrong some place."
One fisherman told WBZ-TV that everybody has their boat up for sale. Another said, "A lot of the regulation I see serves no purpose other than to put me and my fellow fishermen out of business."
Ten years ago feds told fishermen to catch less cod. They did.
They were told to buy permits that were hundreds of thousands of dollars. They did.
Feds installed black boxes to track every boat. Fishermen even had to ask permission to go fishing. They did that too.
All because they were told by 2014 the fish would be back and all would be well. Not true. Because federal scientists now say the cod is gone.