On the heels of a "sobering" report by NOAA scientists documenting accelerating consolidation in the groundfishery in the first year operating in sectors with catch shares, the regional management council Wednesday begins discussing fleet diversity and limiting the accumulation of quota by the biggest players.
In nine of 14 groundfish stocks, 25 fishermen or corporations have come to control at least 50 percent of the quota, according to a draft document by staff for the members of the New England Fishery Management Council.
The council debate Wednesday will be followed by "a scoping period" to provide the public with an opportunity to identify issues and alternatives to be studied before any action, which is projected in 2014.
The staff report reinforced the study by the five social scientists at NOAA's science center at Woods Hole that found 20 percent of the vessels accounted for 80 percent of the revenues. That report came out last Wednesday.
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.