June 8, 2012 — The owner of the Gloucester fishing vessel Lori B — ordered by the U.S. Coast Guard in April to suspend monkfishing activities south of Nantucket because of Navy submarine exercises in the area, it was later determined — can recoup the fish that were left spoiled in the fixed gear, the National Marine Fisheries Service said Thursday.
Allison McHale, special assistant to the regional administrator of the northeast region, said the decision to allow the Lori B to use the lost three days of landings in the cycle running from May 1, 2012, through April 30, 2013, had been cleared through the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to the boat, owned by Richard Burgess of Manchester.
Burgess, who operates a small, multi-boat business in Gloucester, said Thursday he had not yet been notified of the action, which effectively allows him to land 14,000 pounds of monkfish.
That catch would replace the fish he was barred from hauling back after the Lori B was hailed by the Coast Guard cutter Campbell at about 8:30 a.m. on April 29, according to a written narrative of the incident by Burgess and submitted to the office of Sen. Scott Brown. Brown, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee, forwarded it to the committee, which took up the issue with the Navy and with the National Marine Fisheries.
Burgess Thursday expressed exasperation that the Navy had chosen prime fishing water and time near the April 30 end of the fishing year for military training operations.
Although NMFS' decision to allow him to keep the days at sea which were scheduled to expire at midnight on April 30 gives him a second chance to land the 14,000 pounds of monkfish, the investment in the aborted trip is still lost, said Burgess.
Burgess estimated fuel alone for the round-trip from New Bedford to Block Canyon — an area about 60 miles south of Nantucket — cost his business between $5,000 and $6,000.
"They knew the gear was there, and they still picked that place for their operations," he said.
Although normally based in Gloucester, the Lori B works out of New Bedford when fishing in Southern New England waters.