PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The new regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, John Bullard, heard more than two hours of comment from local fishermen Wednesday about federal regulations that threaten to eliminate the local industry.
The most recent crisis to challenge ground fishermen in New Hampshire is a closure planned for October and November as a result of a report that showed fishermen were not in compliance with regulations to deter harbor porpoises.
Bullard has only been on the job for five weeks, but Weirsma said he already passed up an opportunity to build social capital with fishermen by declining to adjust the penalty.
Bullard has made it a goal to try and rebuild a trust with fishermen that has been badly damaged by the current administration at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
He was at the Urban Forestry Center on Wednesday evening to hold one of what he expects to be many listening sessions with fishermen throughout the regional industry.
Bullard previously worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees NMFS, in the mid-90s, and part of his job at the time was to deal with what was then a crisis in ground fish.
“What I am learning in my first five weeks on the job is that this situation seems a lot worse than it was in the 90s,” Bullard said. “And I don’t think there are any easy decisions in front of us. Harbor porpoises or any other decisions.”
He said every decision they make at NMFS, they are going to try and keep in mind that people are hanging on by their fingertips.
Read the full story at the Union Leader.