A group of New York state and New Jersey fishermen-plaintiffs have asked U.S. District Court Judge Rya Zobel to reconsider her June 30 blanket rejection of challenges to the groundfish regulatory regimen that has also been put in place covering the fishermen of Gloucester and New England.
The so-called catch share system, the signature fisheries policy of the Obama administration and its National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has engendered fierce opposition in ports along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and Congress. The experience in New England so far has been typical and what NOAA expected — fewer boats involved in a consolidating market.
Hundreds if not thousands of job are being lost, according to industry estimates.
The Mid-Atlantic group filed a suit against NOAA independent of one filed for New England and North Carolina interests by attorneys for the cities of Gloucester and New Bedford.
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.