NEW BEDFORD — Fishermen and scientists gathered at the whaling museum Tuesday for a meeting of the mayor's Ocean and Fisheries Council to share information on a number of issues facing the industry.
Fishermen, the industry and the economy would benefit from more fishing on healthy stocks in the closed areas, Canastra said.
"Look what just happened with the scallops in Closed Area 1," he said. "They were old and gray. It was supposed to be a nursery but it became a nursing home and a graveyard."
Laura Foley Ramsden, co-owner of Foley Fish, gave the processors' perspective. "We lost a lot of money in March because the weather was bad and no one could fish and the price went through the roof," she said. "When we talk to buyers about fresh New England seafood, they want us to guarantee the price and the supply. The only way to ensure a steady supply of fish is to achieve optimal yield from the fishery."
By-catch constraints and catch limits that are set too low are leaving too many fish in the ocean at a time when stocks are rebuilt and the biomass for haddock and scallops is exploding, Foley Ramsden said.
According to Brian Rothschild from UMass Dartmouth's School of Marine Science and Technology, the groundfish industry took 83,000 tons of fish in its first year fishing under the new sector management system; the same amount landed the previous year. "There was no difference in the catch between sectors and the old system of days at sea," he said.
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