Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and his fishery advisory council crossed state lines to confront the New England Fishery Management Council with scientific evidence that the NEFMC has set fishing allocations much too conservatively.
NEFMC held a three-day meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., and Mayor Lang scheduled his meeting to start after they had adjourned for the second day so that the NEFMC members could attend. To their credit, they did attend, making their long day even longer. Also in attendance were representatives of both New Hampshire senators, both Massachusetts senators, and several House member representatives.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation by professor Steve Cadrin of UMass Dartmouth. Cadrin explained, in reasonable non-professorial language, the basis for increasing fishing allocations while staying within the scientific constraints of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Gov. Deval Patrick's October letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was based on the data in this presentation. Patrick's letter was cavalierly rejected by Locke and NOAA, essentially passing the buck to the NEFMC.
Read the complete letter from the South Coast Today.