The federal government should regulate the commercial fishing industry, not take another step toward destroying it. And that very basic principle should guide the nation’s new top fishing regulator, Jane Lubchenco, as she makes a key decision in the days ahead.
Lubchenco, recently confirmed as head of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will decide — perhaps as soon as tomorrow, but certainly by April 15 — whether new proposed draconian regulations planned by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service for the coming year beginning May 1 will stand.
If they are not modified and allowed to stand as the Interim Rule pushed by the National Marine Fisheries Service, commercial fishing will suffer a major blow — a reduction of nearly a third of the current fleet and a cut of 20 percent, or $30 million, in gross sales, according to NMFS’ own numbers.
If the Interim Rule stands, it would also deal a harsh blow to the credibility of Lubchenco and acting NOAA fisheries administrator James Balsiger, who have reached out to fishermen industry, sought their input, and expressed a willingness to restore communications and trust with an industry that’s been under NMFS’ heavy-handed thumb for far too long.
Last September, the New England Fishery Management Council voted 15-1 not to go with the now-proposed Interim Rule, but to go with the council’s still tough but at least more reasonable version. NMFS’ Kurkul, the only council member supporting the Interim Rule, ignored the sentiment of her colleagues and still planned to put the Rule in place.
If Lubchenco now rubber-stamps Kurkul’s Rule, it will basically tell the fishing industry the status quo is fine — indeed, it will tell the fishery management council that its input isn’t even needed, and that NMFS’ heavy-handed rule and enforcement under Kurkul is acceptable.
Read the complete story at Gloucester Times.