There may be a sense of relief among fishermen and industry leaders that the head of the New England Fishery Management Council, Massachusetts' own John Pappalardo, finally agreed to putting the absurd scallop limits up for "reconsideration" with the council meets next week.
But the fact is, Pappalardo caved to allow this reconsideration only after Congressman Barney Frank rightfully called for his resignation or ouster from the council — and only after he was called to a meeting in the office of Gov. Deval Patrick, who appoints the state's council representatives.
And other aspects of this story show that Pappalardo should have no place running a government body that has direct control over fishing regulatory policy.
The idea behind the diverse regulatory council is a good one — or was. It's an effort to try to bring together representatives of the fishing industry, environmental groups and legislators to try to find some equal ground in setting policy. And that's a noble effort.
But it's not working — especially now.
While Pappalardo and McGee are well-respected council members, the scallop scenario has raised enormous credibility questions about the setting of these limits. That's borne out with Bedford Mayor Scott Lang filing a Freedom of Information Act request looking into EDF's role in what needs to be a fair and credible government process. Frankly, the same credibility issues would still arise if the council were dominated by the fishing industry.
Pappalardo and the council's real commitment to fairness will shine through when the council actually votes to raise the scallop limits to the science-based figures, not merely "reconsider" and uphold the status quo.
The bottom line is that this form of policy-setting must be revisited and reformed — just like the flawed Magnuson-Stevens formula that put it all in place.
Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.