A public opinion survey of voters in Massachusetts and Maine found that 66 percent of those polled support a new fisheries management plan.
"What we believed and what the poll showed is that there are people who don’t live near the water or go commercial fishing that have an interest in the health of fisheries," said Peter Baker, manager of Pew Environment Group’s End Overfishing in New England campaign.
The environmental advocacy group sponsored the poll, which examined the public’s attitude toward overfishing and Amendment 16, a proposed groundfish management plan that would establish sectors. Under sectors, groups of fishermen would be given a share of the total allowable catch set for each stock and could design their own rules for how to catch that quota.