Tom Vinagre, the son and grandson of New Bedford fishermen, has seen a lot since he first started working on his father's boat at age 13. Now 46, Vinagre says neither he nor anyone else on the waterfront really knows what to expect from the new regulations that govern the fishery as of May 1.
The new "sectors" program, which is intended to rebuild depleted stocks, allows fishing vessels to join together as a group for a fixed share of the total catch.
Vinagre does not believe it represents an improvement.
"Somebody's got to prove me wrong, but I don't think it's going to work," he said.
Billed as an alternative to management tools, such as "days at sea," which pressured fishermen to remain at sea during bad weather, or "trip limits," which resulted in fish being thrown away, the boats in a "sector" can decide when they want to fish and must bring in what they catch. There are 18 New Bedford boats grouped in Vinagre's sector.
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