April 1, 2019 — One of Gloucester, Massachusetts’ two groundfish sectors – Northeast Fishery Sector III — has been shutdown for the 2019 fishing season, which begins on May 1, due to a lack of financial support, The Gloucester Times reports.
However many of its 36 groundfish permits that remain active will be merged into Sector II, giving that group as many as 128 combined permits and about 35 boats.
Sector III was one of the original 16 commercial groundfish sectors approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a 2010 transition to catch shares, according to the newspaper.