New Bedford is the most lucrative fishing port in the nation, and has been for years (heck, much of the nation’s history). So New Bedford politicians will, of course, stand up for their fishermen. And New England has never been known for overly cordial fisherman-regulator relations. But the fight seems to have escalated to a new level this week. Here’s the run-down of recent events.
May 1st, 2010: The New England multi-species groundfish fishery (fifteen species including cod, haddock, and flounder) becomes the first in the nation to transition to a new management system known as catch shares. A total catch limit for a given
May 7th, 2010: New Bedford joins a federal lawsuit contesting the legality of the catch shares system and the city’s mayor, Scott Lang, has formed his own fisheries advisory group.
August 29st, 2010: Four months into the catch shares experiment, the new management scheme is “working just the way both its detractors and its supporters believed it would.” 60% of the fleet is sitting at the dock; fishermen have decided it’s more cost effective to sell their catch shares and wait for prices to rise. In a three-part series on the topic, the New Bedford Standard Times says there could be severe financial repercussions for businesses that support fishermen.
November 5th, 2010: Governor Deval Patrick submits a reanalysis of fisheries stock assessments and economic impact estimates and requests emergency action to increase groundfish catch limits and provide financial aid to fishermen who fear they are being put out of business by the catch shares management system.
January 7th, 2011: Commerce Secretary Gary Locke denies Governor Deval Patrick’s request to raise groundfish quotas and provide financial aid, saying that such a move would require new scientific data (not just a different analysis) and stronger evidence of economic hardship.
Read the complete timeline at WGBH Boston.