David deOliveira, who manages two New Bedford fishing sectors, summed up the sentiment along the waterfront to Friday's news that U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary F. Locke would not offer a lifeline to the region's groundfishing fleet.
"We bailed out the banks and the automobile industry and we subsidize the farmers, but we won't even help the fishermen," he said.
DeOliveira told The Standard-Times only 14 of his 34 vessels were working.
"It's like they looked at the Magnuson Stevens Act for language that would actually prevent them from helping the fishermen."
"They based their decision by looking at revenues, but any economist will tell you that you also have to subtract costs and this has not been done," he said. Many fishermen have had to buy additional quota from other boats to keep fishing, and this had not been considered, according to industry figures.
Richie Canastra, co-owner of the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction, described the news as "the same old same old," and said the governor and the congressional delegation, which pressed the issue, had simply been dismissed by Washington. "Now they probably feel the same way the fishermen have been feeling for the last 10 years," he said.
Carlos Rafael, a major player on New Bedford's waterfront and the owner of both groundfish vessels and scallopers, said he was not surprised by the decision. "When have they done anything for the fishermen? They are saying everything is fine when people are going out of business and losing their homes. People have been working twice as hard to make it. Scraping it to make it. But they are not going to make it.
"Me, I'm doing fine. But is this the new division of wealth in America? It's not on my conscience. They are doing it."
Dave Martins, of UMass Dartmouth's School of Marine Science and Technology, who has been engaged in cooperative research with the New Bedford groundfish fleet for several years, also was critical of the decision.
"To have given the fishermen any relief would have been an admission that sectors aren't working and they won't do that. In my opinion, they are in denial. Just today, a captain in Sector 7 told me that out of 20 boats in his sector only seven are active."
A letter sent to Patrick from the Department of Commerce outlined the reasons for the government's decision and was signed by Eric Schwaab, the assistant administrator for fisheries. Schwaab declared that solutions to the problems raised by the commonwealth are best addressed by the New England Fishery Management Council, the body that assesses groundfish stocks and determines catch limits.
Pat Fiorelli, public affairs officer for the NEFMC, said Friday she also had received a letter from Schwaab, essentially putting everything back in the council's lap. But it was too early to provide a response.
"The executive committee met on Tuesday, but now they are all back in different places, she said. "It's likely there will be a range of opinions. The council membership represents many different points of view with fishermen, environmentalists and officials from all the New England states.
"It's very difficult for us to express an opinion to the governor or the secretary. We are compelled to make regulations according to the law, and we think we followed the law in making our initial decisions. But these things do not get approved unanimously at the council."
Read the complete story from the South Coast Today.