Gloucester, Mass. — August 21, 2012 — A new study of current harbor docking facilities and future needs just commissioned by the city aims to aid the commercial fishing fleet that now calls Gloucester home, as well as marine science and technology vessels the city hopes to attract.
Under a contract of about $11,000, researchers from the Urban Harbors Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston last week began studying existing conditions of the state-designated port area to determine how many vessels are home-ported here — a number already in dispute — and create, by November, a database of vessels, dockside property owners and available facilities.
From that, the researchers will “quantify needs for the home-ported and transient vessels and the expectation of property owners,” according to the institute’s proposal.
“One thing we’re concerned about is that current property ownership might turn over,” said Sarah Garcia, the city’s harbor planning director. “We need to know if the owners can maintain the dockage, how much money they will need, how many spaces are available.”
She said the information is pertinent also for the harbor planning study to come in the fall that will look at how new marine science and technology vessels can use Gloucester in its thrust for a broader maritime economy — such as Ocean Alliance is doing at the Paint Factory.
“There has been some concern that the new vessels might cause displacement of other commercial boats,” she said, “and we need to work with the diversity to provide some new, local-income opportunities.”
The study was commissioned by the city fisheries commission, 10 mayoral appointees including public officials and fishermen, chaired by David Bergeron. Its goal is to measure the port’s ability to meet demands, the proposal indicates, and come up with a range of strategies and recommendations including “regulatory, investment, incentive,” to continue and improve dockage’s role in “a full-service hub port.”
“Boats are now tying up at the ice companies for an exorbitant price per day,” said Garcia.
“Fishermen need access to the port,” said Bergeron, who has worked as a management consultant to the fishing industry for 20 years. “Even if they have a market, if they have no place to dock, they have nothing. We need to address that long-term need.”
The city’s proposal to UMass was based on a 2004 headcount of commercial fishing boats that totaled 263, said Garcia, admitting that was a matter of “big debate.” She said a recent eyeball count of boats in the harbor came up with more than 200. The regional office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which regulates fishing, put the number of current permit holders at 242, some of which hold both recreational and commercial permits.
Read the full story in the Gloucester Times