Gov. Deval Patrick wants local fishermen and scientists to do for groundfish stocks what they did for scallop stocks: produce a body of scientific evidence that will convince federal fisheries regulators that groundfish are in better shape than their own science shows.
Patrick, who visited the port Thursday to understand how federal regulations are crippling the groundfishing fleet, challenged scientists at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology to come up with a research proposal in 30 days. Upon its receipt, he promised his staff would take an additional 30 days to look for a means of financing the research study, which would focus on the Southern New England winter flounder stock.
"There’s no guarantees, but we’ll go from there," Patrick said.
Federal regulators believe Southern New England winter flounder to be in such bad shape that fishermen are not allowed to catch any as of May 1. Local fishermen contend that the flat, bottom-dwelling fish are healthier than what is reported in stock assessments conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service. They told Patrick that regulations aimed at rebuilding winter flounder and other weak stocks will prove "devastating" to the industry because they hinder fishermen’s ability to harvest healthier stocks.