September 26, 2019 — Regional groundfishermen delivered a unified and dire message to the New England Fishery Management Council on Wednesday, testifying that any radical increases to at-sea monitoring coverage will bankrupt the multispecies groundfish fleet beyond repair and without benefit.
The council, meeting for the third day at the Beauport Hotel Gloucester, dedicated much of Wednesday’s agenda to groundfish issues — including the highly contentious Amendment 23, which will set future monitoring coverage levels and — ultimately — define the economic ability of commercial groundfishermen to continue fishing.
The four alternatives included in the draft amendment call for monitoring coverage levels of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of all commercial groundfish trips.
Groundfishermen, speaking Wednesday afternoon during the public comment period, drew a straight line from the increased monitoring costs to the economic collapse of the fishery.