Massachusetts groundfishermen could be in line for a $40 million relief package if a proposal being presented by Gov. Deval Patrick to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke is accepted in its entirety.
Patrick is today asking the secretary to provide $21 million in emergency relief to beleaguered fishermen, in addition to authorizing significant increases in catch limits that could be worth as much as $19 million to the groundfish fleet this year.
"The governor has been great on this issue with the support of Senator (John) Kerry and Senator (Scott) Brown," said U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. "I think the secretary has already acknowledged the need and he's also recognized the justice of the argument, so I am confident that this will succeed."
The aid request comes in response to Locke's announcement, on Oct. 14, that he would consider exercising emergency powers to deal with the crisis in the fishing industry if it could be demonstrated that economic hardship had resulted from the introduction, on May 1, of new fisheries regulations known as Amendment 16.
"Our research shows that two-thirds of the groundfish fleet received allocations that were 50 to 60 percent less than what they fished in 2007 and 2009," said Robert Keough, assistant secretary for communications at the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. This resulted in $21 million in lost revenue to the industry, he said.
"The catch limits are also set at the lowest end of the allowable ranges, and that would mean losses in economic opportunities of $19 million this year, leaving them as they are set now," Keough added.
The scientific analysis, overseen by Paul Diodati, director of the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries and Dr. Brian Rothschild of UMass Dartmouth's School of Marine Science and Technology, has produced some dramatic findings.
"There is scientific justification to raise catch limits by at least 30 percent for most species and significantly more for some species while still remaining within conservation bounds," Rothschild said. "This is exciting. It's what we have been fighting for."
Diodati will meet today with Eric Schwaab, the top fisheries administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to turn over the scientific findings and the request for implementation of the emergency measures.
Mayor Scott W. Lang praised SMAST's swift action in compiling the evidence for an increase in catch limits. "They've done an excellent job in explaining their figures and it will be interesting to see the result," he said. "But we need prompt action so we can get the fleet back fishing."
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