New Bedford, Mass. — September 13, 2012 — The governors of four New England states are asking the federal government for $100 million to provide immediate disaster relief for commercial fishermen. Recent estimates of key groundfish stocks are so low that the catch limits for the next fishing year, which begins May 1, may force many fishermen out of the industry.
On Wednesday, the governors of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine sent a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate stressing the need for urgent action. "Our fishermen cannot afford to wait any longer for critical economic assistance," the governors wrote.
Cuts of 70 percent and more for species such as cod and haddock are projected for the 2013 fishing year.
In August, the Massachusetts congressional delegation called for a disaster declaration on behalf of New England fishermen. The decision rests in the hands of the Secretary of Commerce, according to Richard Sullivan, secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. "We think we have provided more than enough science and data to have that declaration made," he said.
Rebecca M. Blank is currently the acting Secretary of Commerce. Blank took over in June when former Secretary John Bryson resigned, citing health problems.
A draft proposal, recently circulated by Sen. John Kerry's office, outlined the relief measures sought. Around $67.5 million would go to provide economic assistance, including funds to retrain fishermen who lose their livelihoods. The balance would help the industry cover the cost of onboard observers on fishing boats and towards funding more cooperative research.
"We've got a great team effort going with the governors. It's a full-court press right now," Kerry said in a statement Wednesday.
"Their push strengthens my hand to make the case in Washington," he said.
Kerry said he is working on a similar letter with Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and members of the congressional delegations. "Our fishermen didn't cause the problem and they need our help to get through it," he said.
However, Dartmouth's John Haran, who manages Sector XIII, a group of groundfish boats with members from New Bedford to Greenport, N.Y., said fishermen are not looking for money.
"I was at the listening session that John Bullard had in Point Judith last night," he said. Bullard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's new regional administrator, has been meeting with fishermen in New England ports to hear their views. "No fisherman there asked for money," Haran said. "They just want the problem fixed." The problem, he said, is "poor science and overregulation."
In a statement, John Donnelly, a spokesman for Sen. Scott Brown, said the senator believes the solution is "to fix the root cause of the problem — firing Administrator (Jane) Lubchenco, improving the science and the data collected, and reforming the NOAA policies that created this crisis."
Read the full story in the New Bedford Standard Times