By Iain Wilson/Independent Staff Writer
NARRAGANSETT, RI – August 19, 2010 – Rent is due for 28 commercial fishing vessels in Galilee that were served eviction notices by the state Department of Environmental Management on July 20.
The eviction notices are one more sign of the economic pressures facing the port's fishermen.
"There is a financial problem here that needs to be addressed with the fishing industry," said Richard Fuka, president of the R.I. Commercial Fishermen's Alliance. "It's quite disturbing that they are all commercial boats."
Tina Jackson, president of the American Alliance of Fishermen and their Communities, erroneously received an eviction notice on her fishing vessel, the Tina Marie, after paying for a temporary second slip for a new boat while she hauled out her other.
She said the eviction notices could be seen as a red flag. "If in fact there is a high number of evictions served to commercial fishing boats, it is a direct result of the new catch share management program not working," Jackson said.
Catch share management, which allocates a specific portion of the fishery to a certain party, was implemented in the spring. The allocations are based on previous catch history and are designed to prevent overfishing, but fishermen say the methods and science behind the program are flawed and the fish allocations too low.
Larry Mouradjian, associate director of DEM's Bureau of Natural Resources, said the eviction notices are standard administrative practice, handed out every year to delinquent accounts.