Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte on Tuesday introduced a bill that could scrap a contentious new system for managing New England’s fisheries.
Under the bill, New England’s program would be terminated if more than 15 percent of participating fishermen lost their jobs in the first year. The new system finished its first year in May, but it’s not yet known if the 15 percent threshold was reached.
The bill also requires a two-thirds vote by fishermen before any future fishery management systems are approved.
“This legislation would help level the playing field for independent small fishermen by scrapping unreasonable federal mandates that are killing jobs while giving local fishing communities more control during the program establishment process,’’ Ayotte said in a press release.
Brown said it’s clear the new system in New England is eliminating fishing jobs.
“As more and more jobs disappear from Massachusetts ports, Congressional action is needed to save the fishing industry from overzealous federal regulation,’’ he said in a release.
Read the complete AP article in The Boston Globe