NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — July 26, 2012 — Rep. Bill Keating called for an "end-to-end" review of the way federal authorities calculate fishing quotas in a letter Wednesday that urged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to move forward with collaboration with the local Marine Fisheries Institute.
"I find NOAA Fisheries' solution to alleviate what is sure to be a devastating year for both the ground fish and scallop industry by further delaying the integration of cooperative research and data assessments as completely unacceptable," he wrote.
The letter echoed a proposal put forward in June by the Marine Fisheries Institute and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries that would allow the organization to collaborate with NOAA in its stock assessments of fish such as yellowtail flounder.
In April, NOAA announced an 80 percent reduction in the yellowtail fishing quota for the 2013 fishing season, after their data suggested a decline in the abundance and health of the yellowtail flounder.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times.