July 20, 2013 — A key Senate committee approved a bill that would dissolve NOAA's Northeastern Regional Office in a proposal some fisheries advocates say could make things easier for the region's fishermen.
The bill also includes $150 million in disaster relief for fishermen.
"This new approach is seemingly advantageous," said Jim Kendall, head of New Bedford Seafood Consulting and a longtime critic of NOAA and regulations affecting area fishermen.
"Decentralization — it sounds good, and it sounds like it could be very beneficial if it works."
Along with shutting down the Northeastern Regional Office, the bill would direct NOAA to dissolve all necessary operations into existing locations throughout the region. Approved Thursday by the Senate Appropriations Committee, the bill takes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to task, claiming the NOAA-appointed National Marine Fisheries Service will not act on Congress' directions to enhance its functions in the mid-Atlantic region.
The change would improve outreach and services to the fishing industry by configuring fishery science centers and fishery statistic offices as "less stove-piped portals to the local fishing communities," according to the bill.
New Bedford attorney Pamela Lafreniere, who has represented local fishermen, said those changes could result in a strengthening of NOAA centers in Southeastern Massachusetts.
"If the local regional offices (referenced in the bill) are New Bedford and the Cape, I think this is a wonderful idea," Lafreniere said.
Kendall said it could mean area fishermen wouldn't have to drive to Gloucester in their dealings with NOAA.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times