NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco's staff Wednesday moved to correct the impression she left in Senate testimony Monday — that Gov. Deval Patrick's administration was delaying the delivery of research that might show the new catch shares management scheme to be an economic disaster for sectors in the groundfishery.
Such a finding is required for the Secretary of Commerce to order an emergency increase in catch limits.
Ultra-low catch limits, however, are widely cited as a cause of the hardship.
And preliminary data from the state — released before the start of Monday's Commerce Committee field hearing — has described one group of 32 South Shore fishermen that had lost 60 percent of landings, 23 percent of revenue in the new system and "nearly" half of them could not cover operating costs with gross revenues.
The "catch share system," according to testimony by the state director of marine fisheries, "has caused severe economic strain among the majority of fishermen, most of whom are small vessel owners."
At Monday's hearing, Lubchenco — in answer to a question from U.S. Sen. John Kerry – said "we made it abundantly clear many times, we are waiting on the governor."
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