Fishermen and charter boat captains from Massachusetts to Florida rallied outside the Capitol Wednesday to demand changes to a federal fisheries law they say is killing jobs and eroding fishing communities.
Participants in the “United We Fish” rally want to loosen federal catch restrictions they say are severely damaging their industry.
Bryan Lowery, of Tilghman Island, Md., said federal rules limit him to 400 pounds of scallops a day. Instead of his usual 100 fishing trips, Lowery said he expects to take just nine trips this year.
“They’ve just put us out of business,“ he said, referring to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which put limits on the Mid-Atlantic scallop catch in order to recover vulnerable fish stocks.
See the video at WJAR 10 News.