March 6, 2015 — Neither the industry nor fishing communities like Gloucester can afford to slide back into the dead ends and one-way regulatory streets of the past.
The announcement that NOAA Fisheries has agreed to pull back elements of last November’s emergency Gulf of Maine cod protective measures represents good news on several fronts.
For one, the easing of at least some of the conservation rules will indeed throw the Gloucester and northeast groundfishing industry a lifeline for the final weeks of the current fishing year.
Also, the step taken by NOAA — signaled two weeks earlier, when the federal agency agreed to at least reconsider an alternative cod proposal made by the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund and other stakeholders — should finally open the door to more input and cooperation between fishermen and their regulators. That can provide a significant step toward bridging the longstanding trust and credibility gaps between NOAA and the fishermen who regularly work the seas.
Now, it’s important that this cooperation be extended when it comes to setting regulations for the next fishing year, which is due to start May 1 — or in just eight weeks.
Read the full editorial at the Gloucester Daily Times