July 23, 2018 — New Bedford fishermen last week received the news they had been waiting to hear for eight months. Federal regulators lifted their ban against Sectors VII and IX — two groundfishing groups tied to Carlos Rafael.
The ban, which had been in place since Nov. 20 of last year, prevented 17 boats and roughly 80 fishermen from going out to sea. And it caused a ripple effect that was felt around the seaport.
Fuel suppliers, fish processors, boat engine mechanics and all the other support industries that work with the fishing fleet were hurt. By one estimate, some 240 jobs were lost to the ban.
So Thursday’s announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was welcome news.
“It’s finally happening,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, who had long pressed for a timely resolution.
“We’re happy,” he said. “It’s something that we’ve been doing everything in our power to encourage.”
At The Standard-Times, we think NOAA’s action — albeit too long in coming — was a good first step. But we’re not ready to uncork the champagne yet.
Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford-Standard Times