January 9, 2018 โ John Bullard, the outgoing northeast region administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has provided a clue as to what he believes is needed to re-open groundfish harvesting in Sector IX, Carlos Rafaelโs former fishing group.
โAs far as we know, the sectorโs enforcement committee has not yet completed an investigation of the sectorโs operations issues or determined the full extent of the sectorโs non-compliance,โ he says in a column published in South Coast Today, a newspaper serving New Bedford, Massachusetts, the port city Sector IX calls home.
โThatโs a show stopper.โ
Bullard has heard plenty of criticism from the newly constituted board of Sector IX, the mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, out-of-work crew members and many others since he announced his decision in November to shut down all groundfish harvesting for the group nearly five months before the season was due to end on April 30.
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