Northeastern congressional delegates strongly urging the government to increase catch limits for certain species of groundfish. In a meeting on Wednesday with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and other federal fishing regulators they ensured that the officials heard loud and clear the anger of New England fishermen. Locke can do it by invoking his emergency powers granted to him under the Magnuson-Stevens fishery conservation act.
Jim Odlin, owner of Atlantic Trawlers in Portland, said that increasing the limits is essential to saving the region’s groundfishing industry. He added that at issue are new fishing regulations called “sector management” that went into effect May 1st. Under the rules, limits for some groundfish species are set so low, that accidental overfishing in one sector could have dire consequences.
Glen Libby, president of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Association and a member of the New England Fishery Management Council, informed that it would be good to trade fish with another sector which has not reached its quota for that particular species. But he says that for some species, catch limits should be raised. Libby is hopeful, though, that as more data is generated, the new system of sector management will prove successful.
Sean Mahoney, vice-president of the Conservation Law Foundation, opined that the limits that have been set are the appropriate limits right now. He added that we should wait and see what the catch is, what the potential limits might be, and whether or not there’s new information that might support raising those limits.
Scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service are currently in the process of gathering more data, which may eventually lead to catch limits being revised. Meanwhile, Sen. Snowe and other members of Congress are also urging the Obama administration to provide economic help for the fishing industry and to require better research on assessing fish stocks.
