The New England commercial fishing fleet has been waiting for decision on groundfish limits from the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Meantime a second economic emergency request — challenging limits on the humble skate — is coming from Congressman Barney Frank. The first request — for a broad loosening of catch limits across the 19 stock groundfish complex, sought by Gov. Deval Patrick before the mid-term congressional elections — Frank’s will cite authority in the Magnuson-Stevens Act allowing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to obviate an economic crisis with emergency adjustments in catch limits so long as stock recovery plans are not jeopardized.
During the decades of emergency conservation regimens the plentiful skate has helped keep the boats and shoreside businesses of Gloucester and New Bedford running. NOAA spokeswoman Maggie Mooney-Seus said the action was mandated under Magnuson and triggered when the year’s landings passed 80 percent of the size of the total allowable catch set by the New England Fishery Management Council.
But an academic research paper from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth asserts that NOAA is sitting on unreleased trawl data showing no need for the reduced trip limits that have effectively collapsed the skate fishery, leaving European buyers to skate exporters from South America. Zeus Packing CEO Kristian Kristensen, said that in 2009 they have lost at about 78 percent or $1.5 million from skate processing.
Researchers are awaiting a recommendation from government scientists before acting on the first emergency allocation request for additional groundfish, which was made last month by Gov. Deval Patrick.
