Media report states that large diesel trawlers lay unmoving in the harbor of Galilee with empty nets and uncertain futures last week. Fishermen who would normally be busy with their catch instead congregated inside Superior Trawl lamenting their futures, trying to figure out how to fight new government conservation measures affecting New England’s groundfish fishery.
The report also said that on May 1, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration implemented a massive overhaul on the management system for groundfish, bottom-dwelling fish like flounder and haddock. Until last year, fishing was controlled under a days-at-sea management approach. The new catch-share system bases fishermen’s annual allotments on individual catch histories. This has affected the fishermen’s earning badly as they say some catch histories are incomplete, resulting in annual catch limits so low they can exceed their yearly allocations in just a few hours.
This new measure could be devastating to Galilee. Richard Fuka, president of the R.I. Fishermen’s Alliance, estimated more than half of Rhode Island’s groundfish fleet would be wiped out – forced either to harvest other, less-regulated fish or give up fishing altogether. Joel Hovanesian of Wakefield, also a Galilee fisherman, said that fishermen are used to being alone on the sea, not dealing with politics. he also said that in Galilee and other New England fishing villages. Fishermen have been researching and connecting with people who can help bring power back into the hands of the fishermen, opined Joel.
