Fishing industry is revamp with sector-based rules taking effect from May 1. It is informed that Amendment 16 was restructured into 17 new cooperatives called sectors which will have the ability to decide for themselves how to develop rules for taking and allocating their allowed catch to the various members. The allowed catch will be based on the landings history of the individual members of the sector.
Robert Lane of Bourne, a former owner of two draggers out of New Bedford, told that his experience in a sector in Maine is bitter and he quit business. He think that the sector system is going to collapse of its own weight with all the paperwork managing the thing. He added that the quotas force you into groups, and it’s a huge amount of work trying to manage it that way.
On the contrary in Cape the sector fishing has been in place for several years, there is a more upbeat attitude and a blueprint for success. Susan Nickerson, executive director of the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association, opined that the objective of Amendment 16 was to revamp the fishing rules, which, although complex and strict — some boats were allowed only 24 fishing days a year — had failed to curb the overfishing of many species and were frustrating everyone.
Pat Kurkel, the Northeast regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, has been a defender of the amendment and the science behind it, saying that “the real issue is that we’ve just been unable to eliminate overfishing.” It is informed that NOAA’s announcement of sector systems have been shown to maintain stable fish populations, resulting in more consistent income for fishing communities.
