Craig Pendleton of Saco, a groundfisherman, has sold his groundfshing permit in October 2008. He fears that if an interim rule is passed by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the 70 fishermen who land groundfish in Maine face the possibility of further reductions in the number of days they can spend at sea (counted from the time they leave the dock) and numerous other restrictions.
It is told that the rule also includes a provision that would increase the two for one area, where each day a fisherman uses will be counted as two. This means ending up with 20 allowable fishing days. The council is working on a new management system for rebuilding fish stocks that would limit catch to sustainable levels. The new plan would leave behind the days at sea system now being used and move to a quota-based system that establishes community-based co-ops, or sectors, which receive a share of the catch limit.
Glen Libby, chairman of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Association based in Port Clyde, said that at present the legislation is pending in Washington that would force NMFS to accept a different interim plan proposed by the New England Council. It would still contain a cut in days at sea. Terry Alexander of Cundy’s Harbor comes from a fishing family, said that if the regulators make further reductions, it’s hard to say what will happen. The 18 percent cut is bad enough (planned by the New England Council).
