According to the press communiqué the new proposal could limit recreational and commercial fishing in Stellwagen for the first time since the protected area was created off Massachusetts in 1993. Stellwagen Superintendent Craig MacDonald has scheduled an advisory committee meeting for Thursday in Boston.
In the meeting McDonald might ask federal fishery managers to limit activity inside Stellwagen has created inordinate interest in the 9 a.m. public meeting at the New England Aquarium. The proposal is aim to create a safe haven for fishing from other commercial activities. In the run-up to the meeting, fishermen and even members of the ad hoc subcommittee of the Sanctuary Advisory Committee say they’ve been left largely in the dark.
Vito Giacalone, a commercial fisherman from Gloucester who is policy director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition and one of eight members of the sanctuary subcommittee, said that they have no information regarding such proposal but they would prefer detail of the plan. MacDonald said he would use the input from the subcommittee to shape a proposal for a research area inside the sanctuary to help clarify how fishing affects the ecosystem.
Authority to manage fishing inside the sanctuary resides with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the activities of the council. The council members are appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and serve together with officials holding statutory seats for coastal fishing states.
