Ripples from disruptions in the fishing industry will reach a long way By DON CUDDY
They say bad news comes in threes, and that seems to be the case in the New Bedford fishing industry these days. On top of a recent declaration from the secretary of commerce that the groundifsh industry in New England is a national disaster, the scallop fleet is looking at catch reductions of 30 percent for the next two years. And groudfishermen are resigned to more drastic cuts to their quota for the next fishing year, which begins on May 1.
Frustration over the cuts is mounting on the waterfront because fishermen have their doubts about the accuracy of NOAA’s stock assessments.
“There’s more yellowtail now than there were in the ’60s,” said Reidar Bendiksen of Reidar’s Manufacturing in Fairhaven, a family business that makes trawl gear. “But the fishermen can’t go where they are, and they are not allowed to catch them.”
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121014/NEWS/210140346
Leave a Reply