Fishing disaster aid – direct assistance to keep the industry going has been minimized and replaced with permit buybacks
Frank Mirarchi, a retired commercial fisherman from Scituate, said the direct assistance will go to fishermen who have a 5,000-pound qualifying history. He said it will work out to about $32,000 per commercial boat. Ed Barrett of Marshfield, president of the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership, said he feels the direct assistance to keep the industry going has been minimized and replaced with permit buybacks. “That’s suicide. Here’s your disaster relief: a firing squad,” he said. “We’re communities with 400 years of fishing tradition, and I don’t think that because we didn’t have the quotas, because we were struggling, that we shouldn’t give help to those who need it most.” Read more here 16:14
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