New England fishermen get a break on monitoring costs

obs_logo_lgCommercial groundfishermen had their projected cost for at-sea monitoring cut in half this year, but fishermen say it is still unfair they’re forced to pay for policing of their own work. NOAA lightened the fishermen’s burden because data shows the federal agency can obtain adequate information on fish populations with less monitoring coverage than initially determined. Fishermen have said it is unconstitutional for NOAA to force them to pay for their own policing. Hampton fisherman David Goethel said NOAA’s reduction in coverage is not enough to satisfy fishermen. “It’s obviously an improvement,” Goethel said, “But it still doesn’t alleviate the big problem, which is we shouldn’t be paying at all.” Read the rest here 08:15

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