[JohnR]

This was in today's Herald about the government getting closer to recommending it's plan for the New England Groundfishing. Just a quick reminder, at the December meeting, the local council was to recommend a plan that would reach the goals required by law to restore the groundfish stocks. Essentially, instead of recommending a plan that would basically hurt their interests, they chose to allow the government to make that choice - it's about to happen...

http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/lo...sh03012002.htm

New limits could swamp fishermen

by Kay Lazar and Marie Szaniszlo
Friday, March 1, 2002

Sweeping cuts for New England's already battered fishing industry are expected to be unveiled today that at least one fisherman says could put thousands out of business.

Lawyers for the federal government will file their plan for meeting court-ordered goals to rebuild a dozen species of endangered fish, including cod, haddock and flounder. It will likely include a call for as much as a 30 percent reduction in the amount of cod fishermen will be allowed to catch in the Gulf of Maine begining May 1, a top government regulator told the Boston Herald yesterday.

The Gulf of Maine is the region's prime fishing grounds, and Gulf of Maine cod have been among the hardest hit by overfishing. The latest government figures show the species is not rebounding as fast as experts would like.

``We are taking this very seriously,'' said William Hogarth, assistant administrator for Fisheries for the National Marine Fisheries Service. ``Most New England groundfish stocks are improving, but there are still some very difficult issues that must be dealt with.''

Fishermen are bracing for the worst.

``If this is what they really plan to do, I'm out of business,'' said Richard Burgess, chairman of the Gulf of Maine Fishermen's Alliance. ``It will put 3,000 inshore fishermen out of work, and make 300 offshore fishermen extremely wealthy. This is going to create a maritime war.''

Dave Marciano, a Gloucester fisherman, is also worried.

``I'm not saying we shouldn't protect the fish,'' Marciano said. ``But to say these fish are going to be extinct in 10 years is completely preposterous. The concept is to punish the fishermen.''

Environmental groups sued federal fishing regulators in 2000, accusing the federal government of failing to put adequate measures in place to protect endangered fish.

Citing the Fisheries Service's ``record of inaction and delay,'' U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler on Dec. 28 agreed with the environmentalists and ordered the agency to come up with a remedy.

Hogarth said the government's plan to be revealed today likely will resemble a blueprint, known as Framework 36, that was rejected by local fishing groups in December - largely because it called for sweeping reductions in the industry.

The New England Fishery Management Council, comprised of fishing industry members and government officials, voted 9-to-8 in December to reject Framework 36.

Framework 36 spelled out eight alternative plans to protect the endangered fish and rebuild their stocks. The plans included a combination of fishing ground closures, cutbacks in the numbers of days fishermen are allowed to fish, and larger fishing meshes to allow immature fish to swim free.

Sources say the plan the government will reveal today will likely include a proposal to prohibit fishing in an additional 1,200 square miles of ocean off Massachusetts and New Hampshire from May to June, and open a formerly closed fishing area between January and March.

Currently, New England ground fishermen are restricted to 88 days at sea during the year. Sources say the government's plan will likely call for a dramatic cut, requiring that fisherman be allowed to fish just 11 of those 88 days between May and July - the time when many fish species are grouped tightly together after spawning.

``Unfortunately, I don't think there's an easy way to do this,'' said Priscilla Brooks, director of the marine resources project at the Conservation Law Foundation. ``All of this is the result of two decades of mismanagement by the federal government, and fishermen are the ones being forced to pay the sorry price.''

Hogarth said he is committed to spending an additional $1 million this fishing season, beginning May 1, to place neutral observers on fishing boats to monitor the amount of bycatch, or others species of fish that are inadvertently caught and killed. He was unable to say what percentage of the region's 1,700 boats would be staffed by observers with those additional funds. Environmentalists are asking in their lawsuit that 10 percent of the boats have these observers.

Environmental groups, fishermen and others have until March 15 to reply to the government's plan.