Groundfishery Declared a Disaster
by Laurie Schreiber
BRUNSWICK – On Sept. 13, the Department of Commerce announced a disaster declaration for the commercial groundfish industry of New England.
“I was surprised, but not surprised,” said John Our, a gillnetter from Chatham, Mass.
Our spoke during a press teleconference held shortly after the announcement. “I have friends on Georges Bank. They don’t think the fishing is good at all. It’s probably the worst they’ve seen it in New England.”
The declaration is the first step in the process toward securing economic relief for ground fishermen.
Tom Casamassa, a ground fisherman from Saco and a member of the Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector, said of the fishery, “This is the worst I’ve seen it….Everyone’s really overwhelmed and we’re really glad they’ve moved ahead with the disaster declaration. New England’s going to really need it.”
If the declaration in fact results in any relief funds for the industry, the two fishermen said the money could be used on a variety of options, including improvement of science and data collection programs that support the fishery, relief for fishermen, helping them to restructure their businesses, and support for shoreside facilities that serve the industry.
Taking a broader approach, they said that, if something is wrong with the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, it needs to be fixed.
In the meantime, said Casamassa, “I don’t think anybody wants to sell out.” Still, Casamassa said, he expected the next few years to be tough on the industry, “I think the fleet’s really in trouble,” Casamassa said, adding, “We’re all scratching our heads, wondering what’s in the future for us.”
Our said the industry must get together and decide if members want potential funds to go toward a boat buyout program. At the same time, Our said, he and other fisherme in Chatham have been able to stay in the game by fishing “trash fish” – skate and dogfish. Casamassa said he’s also been going after dogfish over the last few years, and he diversifies his efforts by harvesting lobster and shrimp.
“I’ve talked with a lot of people in Maine,” Casamasssa said. “We’re finding that inside of 50 fathoms, it’s a desert. We used to catch fish right on the shore and there’s nothing there. I’ve gone all over, looking….We’re fishing some of the places 90 or 100 fathoms and we see a little bit, but nothing like what we used to in the past.”
The declaration comes on the heels of news from the New England Fishery Management Council that seven of the most economically important groundfish stocks in New England waters had experienced drastic declines. Due to these declines, fishermen are expecting extreme cuts in what they are allowed to catch, with some reductions close 80 percent compared to the previous year.
The news prompted a a bipartisan effort between the New England Congressional delegation and the New England governors to solicit disaster relief funding to support fishermen and their communities.