A young lad ponders the name on a fishing vessel on the New Bedford waterfront. Fishermen in New England are pondering their futures as Amendment 18 and fleet consolidation will see a final vote at the end of September. Closing a large area of the Gulf of Maine, which includes Cashes Ledges, will also be voted on soon. ENGOs lobbying the NEFMC want it closed to fishing with no consideration of the low to no impact of the hook and lobster trap fisheries. Engos are also pressing for on board by-catch observers on offshore lobster boats. Bycatch on which there is no data. Maybe the lad is wondering “what is ‘really’ going on here?” Fishermen’s Voice photo
Groundfish Control
Buying time or buying a fishery?
by Laurie Schreiber
The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) held a round of public hearings in August on proposals to promote fleet diversity and prevent consolidation in the groundfish fishery.
NEFMC is considering a range of measures, in the form of Amendment 18 to the groundfish management plan, that would impose limits on the amount of fishery permits and/or Potential Sector Contribution (PSC) that individuals or groups may hold, as well as other measures that may promote fleet diversity or enhance sector management.
In developing the measures to address these goals, NEFMC in 2013 commissioned consulting firm Compass Lexecon (CL) to determine if excessive market share currently exists in the groundfishery and to recommend potential constraints that could prevent excessive shares in the future.
CL concluded there was no evidence of excessive market share and recommended accumulation limits in the 15.5 to 25 percent
