The embattled local fishing industry is anxiously awaiting the decision that New England fisheries officials are expected to issue soon regarding court-mandated restrictions of fishing grounds off Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.
A federal court ruled last year that government regulators were not doing enough to stop over-fishing. But any new fishing restrictions would deal a serious blow to the local fishing industry, say fishermen and advocates.
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New regulations being considered would slash fishing days by another 50 percent and close some fishing areas for at least a year.
Local fishermen have long questioned the accuracy of the government’s fish stock assessments, which directly affect the livelihoods of thousands of fishing families. The gulf between fishermen and government regulators widened in September when the National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency that regulates local fishing, admitted that their method for gauging the abundance of seasonal fish stock in the waters may be flawed.
Fishermen say they believe the mistake resulted in an undercount of actual fish stocks in New England waters, which will result in stricter regulations than are necessary to protect the fish stocks. But scientists say that, according to testing so far, the faulty net did not appear to skew the government’s data regarding fish stocks.
“I share the concerns of Rhode Island’s commercial fishermen regarding recent problems with data collection and fish stock assessment,” U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, (D-RI) said in a statement. “We must ensure that the court’s findings and new regulations are
based on reliable data and sound science.”
PBN Staff
