EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA

Breaking News

Opinion

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. To join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address. Once you do, your comments will post automatically. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.

comments powered by Disqus
November 11, 2009

Column: Fishing communities need facts not fear

Sally McGee

Your series of editorials on the New England fishing industry over the last six weeks has repeated incorrect information previously printed in other publications. As this topic is critically important to New England fishermen, I wanted to make sure your readers had accurate information about a very hopeful transformation currently taking place in the industry.

As you mentioned, this summer the New England Fishery Management Council finalized regulations designed to transition the groundfish fishery to "sectors." Unfortunately, the editorial based its criticism of this decision on a number of factual errors and misinformation.

First, your Sept. 28 editorial ("New fishing regulations in need of work") stated incorrectly the following: "the current regulatory structure, which limits the number of days fishermen can spend at sea, has already resulted in improved populations of most species." In fact, despite decades of effort to bring back some of the most productive fisheries in the world, 13 out of 20 groundfish stocks are overfished and/or continuing to experience overfishing.

Second, that editorial deeply misrepresented how much work and public input has gone into developing this management system. Almost a decade ago, to avoid their own demise, a small group of fishermen on Cape Cod proposed to the council a catch share system that would provide a percentage of the fishery to their community. In exchange, they agreed to be fully accountable for every fish they catch (unlike the current days-at-sea system).

Years later, after another three-year public process, communities throughout the region are taking this same approach. Nineteen new harvesting cooperatives (or "sectors") were approved unanimously by the council in June and will begin fishing under sector management in May 2010.

Your Oct. 8 editorial ("Fishermen spurned at 'sort of' public meeting") disparaged — in advance — an excellent catch shares workshop hosted by the New England Fishery Management Council in late October. This workshop, which brought in government and industry experts from across the U.S., Canada and New Zealand, was an effort to provide a discussion forum sorely needed by New England fishery managers and industry leaders.

In fact, many who participated in the workshop — including many commercial fishermen — in New Hampshire did find the workshop to be a very worthwhile endeavor. As a participant in the workshop and third-term council member, it was incredibly refreshing to discuss approaches to fishery management outside the normal heated and overly politicized realm of a "normal" council meeting. Those who care about the future of fish in our region should be encouraged that the council is taking the time to learn more about a management approach that has been successfully adopted by over 400 fisheries worldwide.

It was your most recent editorial, (Nov. 2, "Fishing industry needs action, not words") that finally led me to respond. You suggest the current Massachusetts congressional delegation has done little or nothing for the fishing industry. In fact, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy worked very closely with Sen. John Kerry, House members and other New England members of Congress to secure nearly $35 million in 2009 and 2010 (not yet final) to help the groundfish industry transition to sectors. This funding will directly help more fishermen stay in the industry by covering up-front and operating costs they would otherwise have to assume.

I'm sorry that The Eagle-Tribune has been misled about the current and future state of our fishing communities. The problems with the New England groundfish fishery are deep, severe and centuries in the making. Sectors will not turn this situation around overnight. The alternatives are far worse however. Catch shares offers hope and a strong track record of success.

ÔÇ°ÔÇ°ÔÇ°

Sally McGee has served on the New England Fishery Management Council for six years. She is the New England policy director for Environmental Defense Fund's oceans team.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Column: Fishing communities need facts not fear
by Sally McGee , , Wed Nov 11, 2009, 01:23 AM EST
Opinion

Poll
Helium debate
Helium
AP Video