SavingSeaFood - Catch share letter has Cape Cod flavor

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Catch share letter has Cape Cod flavor

Praised by Environmental Defense Fund and Conservation Law Foundation, the fishermen's letter defending stability and the status quo in the New England groundfishery drew a preponderance of its support from the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, whose policy director emailed it the U.S. Senate.

Though Cape Cod is a relatively minor faction of the industry, of the 107 fishermen who signed onto the letter, 46 work out of Cape Cod ports.

The Cape Cod Hook Fishermen's Association is a longtime ally and beneficiary of nonprofit groups and their corporate backers, including Wal-Mart, that have pushed for the catch share management system that's being blamed by many fishermen and lawmakers for driving jobs and small fishing businesses out of the industry.

No other port contributed more than 20 names to the letter, whose source remained unknown more than a week after the one-pager was sent out, timed to correspond to the beginning of three day meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Times.

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