Pragmatism was what made the coalition the most powerful fishing industry group in New England. It had amassed a multi-million-dollar war chest to support Gloucester fishermen by tapping a settlement with the developers of two offshore liquefied natural gas terminals that the coalition had fought. Born of economic necessity in 2002, the Northeast Seafood Coalition is the umbrella trade association for once-splintered groundfishing interests and related shoreside businesses spanning mid-coast Maine to Long Island, N.Y. "There was a history of segregated interests," explained the coalition's executive director, Jackie Odell. "You had trawlers versus gillnetters, port versus port, inshore versus offshore, different states." While fishermen remained divided, government regulators were poised to further shackle them by cutting the number of days they were permitted to fish and restricting where they could fish.

Historically, fishermen were limited by complex rules under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, enacted in 1976, amended in 1996 and 2006 and designed to protect the seas from overfishing. Tighter controls were required after the New England Conservation Law Foundation successfully sued the government in 2002, claiming that the managers of the fish stocks were not following the mandates of Magnuson.


Nancy Gaines has been editor of two newspaper chains and four magazines, including the Improper Bostonian. She was founding editor of the Boston Business Journal and has reported for The New York Times and Boston Globe. She is now a publishing consultant and special projects writer. She lives in Gloucester and is married to Times staff writer Richard Gaines.

Read the complete story from the Gloucester Daily Times.