August 2, 2015 — GLOUCESTER — Two bins down, one to go.
The distribution of the nearly $33 million in federal groundfish disaster aid has moved through the first two phases — or bins, in the parlance of NOAA Fisheries and the respective state fisheries directors — in the past year-and-a-half.
Bin 3? That’s become something of a stickier wicket.
NOAA and the fishery directors for the five coastal New England states and New York initially agreed on a formula that would use the $10 million in the third bin to address long-term issues of the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery, including a potential vessel buyout and/or permit buyback plan.
Those plans dissolved in the spring when the respective regulators and stakeholders couldn’t agree on the inordinately complex equation for developing long-term solutions for the fishery declared a federal disaster in 2012.
Now, the money has been returned to Bin 2, which means each of the six states will individually decide how to best spend their allotment from the $10 million.
Tonight, the Gloucester Fishing Commission will take a stab at coming up with what it believes to be the best option for the nearly $7 million earmarked for Massachusetts.
Read the full story at The Salem News