The letter — by Mayor Carolyn Kirk, state Sen. Bruce Tarr and state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante — emphasized that the National Marine Fisheries Service did not seem prepared for the start of catch share system used by the cooperatives, called sectors, and that the confusion, uncertainty and worry have left the fleet unwilling to immediately return to fishing.

The Gloucester Seafood Display Auction reported that, in the first week, the business auctioned only 4,000 to 5,000 pounds of fish during a period when a year ago nearly 10 times that amount was offered and sold, Kirk, Tarr and Ferrante told U.S. Sens. John Kerry and Scott Brown and Congressman John Tierney.

They were members of a delegation of 23 federal lawmakers scheduled to meet this morning with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to appeal for a suite of economic relief measures designed to help keep the New England groundfishery viable.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.