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Seabrook area fishermen plead case to U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta |
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SEABROOK — U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., sat down with members of the troubled fishing industry late Tuesday afternoon Feb. 22 at Yankee Fishermen's Cooperative, hearing firsthand the issues fishermen said stem from overly aggressive federal regulations. In a small office overlooking Seabrook Harbor, about a dozen people affected by the regulations imposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service spent close to 90 minutes telling the congressman about problems they described as hurting their livelihood. David Goethel of Hampton, still recovering from injuries received in an accident on his fishing boat last summer, and a member of the New England Fisheries Management council, outlined for Guinta the area fishermen work, pointing out areas beyond three miles off the short New Hampshire coastline, and the better part of local fishing territory, are monitored by federal authorities. Neal Pike, president of Yankee Fishermen's Coop, said he has three boats but can only afford to use one of them now. He said years ago, they were asked not to work strictly on groundfish. Pike said instead, he concentrated on scallops and shrimp. From doing as he was told, Pike said, he now feels he has been penalized by avoiding groundfishing. Pike said the fishermen are constantly being hammered by regulations. "We're drowning here," Pike said. Read the complete story from Sea Coast Online.
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MELISSA WOOD, NATIONAL FISHERMEN: Meting out the meager
May 22, 2012 - Listening to the New England Council's Groundfish Advisory Panel talk about how that industry is going to pay for monitoring costs is kind of like trying to figure out how to pay your bills when you've just lost your job. Though monitoring is important keeping costs down is critical. As Panel Member Gary Libby pointed out, "If we had 100 percent monitoring we probably wouldn't have an industry."
