John Kerry was the only signatory from the East Coast, with the others representing California, Oregon and Alaska.

In a prepared response to The Standard-Times, Eric Schwaab, NOAA assistant administrator for fisheries, said: "We welcome the letter from Congress as an opportunity to highlight what we have been doing and our thoughts on these issues as we move forward. NOAA has been actively engaged in a variety of catch share-related activities to assist communities and fishery management councils. We'll be providing the members of Congress with a more detailed response on what NOAA is and will do to assist fishery management councils with their work considering catch shares and other management tools that help support stable jobs and sustainable fisheries."

New England fishermen have received most of the attention since catch shares were introduced to the ground fishery in May 2010. But concerns about the system are spreading to other regions of the country.

A letter signed by 19 congressmen, sent earlier in the week to the House Appropriations Committee, seeks to restrict funding for new catch share programs for all fisheries under the jurisdiction of the New England, Mid-Atlantic or South Atlantic Fishery Management councils.

Read the complete stroy from The South Coast Today