PORTSMOUTH, NH (February 10, 2009) — Regional fishery managers are at odds with their federal counterparts over a court-ordered report analyzing controversial groundfishing rules, known as Framework 42, which have been suspended for 60 days.
The New England Fishery Management Council, which met Tuesday in Portsmouth, N.H., voted 11 to 6 to reject a draft report prepared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service.
The two regulatory bodies are in disagreement over how Congress intended to interpret federal fishing law, particularly with regard to a special rule that would allow for overfishing of a depleted fish stock so that fishermen could harvest healthier stocks that swim in the same area.
Read the Standard-Times story in full