Despite the turmoil in the Northeast, on Nov. 4, NOAA released a nationwide Policy on Catch Shares. In that document, NOAA commits itself to supporting new and existing catch shares systems by providing knowledge and other resources to regional Fisheries Management Councils pursuing catch share programs.
This bifurcated reality, with NOAA endorsing the spread of catch share systems around the nation while fishermen under catch shares in New England rail against them, is further polarizing two already divided worlds.
“Initially, we did not have a time when fishermen felt we were at war with the federal government,” said Richie Canastra, head of the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction, at the New Bedford meeting. “There was a time when felt we would see the reward of our sacrifices.”
The first six months of sector management in New England’s groundfish fleet are another reminder that those halcyon days are long gone.
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