June 21, 2018 — Geoff Diehl, the Republican challenger to incumbent U. S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, would retain Carlos Rafael’s forfeited groundfish permits in New Bedford and would push to repeal the creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument, according to his plan to help the fishing industry.
Diehl, a state representative from Whitman, is set to release the plan, “A Good Diehl for Fishing,” at campaign stops Thursday in New Bedford, Scituate and Gloucester. The Gloucester event is set for 4 p.m. at the Fishermen’s Monument on Stacy Boulevard.
The Diehl fishing plan also calls for reducing the regulatory burden on commercial fishermen and finding “a balance between the necessary protections to ensure ocean preservation, and continuing to support the growth of a healthy marine industry across the state.”
His plan opposes mandated at-sea monitoring of the Northeast groundfish fleet, calling them “onboard watch dogs,” as well as an “egregious example of government overreach and a crippling cost to the fishermen.”
Diehl said transferring Rafael’s groundfish permits to “ready licenses” in New Bedford rather than dispersing them to other fishing concerns throughout the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery “is critical for maintaining the livelihood of those individuals and for ensuring the survival of the fishing industry now and in the future.”