The New England Fishery Management Council has given relatively low priority to the divisive issue of placing accumulation limits and other controls to modify the catch share system installed in May 2010 for New England groundfishermen.
The decision to drop the problem to the bottom of the council's to-do list was reported to the Times by advocates and opponents of the status quo who attended the council's three-day November meeting that ended Thursday.
But the sides agreed the the delay addressing the conflict — between better served and less well-served participants in the original allocations — was a tactical win for the signers of a "go slow" letter that was addressed to the Massachusetts congressional delegation and dated Monday — the eve of the start of the council meeting in Newport, R.I.
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.