GLOUCESTER – July 25, 2010 – Federal Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has said he is "interested in exploring" the creation of a buyback program for fishing boats grappling with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration policies and catch limits designed to force out "a significant fraction" of the current independent feet.
But for now, Locke said in a letter to Gov. Deval Patrick, there is no funding — from government, industry or any other source — for such a program.
Jackie Odell, executive director of the seafood coalition, said she found Obama administration fisheries policies out of sync. NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco has acknowledged that the agency's policy of regulating the fishing industry through its catch share format will reduce the small-business fleet by "a significant fraction."
"What do you think about the 'jobs, jobs, jobs' and the small business support — that is the platform — for an administration who is also in charge of an agency (NOAA) that's cutting jobs, supporting catch shares with very low catch limits, and then supporting a buyback?" Odell asked. "That's why we need the leadership of the White House."
The New England Fishery Management Council has formally recognized the need for a buyback program, which has long been a top agenda item on the wish list of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, the region's leading industry group.
Locke discussed options for a buyback program in a July 20 letter, responding to two letters from Patrick in May.
A third Patrick letter sent on July 16 crossed paths with the Locke letter, creating some federal-state confusion.
Locke's comments about a buyback program were included in a lengthy letter that made multiple claims of support for the fishing industry, and rehashed recent actions — including the six-fold increase in the size of the pollock allocation in response to a new survey, The new NOAA numbers and the 600-percent hike in the catch limit validated fishermen's insistence that the original allocation was made based on flawed data.
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Daily Times.
Read the letter from Secretary Locke to Governor Patrick.