NEW BEDFORD — New Bedford once again reeled in the most money of any fishing port in the country last year, despite a decline in volume, thanks to high scallop prices.
The city's port ranked No. 1 in dollar amount in 2010, landing $306 million worth of fish, a 23 percent increase over the year before. New Bedford has taken the top place in value for 11 straight years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Wednesday.
"I'm very proud the port maintains the No. 1 ranking," Mayor Scott W. Lang said. "It's a tremendous economic engine for the city and the region. Not only do you have the individuals working directly on the vessels themselves, but you have all the people who support the vessels and the processors who process the fish."
At the same time, the city slipped from eighth to ninth place for the amount of fish landed. Its landings fell from 170 million pounds to 133.4 million, according to the report. It had landed 146.4 million pounds in 2008.
Lang blamed the federal government's catch share rules for the decline in volume and said he would continue to press for relief from the restrictions.
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