Much of the fish population along Maine’s coast has disappeared. Efforts are now under way to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen to the state’s fishermen.
Conservation groups and the state have launched separate programs to buy commercial fishing permits so that when fish stocks recover off the Maine coast, fishermen will be able catch them.
The three initiatives will bank federal fishing permits for use by Maine fishermen. The aim is to improve the health of the fish stocks and keep the centuries-old fishing tradition alive in the small ports that pepper the state’s long and rugged coastline.