NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — August 8, 2012 — No longer a sailor’s trade, whaling in New Bedford has been relegated to memories housed in libraries, commemorative statues and museums, but the fishing industry still dominates the docks. Fishing makes up one sixth of the city’s economy, according to Mayor Jon Mitchell, a former federal prosecutor in his first term.
“What we have going for us is this port. A lot of other cities don’t have that,” said Mitchell, a New Bedford native.
Supporting the local fishing industry – which includes 500 vessels that call on New Bedford and a workforce of 4,400 – can mean joining the fray against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which helps the Secretary of Commerce determine catch limits.
Mitchell and Anthes-Washburn both rejected a recent preliminary fish assessment, which showed New England fishing catches may have to be reduced by around 70 percent next season.
“I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of responsibility of NOAA,” Mitchell told the News Service on Tuesday. He said, “Too many fishermen are saying ‘My future is not going to be in fishing,’ and that’s a shame.”
But not all fishermen are in the same boat.
“Here, it’s like ‘The Tale of Two Fleets,’” said Anthes-Washburn.
For the scallop fishing boats that troll the sea floor, hauling up around 56,000 pounds of scallops at around $10 per pound, it continues to be the best of times. For the eleventh straight year, New Bedford has topped the nation’s ports in the total value of its catch, and “the main reason is scallops,” Anthes-Washburn said.
For those who fish groundfish, such as cod, haddock and flounder, it’s more like the worst of times, and could get worse if catch limits follow the preliminary fish report’s numbers.
“The ground fishermen can’t afford to go out,” Anthes-Washburn said. He said, “The main cry from New Bedford fishermen isn’t that they want a handout,” but rather they want better academic funding to create a more accurate system of assessing the fishing stock. “They don’t want to change the science. They want to get accurate science,” Anthes-Washburn said.
Read the full story at the Cape Ann Beacon.