The last year has been humbling, to say the least, for New Hampshire ground fishermen.
New regulations established last May are decimating the local industry, fishermen say, and leaving them to wonder if the state will lose the rights to fish in its own waters forever.
In the first nine months since new regulations established a “catch share” system, the income levels of New Hampshire ground fishermen are down 32 percent over the previous year.
Under the old days-at-sea system, there were about 38 vessels in New Hampshire that would actively fish for ground fish. Under the new sector system, there are only about 24 active boats. The problem is a new system that established “catch shares” based on history.
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