October 1, 2015 — HAMPTON, N.H. — New costs New Hampshire fishermen say will end their industry for good have been delayed by one month, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials announced this week.
NOAA said this summer fishermen would have to begin paying roughly $700 per day for 24 percent of their fishing days starting Nov. 1, covering the cost of at-sea monitors to observe fishermen’s compliance with regulations. That November deadline is now pushed to Dec. 1, NOAA spokesperson Jennifer Goebel said. NOAA currently pays for the at-sea monitoring.
Fishermen have said the costs are too much for them to bear, as they don’t gross $700 in a single day. The costs also come as fishing regulations on cod have diminished the commercial fleet to just nine active vessels, many having left the business completely.
Hampton fisherman David Goethel said the delay is good news, but not good enough to remove the threat of ending the New Hampshire fishery. He said he believes NOAA will eventually force the fishermen to pay for the monitors.
NOAA Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator John Bullard said his agency has delayed shifting the payment to the industry because the budget has allowed it to do so, but that it would eventually need to stop funding the at-sea monitoring program.
Read the full story at the Portsmouth Herald