Canadian scientists believe 2,700 metric tons of yellowtail flounder can safely be taken from the international border waters but their American counterparts took a much more conservative approach, recommending only 1,500 metric tons be removed.
The following is excerpted from the Gloucester Daily Times…
Hours before the New England Fisheries Managment Council decided to protect the sectors by reducing the catch allowed the common poolers, an example of the hypercaution in the federal regulatory bureaucracy emerged.
A joint Canadian-American Transboundary committee which provides guidance to both governments about the commercial stocks along the border that runs through Georges Bank announced that it had come to an impasse over how much yellowtail could be caught without weakening the stock.
The joint committee has proved successful, but Councilor James Odlin, who operates one of Maine’s largest fleets, announced a major dispute over yellowtail. Canadian scientists believe 2,700 metric tons can safely be taken from the international border waters but their American counterparts took a much more conservative approach, recommending only 1,500 metric tons be removed.
"It’s the first time we couldn’t reach agreement with the Canadians," Odlin told the council.
"The inability to reach a consensus threatens the future of the cooperative management through the transboundary process," the Canadian and American scientists said in their dispatch.
"The Canadians are absolutely correct not to buy into the insanity of the U.S. policy," said Giacalone. "It’s rational to fish at low levels, but not to pretend to rebuild stocks to impossible levels."