BOSTON, MA (February 19, 2009) – A federal judge in Boston reinstated the "days-at-sea" leasing program on February 17 — a format on which the Gloucester and New Hampshire fleets rely to keep working as the fishing year approaches its end.
The leasing program had been suspended late last month by federal fishing regulators in the aftermath of a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Edward Harrington,
Harrington had suspended the so-called Framework 42 to give NMFS time to consider an alternative that would be more workable for the fishermen. But the suspension also included an extension for the "days-at-sea" leasing format, so NMFS officials suspended that program, effectively cutting off fishermen’s time to work over the next 60 days.
Read the updated coverage of this developing story from the Gloucester Daily Times
FEBRUARY 19 UPDATE: Court Imposes Temporary Halt To Interim Groundfish Plan – Read more in The Ellsworth American
FEBRUARY 19 UPDATE: Judge’s clarification finally forces’ NMFS’ regulatory hands – Read the Gloucester DailyTimes opinion in full
Standard-Times reports: Judge’s action ‘good news’ for fishing industry
Read the original Gloucester Daily Times story in full
View the official court ruling issued by Judge Harrington [PDF]
Read the State of Massachusetts’ motion on which Judge Harrington ruled [PDF]