A landmark deal between the groundfishing and scallop industries is being seen as proof that the so-called "catch share" system proposed by the Obama administration can work for the overall fishing industry.
The deal does offer evidence that it can work. But it is important to take note of why the deal got made in the first place: It made sense only after the New England Fishery Management Council reversed itself last week and voted for a more reasonable limit on the taking of scallops for the coming year.
And that only happened because of enormous pressure from political leaders, ranging from Congressman Barney Frank to Gov. Deval Patrick.
The agreement calls for the groundfishermen to give about 200,000 pounds of their yellowtail flounder allocation to the scallopers, in exchange for financial consideration that has not yet been determined.