GLOUCESTER, MA (January 16, 2009) – If newly proposed constrictions ofcommercial fishing opportunities drive fishermen out of business — asmost expect them to — the result will achieve a policy goal of thefederal government — smaller fleets in New England ports.
That policy was articulated in a private letter last February by the federal government’s top fishing regulator, John Oliver, the acting assistant administrator for fisheries at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Oliver said he wanted "buyouts," not bailouts, of fishermen pushed into economic distress by federal policies created to protect depleted stocks.
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