September 28, 2020 — The following was released by the Northeast Seafood Coalition:
As the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) considers adopting universal at-sea monitoring requirements for commercial groundfish vessels, a diverse group of fishermen and fishing organizations is raising concerns about the long-term negative impacts on the fleet of a drastic expansion of current monitoring mandates.
The groups, which include organizations like the Northeast Seafood Coalition and the Associated Fisheries of Maine, and several of the region’s organized seafood sectors, have raised issues about the cost and efficacy of expanded monitoring. Many submitted these concerns as public comments on the NEFMC’s Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fisheries Management Plan, which deals with changes to the monitoring requirements.
Specifically, these groups are concerned that many fishing vessels will be unable to take on the increased monitoring costs; that the cost will fall disproportionately on smaller vessels; and that the benefits of additional monitoring tools, and the effectiveness of electronic monitoring to reduce costs, have not been proven.