November 24, 2014 — A charter boat captain who makes a living chasing tuna, Johnny Johnson finds it infuriating that regulators may close stretches of ocean in the name of research, but he doesn’t know when, exactly where or for how long.
“You’re telling me I can’t go feed my family. That’s what you’re telling me. You’re cutting me off from the only thing I know how to do,” Johnson, of Gloucester, said passionately. “Our kids are hungry every single day, and we can’t have these people making these decisions about how we will survive.”
Fishermen, charter-boat captains and anglers lined up Tuesday night to voice opposition to the New England Fishery Management Council’s proposal for protecting and researching fish habitats. The plan includes proposals to close three areas off New England to recreational and charter-boat ground fishing, including 55 square miles of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
The federal government will use the finished proposal to set fishery management policies, such as closure implementation.
The turnout Tuesday night at the Radisson Plymouth Harbor hotel was so large that the council had to move the meeting into a larger conference room. Dozens of fishermen and members of the Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association attended.
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