The Northeast Fisheries Summit drew almost 300 people to the city Monday, a veritable “Who's Who” of the fishing industry, giving the new NOAA fisheries director an earful about what they view as the coming crisis in the Northeast fishing industry.
Eric Schwaab, just three weeks into his job as the assistant administrator for fisheries at NOAA, sat in the front row of the Whaling Museum's packed auditorium and heard one speaker after another assail his agency for its policies, its attitude, and its law enforcement.
Representatives of all kinds of players in the fishing industry were encouraged to put their cards on the table, and they did, in 10-minute presentations that were sometimes angry, sometimes emotional.