May 24, 2012, NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – A newly formed group aimed at helping fishermen outlast an 80 percent cut in their yellowtail flounder catch offered no certain solutions Wednesday to a battered fishing industry some warn will soon collapse.
The steep cut on yellowtail in Georges Bank, east and southeast of Cape Cod, went into effect May 1. The yellowtail flounder isn't a big money fish, but worries about exceeding the low catch limit on it prevents fishermen from chasing the more valuable bottom-dwelling groundfish the yellowtail swim among, such as cod and haddock.
Richie Canastra of BASE-New England, which runs fish auctions, pushed talks to obtain more yellowtail from Canada, which shares the yellowtail catch, but likely won't use much of their allotment and might help.
A big concern was whether regulators truly understood how urgently action is needed.
If fishermen exceed their yellowtail allotment, they must stop fishing for all fish. Several people said the low quota means some boats will soon be done for the year just a few weeks into the fishing season, with the opportunity for millions in catch lost.
This year's yellowtail cut, from about 1,120 metric tons in 2011 to about 216 metric tons currently, was a shock to much of the fishing industry. At the time, the industry was trying to figure out how to handle a separate, major cut to the cod catch in the Gulf of Maine.
But fishing industry advocates questioned the dismal estimates, saying poor science was leading to undercounting.
Tony Alvernaz, a New Bedford scalloper and former groundfisherman presented a statement signed by 40 fishermen who said they'd never use the inefficient fishing gear researchers on a survey vessel use to catch yellowtail samples.
Sam Rauch, acting head of NOAA's fisheries arm, said whatever the solution to the yellowtail problem, it's got to be a collaborative effort.
"I think it may be achievable given the attitudes … we heard here," Rauch said. But "I'm not sure what that (solution) would be."In 2010, regulators estimate just 900,000 new yellowtail were born into the population, well below the average 20 million new yellowtail added annually since 1973.
Read the full article from the Associated Press by Jay Lindsay.