PLYMOUTH, Mass. — October 6, 2015 — They called it a “fisheries policy action,” but in the Radisson Hotel Plymouth Harbor lobby, where they gathered, it was clearly a cry for help.
Dozens of local fisherman, from Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and even New Orleans – most wearing bright orange “Who Fishes Matters” shirts – joined voices to produce a wail of dismay over regional fishing policies that they believe are eradicating both the fish and community-based fishing. “Who Fishes Matters” is a slogan of the North Atlantic Marine Alliance.
Fishermen like Ed Barrett, skipper of the Plymouth-based fishing vessel (F/V) Phoenix, whose voice cracked as he spoke outside the conference room after a large group of fisherman had walked out of a meeting of the New England Fisheries Management Council (NEFMC).
“A stock that was almost fully recovered in 2009 was a disaster in 2012. It took two years to turn 15 years of hard sacrifices to rebuild stocks to put them in the toilet,” Barrett said, stammering with emotion.
Barrett said that when he began fishing out of Plymouth, 36 years ago, the harbor was filled with fishing vessels, including many federally permitted ships. But today, after more than 15 years of management the harbor is very different.