NEW BEDFORD — Political pressure is building on U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to send some regulatory relief and emergency funds to the suffering New England fishing industry.
Gov. Deval Patrick told The Standard-Times Tuesday that he has had phone conversations with Locke in recent days to vent his frustration with waiting for Locke to decide what to do.
"He owed me a decision at the end of November and we don't have one yet," Patrick said.
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said Tuesday that Frank has also been on the phone with Locke but that he could not divulge the content of those conversations.
Two weeks ago, Frank expressed dismay and frustration at what he called "miscommunication" between the governor and Commerce, explaining that he learned from Commerce General Counsel Cameron Kerry (brother of U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass.) that staff on both sides had assumed each other was to make the next move.
Frank was accompanied to the meeting by U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass. Brown has not made any comment about it.
Patrick told The Standard-Times he is equally frustrated and that Locke's delay could mean that the damage of sector management and catch share contractions may be causing irreversible damage to the local fishing economy.
"If there is a significant contraction and then a change in policy, it isn't really going to have an impact on fishing families. It's just too hard to recover."
Patrick pointed out how many public officials are frustrated with Locke and are making appeals to him. "We have a lot of forces pushing to and fro," he said. "We have myself, the good mayor of New Bedford, the mayor of Gloucester, Congressmen Frank, Tierney, (Sens.) Scott Brown and John Kerry. We all want them to strike a better balance that allows fishing families to continue to work."
Read the complete Standard-Times story at SouthCoastToday.com