BOSTON – Jan. 7 2011 – Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick issued the following statement on the letters he received from Commerce Sec. Gary Locke and National Marine Fisheries Service Administrator Eric Schwaab in which they denied his request for increased groundfish allocations and economic aid.
"I am deeply disappointed in the Secretary's decision not to raise catch limits within conservation limits or provide economic assistance to fishermen in need. Our agencies supplied him with more than sufficient evidence of economic distress and dislocation resulting from a poorly planned and executed transition to catch shares, and evidence based on the best available science that catch limits could be raised without undermining our conservation commitments. And yet the Secretary denied outright our request for economic aid for impacted fishermen and a judicious increase in catch limits, and provided no alternative form of relief in its place. In doing so, I believe he has squandered an opportunity to relieve the economic hardship currently suffered by many fishing families and restore a sense of trust and good will toward the federal agencies who regulate their livelihood. We will continue to work with the Massachusetts Congressional delegation to secure aid to help fishermen and work with Commerce to significantly improve the transition to catch shares, which for many fishermen has been a failure so far."