May 30, 2013 — Attorney General Martha Coakley on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for alleged over-restriction of the state’s famous fishing industry.
“NOAA’s new regulations are essentially a death penalty on the fishing industry in Massachusetts as we know it,” Coakley said during a media briefing Thursday at the Boston Fish Pier.
The new regulations reduce the allowable catch for New England groundfish by 77 percent to allow the replenishment of certain species, like haddock, cod and yellowtail flounder. This year’s cod quotas are equivalent to about 6 percent of the landings of Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine cod in 1981, according to Reuters. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire estimate that cod stocks have declined by about 90 percent in the last 50 years due to overfishing and other changes to marine ecosystems.
Standing in front of a fishing boat Thursday, Gloucester fisherman Joe Orlando said his livelihood has been slashed before his eyes since the cap went into effect on May 1.
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