November 27, 2017 — CHATHAM, Mass. — The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance is receiving support from the Cape and Islands legislative delegation in protecting offshore herring for local fishermen.
Earlier this month, the lawmakers called on the New England Fishery Management Council to create a buffer zone off the coast of the Cape and Islands from large-scale mid-water herring trawlers.
Current regulations allow the trawlers to fish three miles offshore from Provincetown past the Islands.
“The delegation has taken up a position that we staked out at the Fishermen’s Alliance years ago that we need a buffer zone,” said John Pappalardo, the alliance CEO.
“In other words, a zone off the Cape and Islands where these vessels cannot come in and intensively harvest sea herring.”
The alliance would like a 50 mile buffer zone.
Read the full story at CapeCod.com