September 12, 2018 — The nation’s top fishing port is renewing its efforts to get the government to move its fisheries center from Woods Hole to New Bedford.
“The fishing industry wants the regulators for the first time ever to be in New Bedford because they see the benefits of good science and cooperative research,” said Ed Anthes-Washburn, the director of the New Bedford Port Authority.
On Tuesday, elected officials, the Port Authority and members of the fishing industry sent a letter to NOAA seeking a new feasibility study, maintaining the city is the best location for the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, currently in Woods Hole.
The letter, addressed to Timothy Gallaudet, Ph.D., assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere for the Department of Commerce in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was also signed by representatives of fishing vessels from home ports in New Bedford and Fairhaven and parts of Maine, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina.
This push isn’t entirely new. In March 2016, a letter addressed to NOAA said the agency had a rare opportunity to further the center’s mission and restore its credibility in fishing communities by moving to New Bedford.
NOAA spokeswoman Teri Frady confirmed Tuesday that in the latest study New Bedford was considered as a new location, but Woods Hole is the “preferred alternative” location recommended in the Business Case Analysis.