NEW BEDFORD, Mass, — Mayor Jon Mitchell Tuesday urged the organization responsible for setting catch limits for fish species shared between the United States and Canada to negotiate a Georges Bank yellowtail flounder quota for the 2014 fishing year that does not result in further harm to the fishing industry.
In a letter to its members, Mitchell called on the Transboundary Management Guidance Committee to reach a quota of no less than 500 metric tons for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder.
"Georges Bank yellowtail is bycatch for the scallop fishery, which brings in approximately $400 million in direct annual revenue to New Bedford," said the mayor, in a news release Tuesday. "Taking into account the groundfish and scallop fisheries' ancillary businesses, Georges Bank yellowtail is tied to nearly $1.3 billion in annual economic activity in Greater New Bedford."
The Transboundary Committee is a government-industry board composed of representatives from Canada and the United States. It gives guidance on harvest strategies, resource sharing and management processes for Canadian and U.S. management authorities for the cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder on Georges Bank.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times