BOSTON — April 29, 2013 — Some of Massachusetts' most prominent politicians turned out Monday for a rally on the Boston Fish Pier in support of the beleaguered fishing industry.
Attorney General Martha Coakley, one of the 10 speakers, said: "Now we have to fight the federal government, and that's wrong. We need to take the no out of NOAA," she said to cheers from the crowd of about 300.
The fishing industry has been at odds with the federal agency since catch shares and quotas were imposed in 2010 and has run up a catalog of grievances with NOAA Fisheries.
The Northeast Seafood Coalition, which organized the rally, issued a flyer describing them: loss of fleet diversity, loss of investment in the fishery, loss of fishing capacity, loss of infrastructure, loss of market share and loss of fishing culture, among other things.
Wednesday, May 1, when the latest restrictions take effect, is described as a "day of reckoning" for the industry as some groundfish quotas — cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder — are being cut by as much as 77 percent.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Regional Administrator John Bullard, a former New Bedford mayor, attended the rally as a spectator, telling reporters he was there in support of what the fishing community was doing.