NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — August 8, 2012 — If the reduced catch limits proposed by government regulators for groundfishermen in 2013 are enforced, the city of New Bedford will suffer economic losses of between $75 to $80 million, Mayor Jon Mitchell said today.
“And that is a conservative estimate,” Mitchell said, following a closed door session at City Hall with industry figures and fishery scientists from UMass Dartmouth. “We're not going to just sit back and let that happen.”
Even if the proposed cuts were reduced by half, fishermen would not survive, according to Rodney Avila, a fourth-generation fisherman, whose son and grandson are also fishing. “They don't have enough fish now. So they have to buy quota from other fishermen,” he said.
Many boats are already operating on thin margins and will be unable to afford more quota, particularly since fisherman also will be required to pay around $650 per day for onboard observers starting next year, Avila said.
Mitchell said that flawed government science is responsible for estimates that do not accurately reflect the health of groundfish stocks vital to the New Bedford fleet. Cuts from 51 to 73 percent are projected in species such as cod, flounder and yellowtail, starting with the 2013 fishing year that begins May 1.
The scientific failure to accurately project catch limits has caused this crisis, said SMAST's Steve Cadrin, who also serves on the fishery council's science and statistical committee. “We need to look at alternatives that will sustain the fishery in the short term,” he said.
The long-term solution requires investment in better surveys and better monitoring, he said.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has set unattainable rebuilding goals, according to Harriet Didriksen who owns one of the city's oldest businesses, New Bedford Ship Supply. “They want to have all species at a one-time high at the same time. That's never been done. So it's not really science because it's a false premise,” she said.
Mitchell will send a delegation to the next meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council's science and statistical Committee on Aug. 24 to urge a review of the models used for determining catch limits. However that committee is “weighted heavily” towards government scientists, he said.
Read the full story in the New Bedford Standard Times