Five weeks before the May 1 start of catch share/sector management of the groundfishery, the mayors of Gloucester and New Bedford have appealed to federal fisheries administrator Jane Lubchenco for relief from the predicted devastating economic and social fallout.
Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk wrote to Lubchenco last Friday — four days after Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford asked for a delay in the start of the new system rather than subject the fishing community to hardships due to the incomplete planning for the transition.
Lang noted that federal officials conceded at the mayor's Fisheries Summit Meeting the previous week that the "catch share/sector system is a 'work in progress' and that they will adjust the management allocations as the program develops.
"An admission of this magnitude by the regulatory authority is disconcerting, and is an irresponsible way to launch a new program that we know will cause certain harm to the people who work in the industry if not done properly," wrote Lang.
Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.
Read Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk's Letter to Dr. Lubchenco.
See also our earlier story on Mayor Lang's letter: Mayor of Nation's top fishing port calls for delay of catch shares in New England