June 17, 2014 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Congress "needs to hit the reset button" on the Magnuson-Stevens Act that governs commercial fishing, Mayor Jon Mitchell told a press conference this morning to introduce a new state-funded report aimed at helping the local groundfish industry and the port of New Bedford.
Magnuson lies at the root of many problems, conclude the six authors, among whom are economics professor emeritus Dan Georgianna of UMass Dartmouth and Rodney Avila, a longtime local boat owner and activist.
NOAA, the arm of Congress charged with implementing the law, tilts the playing field against fishermen by imposing "conservation for conservation's sake, said Kate Kramer, CEO of the city-based Center for Sustainable Fisheries.
With the government fishery science coming into question, NOAA imposes the impossible task of imposing percentages to the catch of fishing boats, said Georgianna.
Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times