BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP) – Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown hosted a congressional field hearing at the Massachusetts State House to review why national fishing policies are obliterating small fishing operators. Testifying before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation was Jane Lubchenco, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
“When the government steps in and creates a dislocation rather than Mother Nature and people are selling their boats or their homes, we have a disaster, an economic disaster,” said US Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts).
Since May of 2010, NOAA created a system where fishermen were placed in groups, also known as sectors. When a fleet in a sector reaches the catch limit, all fishing stops. Small operators say this makes them unable to compete with larger operators.
“The relationship that we had with fishermen in New England was pretty dysfunctional and we have been acting very diligently to turn this relationship around,” testified Jane Lubchenco, the administrator for NOAA.
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