Senators and congressmen from New England and New York have now appealed to the U.S. Commerce Department to ease groundfish catch limits scheduled to tighten next week at the same time a new sector management system is put in place.
In a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke this week, the senators of Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and New York plus 13 Northeastern congressmen, including John Tierney, D-Mass., warned of an industry collapse if limits on certain "choke" species are not increased.
The appeal, crafted by Congressman Barney Frank and U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, bypassed the nation's top ocean administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head Jane Lubchenco, and went directly to the cabinet-level commerce secretary, citing a section of statute the lawmakers say gives him authority to make emergency changes.
Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.