September 20, 2015 — PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Fishermen have said this month that the U.S. Congress is their last hope in preventing federal regulations from destroying their industry.
So it was a boost of confidence this week when three New Hampshire congressional legislators took a stand for the fishing industry. They filed legislation, sent letters requesting action and held a roundtable that placed themselves, fishermen and federal officials in the same room to discuss the fate of the fishing industry.
“I think they’re all believable,” said Peter Kendall, a former New Hampshire commercial fisherman. “I think they’re all behind us.”
On Friday, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., held the roundtable meeting at Pease International Tradeport that put fishermen across the table from officials from the federal agency imposing what fishermen say are back-breaking regulations and costs, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. At the meeting, Ayotte spoke in support of the fishermen, saying those fees and regulations fly in the face of federal law.
Ayotte and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., on Thursday wrote a letter asking the U.S. inspector general to investigate an at-sea monitoring program that fishermen are expected to pay for as soon as Nov. 1. The program will require observers go to sea with fishermen for 24 percent of their fishing days, monitoring their compliance with groundfishing regulations. Cost is expected to be roughly $700 a day, more than fishermen gross in a day’s work, they say.
Ayotte also filed legislation to terminate the observer program unless it was funded by NOAA, which currently covers the cost.
This past Monday, U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, R-N.H., met with commercial fishermen at Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative in Seabrook to promise them he’d file a bill to delay the Nov. 1 deadline, if not kill the program altogether.
Read the full story at New Bedford Standard-Times