NEW BEDFORD — Catch shares and sector management in the groundfishery might be rolled back under a bill filed this week by Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.
The amendment to the Magnuson-Stevens Act would require that no more than 15 percent of the fishing jobs in a sector are lost as the system is imposed. If that happens, a new management plan would be mandatory after one year.
Unlike a similar bill filed last August by a New Jersey congressman, the Brown-Ayotte bill would be retroactive, although it would apply only on the East Coast and Gulf Coast, according to a spokesman for Brown.
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