On behalf of the Fisheries Survival Fund, the largest national organization dedicated to protecting and strengthening the nation’s Atlantic sea scallop fishery, I want to thank Governor Patrick and his administration for their vital contribution to this important accomplishment, benefiting scallop fishermen and their families.
Earlier this year, the New England Fisheries Management Council made a historic decision to reconsider and overturn its decision to impose severe restrictions on fishing opportunities for the Atlantic sea scallop fishery in 2010. In so doing, the Council took a positive step to strike a more appropriate balance between two very important considerations: the need for environmental conservation and the importance of maintaining the economic and social health of the Atlantic sea scallop fishing industry.
More importantly, this decision protects fishermen and fishing communities like New Bedford and Gloucester, and others like it from Maine to North Carolina, from the unnecessary and devastating financial hardship that undoubtedly would have been the result had it not been reconsidered and overturned.
While there are many individuals who deserve rightful praise for their efforts in making this outcome a reality, there is one individual whose contributions in this fight were crucial and deserve special mention. I speak of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.
Last December, at the direction of the Governor, Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles sent a letter to the Council, expressing deep concern over the negative impact of the Council’s decision on scallop fishing communities, and urged it to “reconsider and reverse its recent decision to sharply reduce fishing days at sea for sea scallopers.”
As the letter correctly explained then and as the Governor and his administration conveyed poignantly throughout this effort, the Council’s decision carried with it severe consequences for the economic and social health of the scallop industry and fishing communities in Massachusetts and throughout the region, and would have caused unnecessary damage to local, regional and national economies during these troubled economic times. It is this consideration, among a few others, that led ultimately to the Council reconsidering and overturning its decision.
Like many complicated policy matters involving various levels of government and regulations, getting to where we are today involved a number of individuals and a series of steps with numerous detours and challenges. Governor Patrick and his administration were consistently a driving force behind the efforts to overcome the obstacles and challenges that emerged, and I know that his desire to see a positive solution to this issue was to a large extent a reflection of his great responsibility for and deep commitment to protecting one of America's most prosperous scallop fishing ports – the City of New Bedford.
And so, on behalf of the Fisheries Survival Fund, the largest national organization dedicated to protecting and strengthening the nation’s Atlantic sea scallop fishery, I want to thank Governor Patrick and his administration for their vital contribution to this important accomplishment, benefiting scallop fishermen and their families. We could not have done it without his support.
Sincerely,
John Murray
The Fisheries Survival Fund