April 8, 2016 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — The city’s Fisheries Commission weighed in with public comments on proposed adjustments to the Northeast Fishery Management Plan, expressing concern about heavy cuts in 2016 catch quotas for some of the fishery’s most important species and frustration with the process for determining the size of fish stocks.
The commission’s comments, which significantly mirror comments generated by the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition on Framework Adjustment 55, are contained in a letter to John K. Bullard, regional administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The commission is supportive of the Northeast Seafood Coalition comments,” Commission Chairman Mark Ring wrote to Bullard. “Notably, the concerns raised by the NSC over the catch reductions slated for the 2016 fishing season, which are based on the 2015 Operational Assessment Update.”