November 30, 2017 — The New England Fishery Management Council sent its program review roadshow to Gloucester on Tuesday night to gather opinions on the council’s performance and the fishery managers were not spared the lash.

The comments delivered Tuesday night at the sparsely attended meeting at the state Division of Marine Fisheries Annisquam Station facility certainly were not new, at least not to anyone who has spent any time speaking with local fishermen about life under the regulatory gaze of the council.

They revolved around a strong belief among local fishermen that management decisions affecting the fishery are made well before the council convenes its public meetings and the scientific data and on-the-water-expertise of local fishermen are ignored or demeaned when it comes to forming policy.

“We have no faith (in the council),” said retired longtime Gloucester fisherman Sam Novello. “I don’t anyway. Our comments go in one ear and out the other.”

Others decried what they called a lack of transparency throughout the process that sets sector allocations and annual quotas, describing a system that keeps the fishermen outside the sphere of influence when it comes to managing the fishery.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times