Federal authorities are proposing opening three areas off Cape Cod to fishing, but fishermen say the hook in the plan — $600 a day to pay for an onboard observer — makes it untenable for an industry already fighting for its survival.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is considering opening parts of Georges Bank and the Nantucket Lightship Area that have been closed to groundfishing for nearly 20 years.
But fishing vessels would be required to have special gear to allow cod and porpoises to escape, and would have to pay upwards of $600 to have a NOAA observer to gather data on fish caught and any interactions with marine mammals.
"(NOAA is) trying to show the public they're not bad people" for cutting catch quotas of Gulf of Maine cod by 77 percent, said Jason Polisson, who gave up fishing after 40 years and re-mortgaged his house and his 42-foot boat. "But they know we can't get out there with our boats, and they know we can't pay $600 a day for an observer."
NOAA spokeswoman Maggie Mooney-Seus said "presumably" there is a large haddock stock in those waters that would offset the cost of observers.
"We'd love to say, 'Just go in and fish,'" she said, "but we have to make sure there's no detrimental impact on marine mammals and other groundfish that are in bad shape."
But Vito Giacalone, a 53-year-old Gloucester fisherman who owns a 77-foot troller, said, "If you don't find fish in abundance, and the prices you get for them at the dock aren't good, it makes no sense."
NOAA's proposal is open to public comment until July 26.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Fed plan would allow Cape fishing, but there’s a hook
Dengan url
http://terakhirjaman.blogspot.com/2013/07/fed-plan-would-allow-cape-fishing-but.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Fed plan would allow Cape fishing, but there’s a hook
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Fed plan would allow Cape fishing, but there’s a hook
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar