State environmental officials push for more lax commercial fishing regulations

BOSTON – Massachusetts was once known for its plentiful cod, flounder and other so-called groundfish that inhabit the sea bottom, but those days are gone.In an effort to give these species opportunity to breed and repopulate, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) enacted federal regulations that gave commercial fishermen license to catch for a specific number of days each year rather than 24/7.The fishermen were displeased with the regulations, describing them as too restrictive. Some were forced out of business. Others have sought help from their state delegates and congressmen in getting the regulations changed. Meanwhile, the groundfish stocks have begun to return in some areas, but the natural process will likely require additional protection and time in order to succeed.On Tuesday, Ian Bowles, secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), joined forces with the state Department of Fish and Game (DFG) in promising commercial fishermen that an alternative to the federal “Days At Sea” regulatory system will be developed.Bowles said the federal fisheries service will continue to work with the fishing industry and research scientists to amend the regulations in 2009 and to find a long-term solution. He also asserted that action must be taken immediately to assist the state’s commercial fishermen, noting that state fisheries agencies will collaborate with legislators on Beacon Hill and in Congress to push for urgent changes when the federal New England Fishery Management Council meets this spring.Additionally, the state Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) is developing the federal application needed to speed up the distribution of $13.4 million in emergency federal aid to the Massachusetts groundfish fishing fleet and coastal communities dependent on the industry, Bowles said.Part of the issue has focused on fishermen who have lost income because of the declining number of groundfish coupled with the federal restrictions, and how the situation has left many of them unable to afford health care for themselves or their crews, or to make safety improvements to their boats.”The Massachusetts groundfishing fleet, and the communities that depend on the fleet for their economic vitality, have suffered unduly from federal fishing restrictions that have also failed to achieve the goal of reviving fish stocks,” said Bowles, noting that Gov. Deval Patrick, state legislators and congressional delegations passed budget amendments that provide some short-term financial relief. “But the federal regulatory system needs to be fixed for the long term. The time is ripe to develop a regulatory regime and infrastructure that protects the fishing economy along with the natural resource in collaboration with our federal partners.”In February 2007, Gov. Patrick wrote to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, asking him to declare a “fishery resource disaster” in the Massachusetts groundfish industry due to federal regulatory restrictions. Two months later, the governor submitted documents to support that request, citing regional economic losses of $22 million blamed on the federal regulations.In an effort to save the groundfish from extinction, the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan since 1994 has reduced the area and the number of days Massachusetts vessels are allowed to fish. A revision of that plan, enacted in November 2006 and known as Framework 42, further reduced the fishing days available to the inshore groundfishing fleet by 50 percent.Gutierrez denied the governor’s request for a disaster declaration last October. The governor appealed to Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry for help. The result was a federal appropriation of $13.4 million to aid the struggling Massachusetts groundfishing industry, but authorizing another government dole did nothing to solve the problem.”We will make sure this relief money makes it into the hands of those who need it most – our fishing communities and the