Posted on 01/09/2005 5:44:57 PM PST by Libertarian444
Fishing rules under scrutiny as search for fishermen ends
By JAY LINDSAY
BOSTON — The Coast Guard on Wednesday called off its search for five fishermen lost at sea when their scallop boat capsized in turbulent waters off Nantucket.
[snip]
The deaths sparked anger among boat owners and fishermen, who said federal rules which cut fishing days and penalize fishermen who leave fishing grounds early force captains to fish in dangerous weather to take advantage of limited opportunities.
"You´re taking the skipper out of the wheelhouse and putting lobbyists and congressmen in the seat, making decisions for you," said Kevin Mello, a New Bedford fishing boat owner.
[snip]
Scallop dredging is tightly regulated in the Northern Lightship area to protect stocks of vulnerable fish that swim near the ocean floor, such as cod.
In June, the National Marine Fisheries Service adopted rules that give fishermen 12 days to catch a maximum of 18,000 pounds of scallops in the lucrative area. The area was supposed to open in late summer, but that was delayed until November, which some fisherman say forced boats to sea during the hazardous winter months.
"We are blaming the NMFS for this tragedy," Richard Canastra of Whaling City Seafood Display Auction in New Bedford said in an e-mail, which accused NMFS of dragging its feet and putting "our fleet in danger of fishing those areas from November to the end of January."
The new rules penalize boats that leave the grounds early, subtracting 3,000 to 600 pounds off the 18,000 limit on a return trip, depending on how many scallops have already been caught.
Andrew Applegate, the scallop plan co-ordinator for the New England Fishery Management Council, which advises NMFS on regional policy, said under the old rules, scallopers who left a restricted area weren´t allowed to return, no matter how little they´d caught.
The new rules allow captains to leave immediately for any reason, Applegate said. A penalty is assessed to provide what Applegate called a "disincentive" to break off a trip, since it´s more difficult for stretched fisheries officers to enforce the 18,000 pound limit if scallopers are taking several trips to reach it.
He added the council, which includes federal regulators, industry members and environmentalists, didn´t believe the penalties were large enough to force captains into irrational decisions in bad weather, especially compared to far more severe old rules.
Maybe he should try and live on a comparable salary
and see if he felt the same way.
The wife is pregnant, the car is up on blocks, the crew needs money......what you going to do? Fish is what you're
going to do.
Maybe we should just deregulate it, and let them fish until the stocks are completely gone. Heck, it didnt hurt Newfoundland any when the Cod dissappeared...
Aren't you going to mention the foreigners at all?
BTTT!!!!!!!
WTF? No wonder they "love" the clam-cops sooo much!
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