Maine fishermen file lawsuit to ban herring boats

[Cape Cod 19]

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/ge ... id=1155331

But a spokeswoman for the herring boats says there’s no data showing the trawlers have a negative impact on groundfish stocks.

Uh huh......

[CCNautical]

"Many fishermen in New England have made sacrifices to preserve a livelihood for future generations. But the current rules are undermining our hard work," said Glen Libby, a commercial fisherman and chairman of the Midcoast Fishermen's Association. "If our region's groundfish populations are ever going to recover, we need to fix this problem. And it looks like the only way to do it is through the courtroom."

In November 2007, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to make herring industry reform a priority and initiated a new amendment to the herring fishery management plan. In November 2008 the council voted to specifically prioritize resolution of the midwater trawl access issue in 2009 after government data indicated herring midwater trawlers continuing to net groundfish bycatch in protected areas. This was closely followed by a vote by the council's herring subcommittee to recommend analysis of a proposal that would limit midwater trawl access to groundfish protected areas, and only allow it on an experimental basis with high levels of monitoring and other criteria to determine if such fishing could be conducted responsibly.

But at the council's most recent meeting on February 9, the council backtracked on its promise and never considered the herring subcommittee's recommendation.

Midwater trawlers were initially banned from groundfish-closed areas in 1994. But in 1998 federal regulators decided to re-open these areas to trawlers, based on an assumption that the herring ships would catch little or no groundfish in their nets.

The assumption has proved false. In a well-publicized 2004 enforcement sweep, personnel from the Maine Marine Patrol and Massachusetts Environmental Police caught midwater herring trawlers illegally trying to land thousands of pounds of juvenile haddock and hake mixed with their herring catch. In recent months, government monitors have documented several instances where thousands of pounds of haddock were caught and discarded by herring midwater trawlers.

When will NEFMC wake up - you would think after the sting nailed the trawlers they would have addressed the problem.

http://media-newswire.com/release_1087023.html

[Cape Cod 19]

When will NEFMC wake up - you would think after the sting nailed the trawlers they would have addressed the problem.

Yes - you would think so.