Groundfish fishermen face cost of fishery monitors
Some of Maine and New England’s groundfish fishermen say they might go out of business because the federal government is imposing on them the cost of paying for fishing monitors, the Journal Tribune reported.
“We’re going to have to figure our way around it. The law is the law,” said Terry Alexander, a Harpswell fisherman who is trying to manage the new cost.
Up to now, the cost of fishery monitors has been covered by the federal government.
An organization of East Coast fishermen called Cause of Action has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce that seeks to block the federal mandate requiring those who fish for cod, flounder and other ground fish in the Northeast to pay out-of-pocket for carrying monitors. According to the group, nearly 60% of the industry will be rendered unprofitable if it is required to pay for these monitors.
The monitors, whose services can cost more than $700 per day, collect data to help determine future fishing quotas. The fishing monitors will accompany New England’s groundfish fishermen 20% of the time, Jennifer Goebel, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the paper.
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