N.E. fishermen assail proposed restrictions Regional council to vote on rules

GLOUCESTER, Mass. – Hundreds of fishermen rallied Thursday as New England fisheries officials prepared to vote on court-mandated restrictions likely to deal a serious blow to the fishing industry.

The tighter rules, known as Amendment 13, were mandated after a federal court ruled last year that government regulators were not doing enough to stop overfishing.

About 400 fishermen carrying signs saying “We Stand United,” marched from the council’s meeting at Gloucester High School to the landmark “Man at the Wheel” statue on the waterfront.

Then, fishermen appeared before the council, with speaker after speaker assailing the science behind the rules.

Rockport fisherman Paul Theriault said questions about what he calls “bogus science” need to be answered before regulations based on it are enacted.

Fishermen would defy what they think are unjust regulations, he said.

“If something’s not done about the science we’re going to go fishing … and we’re going to bring in whatever comes with us,” he said as fishermen applauded.

“I’m hoping that somebody finally wakes up, Congress, the Senate, maybe even President Bush, to say there’s an injustice going on,” said Dennis Robillard, a fisherman from Portsmouth, N.H.

“We’re not going down without a fight,” he said as he handed out protest signs before the march.

“Together we stand to feed America and that will not end,” said Gloucester Mayor John Bell.

The New England council, made up of scientists, fishermen and environmentalists, is one of several regional councils that make recommendations to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which writes the regulations.

Last year, the council declined to make recommendations deemed by some to be too onerous for fishermen. It has little choice this year, given the court mandate.

Among the proposals it was considering: slashing fishing days by another 50 percent and year-round closures of fishing areas near shore used by Gloucester’s small-boat fleet.

Fishermen say more cuts aren’t needed and bitterly dispute scientific estimates of fish populations, which they say don’t reflect the true health of groundfish stocks, including cod, flounder and haddock.

The gulf between fishermen and scientists widened in September when scientists admitted they used a faulty net on vessels that collects fish samples used in fish counts.

Fishermen say the mistake would result in skewed numbers that would undercount stocks, but scientists say that, according to testing so far, the mistake doesn’t appear to have had any effect. The National Marine Fisheries Service is still looking into the problem.

The government and environmentalists asked a federal judge for a nine-month delay in implementing Amendment 13 to give researchers time to make sure their science was sound.

But fisherman say the delay, which must be approved by a judge, isn’t long enough, and say they don’t trust scientists to make the serious changes that are needed.