Deadline for implementing fishing regulations extended

BOSTON – A federal judge extended the deadline for tough new fishing regulations by eight months after environmentalists and the government requested the time to ease rampant doubts among fishermen about the accuracy of fish counts.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler granted the delay Tuesday in Washington without comment. The order moves the deadline for the new regulations – called Amendment 13 – from Aug. 22, 2003, to May 1, 2004.

Scientists will use the time to further assess the impact of a highly publicized mistake collecting samples used in fish counts and review its projections about stock health and social impacts of the new rules, said National Marine Fisheries Service spokeswoman Teri Frady.

In addition, regulators are readying a plan for more extensive peer-review of fishery science, she said.

“We believe we could have met the original schedule, but more time is simply going to be useful for better understanding,” Frady said.

Eric Bilsky of the environmental group Oceana said the delay allows continued overfishing, but was needed to convince “fair-minded” people that more fishing cuts are needed.

“What we can do is get out the truth,” he said.

Steve Ouellette of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, a Gloucester-based fishermen’s group, said the delay would simply string out the agony for struggling fishermen. He added it isn’t enough time to truly reassess the flawed science that ignores improving fish stocks.

“The good news is, we’ve been issued a stay of execution,” he said. “The bad news is they’ve rescheduled the execution.”

Long-held industry doubts about the fishery science were fueled in September when scientists announced that from winter 2000 to spring 2002, a survey boat used a mismarked cable that set the net at an angle.

Fishermen said that would allow fish to escape, leading to undercounted populations and restrictions that were tighter than needed.

Scientists are continuing to assess the problem, but they say data collected so far indicate the mistake didn’t have a major effect – a finding some fishermen simply don’t believe.

U.S. Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine applauded Kessler’s decision, but cautioned that the fisheries service work must have the confidence of fishermen.

“The onus is now on NMFS to demonstrate the problems with its science can be resolved,” Snowe said in a statement.

Portsmouth, N.H., fisherman Dennis Robillard said too much damage has been done to change his mind. To him, the survey mistake revealed a fisheries service ill-equipped to accurately count fish and unwilling to listen to what fishermen say about fish stocks.

“I don’t think eight months is enough time to fix the things that are broken with the system,” he said.