Snowe seeks meeting on fishing restrictions

PORTLAND – The New England Fishery Management Council will probably meet early next month to rehash the strict restrictions placed last month on New England fishermen, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe said Friday.

Snowe, R-Maine, asked the National Marine Fisheries Service to schedule the meeting. The time and place has not been set.

The Amendment 13 regulations are designed to help rebuild New England’s devastated stocks of cod and other bottom-dwelling fish.

The regulations cut days at sea, but allow fishermen to lease unused days to other boats.

They were approved in November and go into effect in May.

Snowe said she’s concerned that fishermen are being too severely restricted and that some may be driven out of business.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, asked in November that an amendment be drafted to delay for at least a year some of the regulations imposed on fishermen as a result of federal orders to halt overfishing.

Environmentalists are critical of any attempt to delay the rebuilding of New England’s devastated stocks of fish.

Numerous restrictions aimed at rebuilding fish stocks have been imposed on New England’s struggling 1,500 ground fishermen during the last decade.