58 



"Underutilized Species" is a misnomer which should be eradicated from the vocab- 

 ulary of fishing. In the northeast of 19 of 27 species currently classified as commer- 

 cial, are already over exploited or fully exploited. It creates false and misleading im- 

 pressions for politicians and fishermen alike that there are large numbers of species 

 which could sustain significant increases in fishing pressure. Based on data from 

 NMFS and the accounts of commercial fishermen, the only species in the northeast 

 which are not currently fully exploited are mackerel and possibly herring. Contrary 

 to the popular impressions, these species already support small, but viable, niche 

 fisheries. In addition, mackerel and nerring may be the few remaining critical prey 

 species available to migratory pelagics, such as the blue-fin tuna. 



Over the next year the greatest socio-economic dislocation caused by the north- 

 eastern fishery crisis will be in the ports of Gloucester and New Bedford, Massachu- 

 setts which are the most dependent on groundfish. The problems in these ports will 

 not be solved by adopting a strategy oi shifting fishing activity from groundfish to 

 other species, unless that strategy is coupled with active removal of vessels from the 

 fishing fleets. Shifting fishing pressure from the large vessel fleets to these species 

 will only shift pressure into fisheries elsewhere on the coast which are prontable 

 or marginal, exacerbate tensions among the different fishing groups and accelerate 

 the decline of those fisheries. 



Commercial fishermen in Gloucester, New Bedford, Portland, Cape Cod and Pt. 

 Judith have all endorsed the need for a boat buy out to reduce the fishing power 

 of the fleet. This represents a recent and significant change in the willingness of 

 the fleets to begin to approach the issue of capacity. Politicians and managers have 

 not yet graspea the significance of this change, and they remain reticent to endorse 

 a buy-out option because of the perception of current industry "ambivalence" and 

 historic industry opposition to buy-outs. No buy-out plan is currently included in 

 any federal relief package. 



Fishing capacity in the northeast is far beyond what the fisheries can sustain. 

 NMFS lists approximately 5300 licensed vessels — 4,000 are under 65 feet, 700-750 

 are between 65 and 75 feet, and approximately 300 arc over 85 feet. The 85 + foot 

 fleet include the 200 or so vessels which were pushed off the Grand Banks by the 

 establishment of the Hague line. They supply the majority of the fishing power, are 

 the most powerful, have the highest carrying costs and can fish year-round. No res- 

 toration plan will succeed unless the fishing power of this component of the fleet 

 can be reduced. 



Estimates of the actual number of vessels which are currently fishing vary widely 

 and are difficult to assess. But, it is clear that numbers have dropped significantly 

 in the past two years and may be down to a level which is closer to being sustain- 

 able. However, there is a huge amount of fishing power represented in the vessels 

 which are tied at the dock in New Bedford ana Gloucester. These boats could re- 

 enter the fishery at any time. By some estimates, approximately 20 percent of the 

 boats (including the largest vessels) in the northeastern groundfisheiy catch ap- 

 proximately 80 percent oi the fish. Predictably, the 20 percent are the largest, most 

 efficient vessels with the most sophisticated technology. Reducing the fishing power 

 of this component of the fleet should be a fundamental component of transition 

 strategies, including permanently removing those vessels from the fishery. 



Kthe active and latent fishing power in the fleet is not permanently reduced, dis- 

 placement of the large vessels into other fisheries within the region or outside of 

 it will become a significant problem. A domino effect will occur. Tne same patterns 

 of overfishing likely will replicate themselves if and when the fishery recovers. Some 

 of strongest opponents of Amendment 5 are the fishermen who derive the smallest 

 percentage of tneir revenues from the groundfishery, such as the Pt. Judith Coop. 

 They will not be significantly harmed in the short term by the Amendment 5 restric- 

 tions, but they are worried about boats moving off of the Banks onto their grounds. 

 Similarly, in-shore gill net and trap fishermen are equally concerned about the large 

 offshore fleet moving on shore, if^that problem is not addressed, the vast fishing 

 power of the offshore fleet will simply be shifted to other species and ultimately ex- 

 pand the fisheries crisis. 



Form a task force to assess options for a vessel buy out program, focused on: 



1) Reducing the active fishing power of the large vessel fleet. 



2) Leveraging available dollars, whether federal or from other sources, as far as 

 possible, by developing a competitive "reverse auction" bidding process. 



3) Insuring that the fishing power is permanently removed from the fleet and not 

 shifted into other fisheries. 



The battle over fisheries management in New England over the last two years 

 frayed already tenuous relations between fishers, environmentalists and federal reg- 

 ulators. Tensions are only worsening as implementation of the new regulations be- 

 gins. In several fisheries there is an overwnelming sense of despair over their fu- 



