Fishing Industry Seeks to Buy Up 225 Permits to Restrict Catch

By Doug Fraser, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.

Dec. 30–A fishing industry campaign to buy out at least 225 fishing permits for an estimated $100 million is now headed to Congress.

An ad hoc committee composed of fishermen, industry leaders and an environmentalist has been meeting for more than a year to put together a plan that members hope will result in a leaner, more profitable groundfish fishery. They voted Thursday to take their plan to Congress to lobby for a federal loan to buy up the permits. The loan would then be paid back by a percentage tax, based on individual landings, levied on the remaining active fishermen.

Groundfish include 19 bottom-feeding species, such as cod, haddock and flounder, which are the bread-and-butter of New England fishing. Despite harsh fishing regulations over the past decade to bring these stocks back from historic low levels, many are still far from being rebuilt. Permits are fishing licenses to catch specific species of fish. Fishermen pay an annual fee for permits and the number issued each year is limited.

In two previous buyouts, the federal government spent $42 million to reduce the fleet by 401 permits. But the National Marine Fisheries Service has said the current groundfish fleet, with 1,005 permits, needs to be cut back to between 400 and 600 boats to be profitable.

Some fishermen believe that having too many permits is driving many out of business, because the competition for each year’s allowable catch is too great. They see the buyout as a way out for those who are looking to retire with a little money.

Unfortunately, a ballot sent out to fishermen holding 1,450 groundfish permits drew just 380 responses, or around 26 percent. While the fishermen who responded overwhelmingly supported the buyout plan by the ad hoc committee, known as the Multispecies Capacity Reduction Committee, the low response raised the question of whether there was enough interest in a buyout.

Robert Lane, Marstons Mills fisherman and committee member, said he’d talked to a lot of fishermen who were interested but that many didn’t realize the importance of the referendum vote that the ballot represented.

“They thought it was just more paperwork,” he said.

He said the committee was concerned that the low number of ballot returns meant there was not enough backing within the industry, but he said the members were encouraged by the strong response in favor of a buyout.

Committee members will be going to Washington, D.C., this winter to meet with congressional staffers from the Northeast states with a goal of submitting legislation for the loan. A second referendum vote this spring or summer requires a two-thirds vote of all those responding to pass.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.

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