June 18, 2010

US federal regulators are looking to allow fishermen to catch nearly six times the original limit of a key groundfish stock after it was stated that the limit was set so low it would sabotage the Northeast industry.

The National Marine Fisheries Service said Wednesday that a preliminary analysis of new science indicates fishermen can catch about 35 million pounds of pollock this year without overfishing the stock. The current allotment is about six million pounds.

The fisheries service is now working on an emergency change to the pollock limit, which could be completed by July if the early numbers hold up, according to a NMFS spokeswoman.

Fishermen say quick action is crucial because of a sweeping change to New England's fishing regulations, which began in May. Most fishermen now work in groups called sectors and divide an allotted catch. But if they exceed their limit on one fish species, they must stop fishing on all stocks.

Fishermen said limits on various stocks, particularly pollock, were set so low that fishermen would quickly reach them and be forced to prematurely shut down for the year. Groundfish such as cod, pollock and haddock swim together in New England waters, so it's tough to avoid one species when going after another.

Vito Giacalone, of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, a fishing industry group, said he was happy about the possible pollock increase, adding that it will free up fishermen to chase healthier species they might not have been able to catch otherwise if they were forced off the waters too early.

Congressmen from New England's five coastal states and New York asked Commerce Secretary Gary Locke last month for emergency increases in catch limits. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who wrote Locke about increasing the pollock limit, said Wednesday that the move to raise the limit is "good news for Massachusetts fishermen and the communities that depend on them."

The fisheries service said the new pollock assessment uses more data and the most sophisticated population modeling ever applied to the species.