Greater Fishing Limits

"Maine's commercial fishermen expect yet another round of painful limits on their catches in the wake of a new scientific status report on New England's fish populations.

A federal report presented to fisheries managers last week said that although some fish species such as haddock and cod are healthy or rebounding, others – including most varieties of flounder – are still declining and severely depleted.

It was the first comprehensive look at 19 so-called groundfish species in four years.

State officials and members of Maine's struggling fishing industry said Monday there is no doubt that a new round of federal fishing cuts is coming for next spring.

'This is just plain bad news,' said Terry Stockwell, deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

'The difficulty for the industry is that they've done what's been asked of them. They fished fewer days at sea, used bigger mesh, stayed out of certain areas, and all of these measures haven't resulted in a healthy fishery. It's extremely frustrating.':

New England's groundfish fishery is the oldest in the nation and was once the bedrock of Maine's coastal economy.

It now supports a compact fleet of boats and a collection of Portland-based businesses – including the city-owned Fish Exchange – that service the fleet. .... more

- Portland Press Herald