New England Fishermen to See Federal Funds in Form of Boat/Permit Buyback Program
By Heidi Taylor
WASHINGTON—Beleaguered fishermen may see some relief under a program that would offer them financial incentives to quit the fishing business. Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry slipped a voluntary “buyback” provision into the massive spending bill Congress passed last week that could funnel more than $10 million to New England fishermen. President Bush was expected to sign the $397.4 billion omnibus bill.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) would be in charge of distributing the funds for this voluntary program that would allow permit holders to submit bids to sell their boats and permits to the federal government and leave the industry. In the reverse auction, permits and boats would be purchased, starting with the lowest bid, until funds were gone. The boats would be scrapped.
Kennedy and Kerry, both Massachusetts Democrats, said the buyback program would give struggling fishermen the option of getting out of fishing, an industry governed by tight regulation and plagued by depleted resources.
“Today’s announcement will provide immediate relief for hundreds of fishermen and help them transition into other trades that better stabilize the economic needs of their families,” Kennedy said in a statement last week. There are 1,800 groundfishing permits in New England, 810 of them in Massachusetts, according to Kennedy.
Currently, many worry that the ocean does not hold enough groundfish such as cod, haddock, redfish and flounder to support the many fishermen in the Northeast.
“We are faced with unprecedented low stocks of groundfish species and an industry shrinking in regional importance, struggling to support historical fishing communities such as Gloucester and New Bedford, Massachusetts,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website said.
Dan Morris, special assistant to the northeastern regional administrator at NMFS, who helped with a permit buyback last year, said that the office received 501 bids from fishermen interested in selling their permits. In last year’s program, 245 permits were bought at an average price of around $40,000 a piece.
But this year’s buyback program isn’t the same thing, Morris said. “Everybody has a different idea about how the program should work, and with this boat and permit buyback, it’s a different set of issues,” Morris said.
“A buyback is a very complex issue,” Morris said, adding that if $10 million were appropriated for a buyback, there would be many factors to consider. For example, a decision would have to be made about which boats get priority in the buyback-working boats that are taking a lot of fish out of the ocean or boats that are not working or employing fishers; big trawlers with equipment to bring in many fish or gill netters with smaller capacity.
Besides working with Congress on this program, Morris said, “we need to make sure to meet the intent and desires of the public.”
Although there is no clear way to anticipate participation, after more than a decade of extremely tight restrictions because of overfishing and depleted stocks the buyback option may sound good to many fishermen, Patricia Fiorelli, a spokeswoman for the New England Fishery Management Council, said in a phone interview. At least “for those who are ready to retire,” she added.
“We are absolutely happy with anything that will help fishermen,” Fiorelli said, adding, “Groundfish is an overcapitalized fishery with too many boats and not enough resources.” But she said she could not confirm that this money is enough to make a dent in the problems that fishermen face.
Kennedy and Kerry said in their press release that many fishermen would privately agree that there are too many fishermen in groundfishery. Reducing the capacity of the fleet in New England would help fishing-a 400-year-old New England industry-as well as struggling fishing families, they say.
“While New England fisheries are slowly recovering after years of substantial restrictions, the $10 million included for a voluntary buyout program for New England fishing boats will allow some fishermen to retire with dignity,” Kerry said.
Published in The Newburyport Daily News, The Gloucester Daily News, and The Salem News in Massachusetts.
