“Our commercial fishing industry is facing a prolonged crisis that threatens
its very survival, and these funds represent a critical lifeline for fishing
families and ports. Although the amount is modest in the context of the
threat, it does represent recognition by the federal government of its
obligation to provide resources in the face of this dilemma. Now, the
funds need to get to the people who need them without delay, without being
sacrificed to the costs of overhead and bureaucracy, and without a mistaken
belief that they will solve the problems the industry faces.
Hopefully, with these funds at work to prevent immediate extinction of
commercial fishing in Massachusetts and New England, we can use the time they
buy to chart a course for better management, and a groundfishery that can
survive now and prosper in the days ahead.”
Please
click here to read New Bedford Stand Times Reporter Steve Urbon’s latest report
on the fisheries disaster relief money.
