This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Fishermen Want Off the Catch-and-Trade Hook

A proposed state and federal regulation to maintain healthy fish stocks could be coming, but some local fishermen say it will put smaller boats out of business.

A new wave of regulations might soon entangle local fishermen working on the Long Island Sound.

The state Department of Environmental Protection and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council are considering a catch and trade system for fishermen on both charter and commercial boats. The proposal would allow fishermen to buy, sell or trade catch shares and their permits. But some say the plan will squeeze smaller boats out of business.

If enacted, the initiative would mirror the current federal system which governs fishermen on the open ocean who chase ground fish; including cod, haddock, and halibut.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

"We've been struggling in fisheries management," said David Simpson, director of the DEP's Marine Fisheries Division. "There needs to be a distribution of catch in ways that are fair. So we took the idea of using basic market procedures like cap and trade."

Connecticut has a significant commercial fishing industry. Fishermen from Stonington to Stamford, and New London to Norwalk harvest fish and shellfish from both the sound and the Atlantic Ocean.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Landings include sea scallops, silver hake, squid, flounder, scup and lobsters. In 2006, the ex-vessel value of commercial wild harvest exceeded $16 million, according to commercial-fishing.org.

Both the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the state DEP used fish stock data to push their point for sectors in open-ocean. But Long Island Sound fish stocks tell a different story.

Stocks of black striped bass, summer flounder and porgy are healthy, Simpson said. Any new regulations would only maintain healthy stocks, not rebuild damaged ones.

"That strikes fear into people's hearts," Simpson said. "The fishermen think there could be rapid consolidation of resources. And then there is the question of what happens to recreational fisherman. How do they get their fair share?"

In New England, fishermen fiercely oppose both the current plan and any future plan. Last month, a flotilla of fisherman, mostly from Gloucester, Mass., sailed to Vineyard Haven Harbor, near where President Barack Obama vacationed, to protest the new rules.

Connecticut fishermen haven't yet taken to the seas in protest, but they're still angry.

"They don't know what they're doing," said Capt. Frankie Lanzo, who operates Judith Lynn Fishing Charters out of Norwalk.

Lanzo regularly takes people from Westport, New Canaan, Darien, and Fairfield on his boats. But with each new regulation, it gets harder to attract passengers.

Even now regulations are nightmarish, Lanzo said. In Connecticut he can catch three 19 ½-inch summer flounders per person but once he crosses the "imaginary line" into NY waters, only two, 21-inch summer flounders are allowed.

"It's costing me $1000 (in fuel, maintenance, permits and fees) just to take people on the water each time, so every new regulation dampens business," Lanzo said.

The proposed regulation isn't any different and would mean Lanzo couldn't allow his customers to catch as much, he said.

Even so, DEP's Simpson said he doesn't quite understand why smaller boats, particularly scallop fishermen, think new regulations will squeeze them out of the market.

Because most scallop fishermen shuck their product at sea and come ashore with a ready-to-eat product they're not in danger of being marginalized by larger fishing concerns, Simpson said.

Another piece of regulation worrying fishermen is a proposal to allow vessels to "stack" permits. Currently scallop boats can only fish 38 days a season. Stacked permits means one large boat could fish nearly three times as many days as a single boat, and save operational money. But those who own only one or two boats could lose out, Lanzo said.

Yet even the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration admits small boats are financially vulnerable. Still, Jane Lubchenco, head of NOAA, wants to transform fisheries into commodities markets to attract investment capital.

"This whole issue of state and federal regulations for commercial harvesting gets really complex," said J.C. Banks who publishes commercial-fishing.org.

Local fishermen also said too many regulations govern the sound. Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York all have different rules.

"Any new regulation is too much," said Capt. Brian Hocking of the Deborah Ann IV Charters out of Stamford. "Already the season for bluefish, sea bass, striped bass and porgy is shortened. With three states with different regulations, it's tough to keep track. One standard would be good, but they don't much listen to us."

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?