Portland, ME - New England Fishery Management Council

Mr. Ben Martens (Midcoast Fishermen’s Association): A lot of really good things have been said
tonight. We have to focus on the comments that made a lot of sense. One is that this should have
been done before or during the Amendment 16 process. That is valid, but doesn’t mean we should
not be doing it now. It does not mean we shouldn’t think about what we want our industry to look
like and plan for smart growth into the future. We should start looking at it in the way of how we
want our fleet to look in the future, what we want to be doing in the future, and how we plan for it
now. We are looking at Amendment 18 for some innovative ways to see how the smaller vessels
with smaller landing limits can be competitive with larger vessels. We will be submitting more
formal comments; this is very complex issue.
Mr. Michael Russo (Groundfisherman, Cape Cod MA): I have been in the fishery since 1984.
One thing for certain is that you should never say never. I have been involved in every fishery on
a 50-ft. vessel and am also a member of the groundfish AP. I stand by the motions we approved
and forwarded to the Council. I think there are more important things we can be working on than
this. I have had many boats under 50 ft. and if you look at Cape Cod, the fishery is almost
nonexistent, and captains are happy that they can lease their cod out and go fish on skates. I have
leased fish from all sizes of vessels and all gear types. That’s how you preserve fleet diversity.
I’ve been dedicated to groundfish for the last 20 years, and I need to be able to access fish and
lease out to all vessels in the fishery. Fleet diversity is in the eyes of the beholder. I see the fishery
going offshore. Do I want to take five-day trips? No. But I need to be involved to get an
investment in the fishery and a safe platform to catch groundfish.
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