There used to be fish:The Decline of Fish and Fishing Communities in New England

“Fishermen around me have gathered the courage to stand together,” called a worn but yet unbroken speaker outside the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) offices in Gloucester, Massachusetts; “we’re asking you to come out,” he paused, turning to face a grid of glass windows, removing his navy hood and pointing the bull-horn up at the austere authority of the new office park. Raising his voice, he bid again, “We’re asking you to come out. [Pause] The issues we’re facing require congressional action. If the fleet size goes down any more we’ll reach the tipping point,” he sighed, “losing the infrastructure necessary to maintain the industry.” The building was silent. Thick glass held steadfast returning only mirror images, undecipherable signage, hung from the necks of folks bewailing: “20 Years of Sacrifice Only to be Sectored Out.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is the government body tasked with implementing fishery conservation and management policies developed by each of the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils (RFMC) established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The act was formulated to include fishermen in the process of developing management policy, but clearly the 300 or so fishermen and their supporters who gathered in Gloucester last October do not feel that their concerns are being heard or that the Fisheries Service is doing an adequate job of representing their interests. Many now complain that the federal law has set fisheries up to fail in New England and across the nation (Northeast Seafood Coalition 2009).

This paper examines the tools and regulations that have precipitated declines in fish stocks and the people whose livelihoods depend on them. It begins with a short description of commercial marine fisheries since World War II, moves on to outline the unique managerial structure of RFMCs and the regulatory history of the Magnuson-Stevens Act in New England, and finally explores options to increase biological and social health in New England communities through improved regulatory and political support for marine aquaculture. Development of sustainable aquaculture in New England will bring tremendous opportunity to the region, potentially reversing longstanding negative environmental and economic trends, and employing people in ecologically beneficial work. Commercial fishermen stand to benefit from increased aquaculture production, especially if relationships between aquaculture and capture fishery stocks and habitats are strengthened and promoted. All fishers will benefit from the preservation of shared port infrastructure, processing, markets, machinery and repair shops necessary for small scale producers along New England’s bays and harbors.
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