WASHINGTON — Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said
Thursday that a federal court ruling that upheld
large sections of New England's new fishing
regulations will provide fishermen with a level
of certainty by eliminating the possibility of
more restrictive rules. The regulations, known
as Amendment 13, scaled back the number of
fishing days and closed some fishing grounds.
They have been an ongoing
point of contention between fishermen who found
them too limiting and environmental groups that
deemed them inadequate.
Developed by the New
England Fisheries Management Council, the rules
went into effect last May 1, and in the ruling,
U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said she
wanted to issue her decision before the fishing
season begins this May.
Huvelle handed
conservation groups a partial victory in their
challenge of the rules, finding that the
government must set up a better program for
monitoring bycatch - unintentional take of
often-protected fish, turtles or sea mammals.
"I cannot say enough how
difficult Amendment 13 continues to be on the
fishermen of Maine and New England, placing
difficult and inflexible regulations on a
community that is struggling to survive," said
Snowe, who chairs the Senate Commerce
Subcommittee on Fisheries and Coast Guard.
"I hope that today's
federal court ruling at the very least will
provide an element of closure . . . (New England
fishermen) now know that these rules will not be
further tightened."
Snowe said she was
particularly pleased that the court struck down
a provision that allowed the National Marine
Fisheries Service to override the New England
Fisheries Management Council's ability to
determine catch sizes on eastern Georges Bank.
The United States and Canada share fishing
rights in the vital fishing ground.
