Council outlines new commercial fishing plan

PEABODY -- The New England Fishery Management Council took a much-anticipated step yesterday to end overfishing in the region, adopting the broad outlines of a plan that would restrict fishing on vulnerable species while redirecting commercial fishermen toward healthier fish populations.

In an 11-hour meeting fraught with confusion, anger, and occasionally tears from the fishermen and their families in attendance, the council voted to accept the basic elements of a plan put forth by an industry group, the Northeast Seafood Coalition. The council will return today to negotiate further details of the plan before settling on a final version.

The proposal passed last night was mandated by a 2001 order from a federal judge, who ruled that federal regulators were violating the law by allowing fish to be caught faster than they could replenish themselves.

The new plan is based on the current practice of restricting the number of days each year a fisherman can go on the water. But it introduces a new idea: a "B day," a fishing day on which fishermen can pursue only species with healthy populations.

For example, fishermen now allowed 70 days in total to fish -- a typical number -- would get about 57 days to go after vulnerable species such as cod, and at least 13 days when they could chase only healthier stocks, such as haddock.

The plan drew fire from some parties because it adds complications to the already complex web of rules regulating fishermen, and may be difficult to enforce. Some fishermen said it would still put too many of them out of business.

And a more serious flaw may be its effectiveness: Scientific projections suggest the plan as formed so far may still allow fishermen to haul in too many vulnerable species, thus failing to meet the judge's order. The council is expected to address that issue today.

"Clearly more needs to be done," said Pat Fiorelli, spokesman for the fisheries council. "The idea is to perfect it further."

The council is under heavy pressure to vote to restrict fishing by the end of today so new rules would pass through federal review in time to take effect by May 1, the start of the next fishing season. Although some stocks are beginning to make a comeback, many of them, including the signature cod of Georges Bank, continue to hover near historic lows. Environmentalists sued the federal government in 2000 to stop overfishing, and in 2001 the judge agreed and ordered the council to come up with a plan to stabilize stocks.

Despite all the emotion of yesterday's meeting, the council appeared unwilling to attack some of the fundamental issues surrounding the management of New England's fisheries.

Environmentalists have called for any new plan to include "hard quotas" on individual species, a backstop that would close fisheries down if too many fish were being caught. Although many fisheries worldwide use such a system as a foundation, the council did not discuss the issue in any depth, and it remained unclear if they would today.

"We've consistently advocated for hard [quotas]," said Geoff Smith of the Ocean Conservancy. "The history here is clear: The council routinely sets catch targets for fish that are exceeded by 200 or 300 percent."

The council also approved a plan that could sharply alter the makeup of the region's fishing villages by allowing some boats to buy and lease fishing permits from other ones. Many fishermen deeply oppose this idea because it could lead to consolidation of commercial fishing into just a few ports. It could also introduce more pressure on fish stocks, as fishermen would have a financial incentive to lease their unused fishing days to other boats. Alerted to this problem, the council pledged late last night to revisit the issue this morning.

The meeting, with an audience of more than 100 environmentalists, fishermen, and others, was tense at times as council members voted on formulas that promised to turn some fishermen into winners and others into losers. In one vote, the council had to decide on a formula to establish a baseline for future restrictions for fishermen's days at sea. Ultimately the council chose a plan that brought a burst of happy tears from Christine Sherman, a Gloucester fisherman's wife.

As a fellow fisherman's wife hugged Sherman, her husband Russell explained that the vote meant he would be able to keep fishing. If the council had voted another way, he would have had too few fishing days to make the payments on the $200,000 mortgage on his 76-foot boat, the Lady Jane. "Depending on what happened, I was going home to tell my boys, my crew, that I was going to sell the boat," he said.

The meeting at times descended into debates over the possible consequences of votes the council had just taken.

Notably missing was the staunch opposition from fishermen that has punctuated council hearings in recent months as the new rules were being debated. Fishermen seemed largely resigned yesterday to new rules, although many said the real implications would not be known until the end of today when the specifics of the plan have been ironed out.

"The devil is in the details," said David Marciano, a Gloucester fisherman. "There are a lot of decisions being made here and each affects different gear types and vessel classifications differently. It's like Russian roulette. We don't know all the answers yet."

Beth Daley can be reached by e-mail at Bdaley@globe.com.