Fishing News
Government Will Buy Back Unused N.E. Fishing Permits
By Doug Fraser, [email protected]
CHATHAM - Eighty-eight vessels caught cod and other bottom-feeding fish in Chatham and Harwich last year. But there is a second fleet, a shadow fleet of 93 other vessels that are permitted to catch groundfish, but didn't land any last year or, in most cases, in any of the previous six years.
Some were lobstering or bass fishing, digging clams, or doing some other type of fishing. Maybe, when groundfish stocks come back, the captains will rig up some hooks or nets and go out. Maybe, they'll decide they're never going to catch another cod or flounder and they'll sell their permit to the federal government, which started taking bids today as part of $10 million program to buy permits.
With an estimated price tag of between $10,000 to $65,000 for each multi-species permit, interest seems to be running high.
"I've been getting a lot of calls," said Dan Morris, special projects officer for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Gloucester.
That was echoed by Paul Parker, the executive director of the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association in Chatham.
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