An industry backer in charge?

New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg stands to be only the fourth New Englander to serve as the nation's Commerce secretary, the first in more than 30 years — and the appointment could prove to be a boon to the region's troubled fishing industry.

The Commerce secretary not only oversees business development for the country, but also the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, in turn, regulates fishing in the United States.

Just last fall, Gregg signed a letter with other New England senators urging then-Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez to declare a fishery resource disaster in the northeast. It was to be the first step in obtaining financial relief that could help the groundfishing fleet survive until stocks rebound.

Gutierrez denied the request, prompting Gregg and the others to find an alternate funding method — an end-around that would be unlikely were Gregg to be confirmed for the post.

"Anybody from a coastal state or New England certainly would have a better understanding of our industry than, say, somebody from New Mexico," said Maine fishing boat owner James Odlin. President Barack Obama nominated Gregg, a Republican, for Commerce after his original choice, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, withdrew from contention.

"This industry is in a crisis mode," Odlin said.

The sentiment was echoed by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who has worked with Gregg on New England maritime matters despite their party differences.

"It's not just an accent, it's an understanding of our local issues," Kerry said in a prepared statement.

"Judd Gregg doesn't need an education on our regional issues because he's lived them as a governor and senator," added Kerry, who helped to secure $13 million in aid for Gloucester and other Massachusetts fishermen last year after the bid for federal "disaster" funding failed. "He's been to those community meetings and he's looked in the eyes of fishing families struggling to hang on to generations old family fishing operations."

Gregg's office refused the speculate about how his elevation to Commerce secretary and his a role in the president's Cabinet could affect the fishing industry — or any other industry, for that matter.

"Since Sen. Gregg has not yet been confirmed to the position of secretary of Commerce, it is not appropriate to comment on future Commerce policies at this point," said Gregg spokeswoman Laena Fallon.

The secretariat became a standalone position in 1913, when the duties of the secretary of Commerce and Labor were divided into two jobs: secretary of Labor and secretary of Commerce.

Under that new scheme, the first New Englander to hold serve as Commerce secretary was William Fairfield Whiting of Holyoke, who served from 1928 to 1929 under a fellow New Englander, President Calvin Coolidge. The second person from the region to serve as secretary was Charles Sinclair Weeks, the former mayor of Newton and briefly one of the state's U.S. senators. He held the post from 1953 to 1958.

A third person with Massachusetts ties, former state Attorney General Elliot Richardson, served as U.S. Commerce secretary from 1976 to 1977 under a fellow Republican, President Gerald Ford. Gregg, a former governor and U.S. House member, would be the first secretary from New Hampshire.

His nomination comes at a pivotal time for the fishing industry and those who observe it.

Last month, NOAA and NMFS officials updated the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in an effort end overfishing and restore reportedly depleted fishing stocks. Fishermen, however, continue to argue that the regulations are too onerous and threaten their livelihood. And a federal judge two weeks ago suspended the controversial Framework 42 federal fishing regulations for 60 days in a move widely seen as an opinion supporting the fishermen's position.

U.S. District Court Judge Edward Harrington essentially ordered NMFS to consider an alternative system that would allow fishermen more flexibility in catching stocks that have shown signs of recovery; NOAA's and NMFS' current regulatory practices limit fishing based on the premise that all stocks are in the same boat as the weakest-recovering species.

Overall, the U.S. commercial and recreational fishing industries generated more than $185 billion in sales and more than two million jobs in 2006, the last year for which statistics are available. The commercial industry, including harvesters, seafood processors and dealers, accounted for $103 billion of that figure, and there 140,000 people working in the fishing industry throughout New England.

Gregg joined with the University of New Hampshire in 2007 to open the nation's first commercial offshore mussel farm. The farm, located off the coast of Hampton, N.H., uses technology and know-how developed by scientists at the university's Atlantic Marine Aquaculture Center to farm blue mussels. They are sold in stores and restaurants as "Isles of Shoals Supremes."

Gregg said at the time: "Supporting our commercial fishing industry requires innovative strategies, the kind that come from combining federal and state support with the research talent at University of New Hampshire and the entrepreneurial spirit of Northeast fishermen."

At the same time, Gregg was not among the New England senators who signed onto a request to include more than $155 million for the New England fishing industry in Senate version of the $800-billion-plus federal stimulus. Sens. Kerry and Kennedy from Massachusetts and their colleagues from Rhode Island and Maine all backed a proposal that had the support of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, but the proposal was dead before the full stimulus bill made it to the Senate floor, and none of the New England senators offered it as an amendment.

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