By Richard Gaines
Staff writer
March 12, 2008 07:08 am The Bush administration has expressed reluctance to allow direct payments to the state's commercial fishermen from a $13.4 million congressional appropriation earmarked to relieve the impact of federal policies that are cutting deeply into the catch of groundfish. While conceding the need for "some direct payments to fishermen," the administration has taken the position that the money is better invested in "buy-outs" to reduce the size of the fleet, and planning activities and social programs, notably "counseling." But that has set up a tug-of-war over the money between federal and state fishery agencies in which Gloucester and the state's other fishing ports could come out on the short end. The administration approach is at odds with the views of U.S. Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry, both D-Mass., who jointly got the $13.4 million earmark placed in a December budget. They had sought it after last spring's refusal by the Department of Commerce to declare a "groundfish disaster" that would have brought $22 million in relief funds. Direct assistance to fishermen was the explicit purpose of the earmark, said Jackie O'Dell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition. Kennedy's press secretary said the same thing in an e-mail. "Senator Kennedy sought the funds to help those affected by Framework 42, which has placed an unfair burden on hardworking fishing families," said Melissa Wagoner. Even so, the Bush administration position is that no more than 50 percent — or $6.7 million — of the emergency appropriation will be used in direct grants to fishermen. The federal preference for different uses of the money — inserted in a holiday season budget along with 9,000 other earmarks — was expressed in a Feb. 8 letter to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries by John Oliver. Oliver, acting assistant administrator for fisheries in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reports directly to the Secretary of Commerce on "living marine resource" matters, and is thus at the top of fishing's regulatory chain of command. Since its receipt by Paul Diodati, director of the Division of Marine Fisheries, the letter has been the subject of private, informal talks between the federal regulators who control the earmark appropriation and state officials who must apply for it despite the earmarking of the senators. "Nothing is in writing," said Robert Keough, a spokesman for Ian Bowles, Gov. Deval Patrick's secretary of energy and environmental affairs. Until recent days, however, few outside the government even were aware of the letter — or any talks about how to spend the money. These discussions began even before Feb. 8, when Oliver wrote to Diodati and the Patrick administration about the proposed parameters of agreement — "just guidance," according to Patricia Kurkel, the Gloucester-based regional administrator of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, whom Oliver delegated to "work through final details" with state officials. In Oliver's letter, he thanks Diodati and an assistant for coming to Washington to rough out the terms of understanding on what NOAA's Oliver called "our" appropriation for "Massachusetts groundfish relief." Kurkel said the state plan for using the money must be consistent with NOAA's mission, which emphasizes the fishery as a sustainable resource. "It's important that the money achieve some sort of long-term impact on the industry and the resource," Kurkel said in an interview. The Division of Marine Fisheries' Web site — between notices on "draft lobster addenda" and a management plan for "Atlantic coastal sharks" — makes no mention of the $13.4 million appropriation, which was aggressively promoted by Kennedy, Kerry and U.S. Reps. John Tierney, Barney Frank and William Delahunt last Dec. 20, when the budget bill was sent to President George W. Bush for his signature. "This funding is a lifeline for thousands of Massachusetts fishermen hurt by the this latest barrage of restrictions," Kerry said. "At a time when new regulations are severely limiting their catches, and the cost of fueling their boats is skyrocketing, the least we can do is provide our fishermen with immediate emergency assistance." Jackie O'Dell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, said "direct assistance" to the fishermen was the explicit purpose of the earmark. She noted that the hardships suffered by the fishing coalition members from Maine to Long Island, N.Y., were caused by the thrust of the current regulatory scheme, "Framework 42," which reduced catch limits and especially days at sea — and left the entire groundfish fleet struggling with debt. In an e-mail response to questions, Melissa Wagoner, Kennedy's press secretary, took the same position. The earmark had also been embraced by congressmen for the state's other fishing ports in New Bedford and Chatham. Oliver's letter instructs the state that, if it agrees with NOAA to split the dollars more or less evenly between subsidies and buy-outs to reduce the number of boats groundfishing, the release of the money can be accomplished quickly. Diodati said it makes sense to help fishermen who want out. "If capacity is reduced, there's more allocation for those that are left," he noted. But he said he doesn't share NOAA's belief in the need to cull the fleet aggressively. The buy-out of surplus groundfish vessels has been a core goal of NOAA since the 1990s. "Capacity reduction is at the core of transitioning to a more stable fishing environment," Oliver wrote. Diodati said he has assembled a team of government officials plus an academic from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth to draft the application for NOAA. Then, he said, he would take the concept public and on the road — with hearings in Gloucester, New Bedford and possibly Plymouth — before rewriting and vetting it. "The governor will want to put his stamp on this, too," said Diodati. "This is going to be a very visible process." NOAA, custodian of the money, has given the state an April 15 deadline, to allow time for "technical review and processing." "It's unprecedented for NOAA to weigh in with such cumbersome conditions," said Brigid O'Rourke, Kerry's press secretary. Rarely has an earmark gotten so much attention. "You'd think that giving away money is an easy thing," said Diodati, "but it's not." Richard Gaines can be reached at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com
—
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.