City Releases Six-Point Plan to Revive Struggling Fisheries

A new report by UMass Dartmouth's School for Marine Science and Technology outlines a series of policy recommendations to revive the northeast's struggling groundfish fishery. Officials including Mayor Jon Mitchell and State Sen. Mark Montigny attended the plan's unveiling at SMAST Tuesday. The plan calls for federal regulators to make changes to the Magnusson-Stevens Act, which governs fisheries management, and for more public investment in groundfish research. Montigny said fisheries are unusual in that state and local governments often have to work up their own science.

New Bedford is still the nation's largest fishing port, but life has become a struggle for many fishermen. The city has lost 50 businesses in the port since 2004 and more than 300 jobs vanished between 2010 and 2012.