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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 7
March 2006
Editorial
MA ocean bill gets a lot of things right
Over the last year, Massachusetts lawmakers have tackled the tremendous challenge of writing legislation to guide the creation of a comprehensive ocean management strategy to deal with inshore development.
In December, through the hard work of fishing advocates and the willingness of key legislators to really listen, S 2308 emerged from the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture with a favorable endorsement.
How this ultimately turns out is critical to Bay State fishermen, but industry members everywhere could benefit from paying attention to the legislation and the politics involved in crafting it.
That’s because this bill, the first of its kind in the country, could become a template for other states trying to figure out how to handle LNG terminals, fiber optic cables, pipelines, and wind farms while protecting traditional uses and natural resources.
There’s a lot that’s right with the current version of S 2308. Here are three examples.
First, through the dedicated efforts of the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership, the state’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW), and the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), the bill recognizes DMF’s authority to manage fisheries and be the primary steward of marine resources.
Today, DMF is merely “consulted” when sand and gravel mining projects or outfall discharges are proposed, and in the agency’s experience, being consulted has often translated into being ignored. But under S 2308, all ocean development projects would be required to take into account DMF concerns over fisheries resource impacts and habitat destruction.
Second, the original version of the bill had extensive language mandating implementation of “marine protected areas” (MPAs), which many industry advocates feared would lead to closures independent of the DMF fisheries management process. But through sheer perseverance, the partnership, DFW, and DMF convinced lawmakers to strip all MPA language from S 2308.
Finally, the bill specifies that one seat on the state’s proposed Ocean Science Advisory Council be reserved for a scientist specifically designated by the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership. This is an impressive recognition of the legitimate interest fishermen have in ocean science and the valuable contributions they have to make to it.
State Sen. Rob O’Leary, the primary author of the legislation, has made it crystal clear that this bill does not affect ocean development projects already under review. The bill also does not affect harbor and estuary management plans run by local communities.
Instead, it deals with the future development of waters out to three miles in a comprehensive way that recognizes the authority of DMF to manage and protect fisheries resources. Through the seat on the science advisory council, it gives Massachusetts fishermen standing to ask serious questions about how run-off and sewage treatment discharges affect fish and lobsters. And it prevents the backdoor imposition of MPAs.
To ensure that these important provisions reach enactment, the bill will need the continued unwavering support of the commercial fishing industry.
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