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Northeast Consortium merits full funding
The Northeast Consortium, a pioneer in the cooperative fisheries research movement that is today being adopted around the county, is on the verge of having to shut down due to a lack of federal funding. It is a situation that Congress can and should reverse.
Back in 1999, the fishing industry, management, and science communities were completely stymied by the ongoing groundfish crisis. Many fishermen didn’t trust scientists, many scientists wrote off fishermen’s observations as “anecdotal,” unworthy of serious consideration, and managers were caught in the middle.
Ann Bucklin, then-director of the University of New Hampshire Sea Grant Program, looked at the situation and had an inspired vision – make commercial fishermen “co-equal partners” with scientists in fisheries research. She spoke of breaking down barriers, of “depoliticizing” fisheries research, of allowing people to see things from different perspectives by working shoulder-to-shoulder, each contributing their own strengths and talents toward the goal of better fisheries science.
While few will say the groundfish crisis has been resolved, even fewer can argue that there hasn’t been an enormous change in the way fishermen and scientists interact and in the credibility each group now has with the other.
Since it was first funded in 2000, the Northeast Consortium has accomplished much.
It has funded more than 171 projects involving more than 355 commercial fishermen, 33 industry organizations and businesses, and 221 scientists from 55 research institutions.
Through these projects, fishermen and scientists have produced valid and important results in the areas of fish biology, oceanography, habitat and ecosystem monitoring, socio-economic impacts, and education and outreach. More than 55 projects have focused on gear improvements for the groundfish, lobster, scallop, and shrimp fisheries to make gear more economically efficient while significantly reducing unintended bycatch. Consortium-funded projects also have contributed to more than 26 stock assessments for 10 species, giving managers better information on which to base decisions.
The Northeast Consortium saw from the start the tremendous potential good that could come from giving fishermen the opportunity to formally engage in the scientific process. With its network of Sea Grant and cooperative extension outreach workers who have a track record of building rapport with fishermen, the consortium is in a unique position to foster and nurture fisheries research from the ground up.
And just as important, the consortium provides a vehicle for independent research that contributes to and helps validate government science.
Congress’ current suspicion of earmark funding may be justified in many instances, but not in the case of the Northeast Consortium. The program has proven its worth, will pass lawmakers’ scrutiny, and deserves full funding in fiscal year 2008. /cfn/
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