News from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
March 15, 2005
Phone: (603) 271-3211
Email: info@wildlife.state.nh.us
For information and online licenses, visit 
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us

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CONTACT:
John Nelson: (603) 868-1095 
Jane Vachon: (603) 332-3211
March 15, 2005


NEW ENGLAND MARINE FISHING REGULATIONS UPHELD

DURHAM, N.H. -- The United States District Court for the District of 
Columbia ruled on March 9, 2005, against a broad-based legal action and 
upheld large sections of New England's recently enacted fishing 
regulations designed to protect stocks from over-fishing while still meeting 
commercial fishermen's needs. The Court remanded one issue concerning 
by-catch reporting to the government for reconsideration.

The regulations, known as Amendment 13, scaled back the number of 
fishing days and closed some fishing grounds. They have been an ongoing 
point of contention between fishermen, who found them too limiting, and 
environmental groups, which asserted that they were inadequate. Developed 
by the New England Fisheries Management Council, the rules went into 
effect last May 1. In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle 
said she wanted to issue her decision before the fishing season begins 
this May.

The Court found that Amendment 13 reflects the Council's and the U.S. 
Secretary of Commerce's painstaking efforts to achieve a delicate 
balance that rebuilds stocks and ends over-fishing, while allowing fishermen 
to continue fishing those stocks that are healthy. The ruling 
determined that Amendment 13 is, with limited exception, reasonable and in 
accordance with law. 

"Amendment 13 appropriately takes into account the needs of the both 
the fishery stocks and our local fishing communities," said John Nelson, 
Chief of New Hampshire Fish and Game's Marine Fisheries Division. 
"We're pleased that the Court agreed with the National Oceanographic and 
Atmospheric Administration Fisheries -- that sufficient programs and 
alternatives to protect fishery stocks have been considered, and a more 
austere program is not needed at this time." 

For more information, contact the New Hampshire Fish and Game 
Department's Marine Fisheries Division at (603) 868-1095.

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Concord, NH 03301.  Comments or questions concerning this list should 
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