Catch Down, Revenues Up For Northeast Fishermen

The catch for fishermen in the Northeast during the first three months following drastic rule changes fell 10 percent compared to last year but revenues rose 17 percent, according to federal statistics released this week.

The rules were enacted May 1 amid reports of broad confusion about the change and that numerous fishermen were keeping their boats docked due to the uncertainty.

It's too soon to draw broad conclusions, but the relatively stable first-quarter numbers are cause for cautious optimism about the switch, said Patricia Kurkul, the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast regional administrator.

"It's sort of on track with what we saw last year, so there's nothing catastrophic going on here," Kurkul said.

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