The U.S. Commerce Department announced today that economic development
assessment teams will deploy next month to conduct a two-day analysis of six
Northeast fishing communities. The teams will visit Portland, Maine, Seabrook,
N.H., New Bedford, Mass., Gloucester, Mass., Point Judith, R.I., and Montauk,
N.Y. The assessment teams will conduct meetings with local leaders to help
identify economic development challenges and opportunities facing local
industries and communities.
“The Department of Commerce is committed to supporting a
vibrant and profitable fishing industry in the United States. The
assessment
teams will help communities identify and begin to address the economic
difficulties they are facing,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “We
know that by rebuilding stocks, we will improve economic conditions
for fishermen and coastal communities, but we recognize that transition
is difficult. We are committed to help identify proactive solutions
during these
challenging economic times.”
“Supporting fishermen and fishing communities with
economic assessment and planning assistance is a top priority for the Department
of Commerce and the administration,” said Brian McGowan, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “The Northeast economic
development assessment teams will play an important role in providing technical
expertise to local leaders as they develop strategies to increase economic and
job opportunities.”
The goal of the visits is to provide customized technical
assistance for fishing communities that experienced reductions in groundfish
fishing revenues in recent years. The Economic Development Administration
(EDA), in partnership with other federal agencies, will meet with local leaders
to assess current and emerging economic issues. EDA, with the assistance of the
U.S. Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), evaluated economic and fisheries industry data, including groundfish
landing revenues and the percentage of groundfish landed at a port relative to
the state totals, in order to select ports for the interagency assessments.