New England Boating: Ocean Development Process Requires Public Input

This is a great article by Rip Cunningham of Salt Water Sportsman Magazine about why ocean planning is important to the coastal regions and our fishing communities. Read it in full HERE.

"When the Coastal & Marine Spatial Planning effort was introduced, a lot of folks in the recreational and commercial fishing industries saw is as a cleverly disguised plan by the environmental community to create no-fishing zones. The reality is that the effort was and is about doing the best job possible of coordinating all the previously independent ocean development regulations. It will also give the public a voice in the development process. Direct fishing-related regulations, such as closed areas, will remain within the purview of the New England Fisheries Management Council, which sits on the NERPB [Northeast Regional Planning Body] to represent fishing interests.
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I have never been an advocate of building bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake. However, I do believe that when public trust resources are at risk, there needs to be government oversight in the management process. The NERPB’s draft Northeast Ocean Plan may not be perfect yet, but if each of us takes the time to read it and comment on it, we will continue to move it in the direction of perfection."