New Bedford Mayor John Mitchell and State Senator Mark Montigny visited SMAST on June 17 for a press conference to announce the release of the final “Groundfish Port Recovery and Revitalization Plan for the Port of New Bedford/Fairhaven.”

The study was conducted by an SMAST-led research team fronted by Prof. Dan Georgianna (Economics/SMAST). The report documents the recent decline of the regional groundfishery, assesses its effects on shoreside businesses, and makes recommendations for the revitalization of the fishery and improvements to the port.

“New Bedford is the nation’s number one fishing port,” said Mayor Mitchell, “and we intend to keep it that way for the next hundred years. … To do that, we need the best science in stock surveys and assessments—that is critical for both scallops and groundfish.”

“I applaud the work of Dan Georgianna and his colleagues at the School for Marine Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, in compiling this report,” said Senator Montigny, who was instrumental in securing funds for the study through the state legislature. “We must do all we can to maintain New Bedford’s economic contribution as the highest value catch port in the U.S.”