Hard to believe it was once free

Fishing groups hope to stockpile coveted permits


November 9, 2008

CHATHAM, Mass.—The cost of catching and selling fish is soaring.


Commercial groundfish permits, once free, are now selling for nearly $130,000. The cost of scallop permits have jumped from nearly nothing in 2002 to about $180,000 this year.
As the prices rise, larger vessels and corporations are scooping up more of the permits.

To help make sure smaller fishing vessels still have access to the permits, fishermen's associations, including the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, are raising money to buy up some of the fishing permits.
The goal is to create a stockpile of permits that can be leased out to fishermen to allow them to continue working even after they are priced out of a permit of their own.

These permit fees are way out of line, killing all the comm guys.