BOSTON -- A fishermen flotilla protested the waters of Vineyard Haven Thursday where President Barack Obama is vacationing, for what they call the administration's oversight of their industry.

More than a dozen boats from New England and as far away as New Jersey circled the harbor, tooting their horns. The action followed an ad in a local paper Tuesday that was headlined, "Mr. President, We Need Your Help."

“We think he’s not getting the message that the dire straits this industry is in,” said Richard Canastra of the Boston Seafood Display Auctions.

Photos: Fishermen Protest Regulations

Local fishermen said they are frustrated with new catch limits that are part of new federal fishing regulations. They said limits are so stringent they're being forced out of business.

“For years they’ve promised us ‘tighten your belt now, feel the pain now and when the fish are rebuilt we’ll give it back to you three fold,’” said Bonnie Brady of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. “Well the fish are rebuilt and we’re still waiting.”

The president on Thursday drove from his rented farm complex in Chilmark to a golf course in Oak Bluffs but was not within eyesight of the protest.

The industry says there is plenty of evidence suggesting that once depleted fish stocks have come back strong.

Representatives said the Obama administration has appointed hardcore environmentalists that are coloring the truth about fish populations.

“They have billions and they have been lobbying hard to influence legislators into believing that the seas are drying up and all the fish are dying and all that we want as fishermen is to rape the seas,” said Jim Hutchinson of the Recreational Fishing Alliance. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

The industry said people's livelihoods are hanging in the balance.

“We're speaking about jobs here,” said Canastra. “That’s the big spin throughout the United States -- jobs, jobs, jobs. And there’s no reason for these men and women to lose there jobs because the fish are out there.”