Tag Archives: Fisherman

Massachusetts Fishermen Are Still Fighting For Their Livelihood

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SouthCoastToday posted an article on May 30th about a recent meeting in New Bedford by the New England Fishery Management Council. During the meeting seafood auction king Richie Canastra read a letter written by Captain Mark Phillips of the F/V Illusion who could not be there because he was out fishing.

The letter showed that the fishermen who are out working their trade every day understand more about the ecology and techniques of fishing than the bureaucrats at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

The article points out:

The shiny new federal research vessel Bigelow lies at the center of this argument. For example, fishermen who really know how to fish are consistently pointing out that the too-big Bigelow is using the wrong net, a one-size-fits-all compromise arrangement that isn’t designed to target yellowtail.

Government scientists, say the fishermen, deploy the wrong net the wrong way and then trawl too fast, with the yellowtail making their escape. The conclusion is drawn that the yellowtail aren’t down there to start with. So we cut quota.

The letter from Captain Phillips explains how the information the Bigelow collects on the yellowtail is not accurate due to the lack of actual fishing knowledge on the part of the people on the boat. The thing to remember here is that the fishermen are not attempting to over-fish–if they over-fish, they put themselves out of business. In my experience, hunters and fishermen, both professional and amateur, understand more about the ecology of wildlife than the people who want to regulate it. Education has value, but hands-on experience is needed when making decisions that impact people’s ability to make money.

The article concludes:

At the meeting last week, one person after another targeted the design of the net as a real culprit in stock assessments for yellowtail. Tellingly, no one in a position of authority, including the government scientist, uttered a word of rebuttal. They were silently confirming that what the fishermen were saying is true.

At this point there is no excuse for not having fishermen on the Bigelow as observers, the way government observers ride the fishing boats. We could also send out fishing boats to shadow Bigelow to compare results. We could even hire some of these fishing pros to do the survey work.

It makes perfect sense. It also could hurt somebody’s feelings, I’m afraid.

It’s time to bring sanity to fishing quotas.

 

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Fighting City Hall

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As many of you who read this blog on a regular basis know, I have a friend who is active within the New England fishing industry who keeps me informed of what is happening with the attempted government takeover of the industry. She recently submitted an article to the New Bedford Standard Times updating some recent events in the battle to save the small fishermen of New England.

Meghan relates some of her experiences with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and its battle against the small fishermen of New England:

In fact, EDF has on-site paid personnel in Washington, on a continual basis, to lobby Congress for its own agenda. I have seen its employees repeatedly at congressional fishery hearings in D.C. At one such hearing, I witnessed EDF pay to have a few, select “poster children” fishermen, whose airfare, lodging and total expenses were paid by EDF, come and sit in a congressional hearing room before a House subcommittee, and wear red T-shirts that said “Fishermen for Catch Shares.”

The rest of us from the fishing industry who attended, in order to oppose catch shares, did not have any of those luxuries. We, as the majority of the industry, had to take unpaid time off of our own jobs, away from our own businesses and boats, and money out of our own pockets and those of other cash-strapped industry members who wanted their voices heard, to pay for hotels, food, travel, etc., in order to defend our own interests against groups such as EDF who would lead Congress to believe that we “wanted” catch shares in our region. My experience has been that EDF works against the majority fishermen, not with them.

Please follow the link to the article to see further details. The bottom line here is that the New England small commercial fishermen are fighting a well-funded, cash-rich group of bureaucrats who either do not understand the needs of the small commercial fishing fleet owners or are trying to destroy the small businessmen within the fishing industry. This is a place where New Englanders need to let the government know that they are meddling where they have no reliable scientific information and no rational reason for meddling. I appreciate the efforts of the Congressmen in Massachusetts who are fighting for the rights of the small commercial fisherman–regardless of which party they represent.

 

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Hope For New England Fishermen

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During the Obama administration, there has been an attack on the commercial fishing industry in New England. I have posted on this before (rightwinggranny August 27, 2010). Now the fishermen have two allies in the Senate who are preparing to help their cause.

Senators Scott Brown and Kelly Ayotte introduced S. 1678 on Tuesday. The bill would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to permit eligible fishermen to approve certain limited access privilege programs.

An article at The Republic states it more clearly:

Under the bill, New England’s program would be terminated if more than 15 percent of participating fishermen lost their jobs in the first year. The new system finished its first year in May, but it’s not yet known if the 15 percent threshold was reached.

The bill also requires a two-thirds vote by fishermen before any future fishery management systems are approved.

This does not restore the businesses of the fishermen who have been put out of business by over regulation, but it is a first step in limiting the power of the federal government to choose winners and losers in the fishing industry.

These are quotes from Senator Ayotte’s website about the need for the legislation:

“Catch share programs are driving New Hampshire’s fishermen out of business.  Five months after federal catch shares were implemented in New England, 55 out of the initial 500 boats in the fishery controlled 61 percent of the revenue, and 253 of the boats were sitting at the dock, unable to fish without quota,” said Senator Ayotte, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fishers, and Coast Guard.  “This legislation would help level the playing field for independent small fishermen by scrapping unreasonable federal mandates that are killing jobs while giving local fishing communities more control during the program establishment process.”

Senator Brown said: “It is clear that the hastily implemented system of catch-share management in New England has led to fewer fishing jobs and a consolidated fishing fleet.  As more and more jobs disappear from Massachusetts ports, Congressional action is needed to save the fishing industry from overzealous federal regulation.  This bill sends a clear message to NOAA that the broken relationship between the agency and fishermen needs to be fixed and we need to work together to save fishing jobs and ensure a robust and vibrant industry in Massachusetts.”

Both of these Senators are to be congratulated for their efforts on the part of New England fishermen.

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