New England Fishing Industry
The New England Fishing Industry is again complaining about the restrictions placed on commercial fishing off the coast of New England. They recently staged a mock funeral, representing the death of fishing due to federal restrictions. Claiming that the industry is on the verge of collapse due to new restriction of 70 days at sea per boat. They insist on being involved in the fish stock research which is used to determine the viability of each fish stock and federal limitations on fishing.
Allowing the fishing industry to research fishing stocks and in effect determine whether any limitations should be imposed, would be like letting the whaling industry determine if large scale whaling should resume. Does anyone have any doubt what the result of that research would be?
Left to their own devices, the fishing industry would over fish off the coast of New England until not a fish of any kind would be left! Then of course, they would be the first to ask for government bailouts because they could no longer earn a living.
Over fishing and smaller net openings is how fish stocks got to be depleted as they are. The fishing industry is incapable of putting limits on itself since it serves the fishing boat owners who insist on fishing until there is nothing left to catch. The fishing industry needs to stop complaining about a problem they created and start looking at a realistic sized fishing fleet that can continue to function within the catch limits the federal government has had to impose. Until the fishing industry realizes they are their own worst enemy, and not the federal government, their industry is doomed to collapse.
06/03/02 ( 569 )
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