Groundfishing's future looks 'scary' (Maine)

[jpak]

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=179194&ac=PHnws

Some Maine fishermen are leading an effort to develop a $100 million buyout plan for New England's struggling groundfishing industry.

Fishermen would give up their fishing permits and destroy their boats in exchange for cash. The plan would reduce the fleet's fishing capacity by at least 25 percent, giving the remaining boats a chance to catch more fish.

The federal government would lend the fishery $100 million to buy out fishing permits. Those who continue to fish would cover the loan by paying 4 percent of the value of all the fish they land for 30 years.

Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe discussed the plan with fishermen at two meetings in February. The two Republican lawmakers have yet to submit legislation because the industry has not reached a consensus.

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[freethought]

1. Senator Kennedy and Senator Kerry tried something like this

Several years ago, the two Massachusetts Senators tried something very similar as remedy for the Massachusetts fishing fleet. A buyout program. The boat owners get cash to take the boats out of service and thus there are fewer fishermen out on the water to pressure the fish stocks.

What happened?

Well, once the fishermen got the cash for the boats and then retired the boats they turned right around and used the money to buy newer, larger, and better equipped fishing boats. This only made the problem of overfishing even worse.

In some respects I can't side with the fisherman. Simply put, there is too much pressure by too many fisherman on too few fish. If the various interests want to keep the fisheries viable, some regulatory controls have to be put in place and that means many fisherman will have to say goodbye to their occupation. It's a tough thing to swallow. And I don't see this proposal by Senators Snowe and Collins as a complete solution.

[losthills]

2. I was discussing this with a friend from Morro Bay recently.

It might be time to outlaw commercial fishing entirely. It would open up a new market for aqua-culture. Most countries eventually have to outlaw market hunting before all of their game disappears entirely, and we're starting to see the same problem with our oceans. Here in the US we don't allow any commercial hunting at all, or any commercial fresh-water fishing, and sport and subsistence hunting and fishing is very highly regulated. It might be time to asess whether we should take the same approach with our oceans...

[GliderGuider]

3. It's Tragedy of the Commons time

It's easy for a country to ban commercial hunting because they have legal jurisdiction over their sovereign territory. It's likewise feasible for them to ban commercial fishing within their territorial waters. Most of the ocean is still a commons though, with fish migrating freely through international waters where human activity can only be regulated by consensus. That makes a global ban on commercial fishing "unlikely"...

[losthills]

4. You're right.

It takes consensus. Really and truly protecting the entire ocean can probably never happen, but some countries can take the lead and protect their own waters. That would be a strong first step. The International Whaling Commission serves as an example that progress can be made, but it's slow and it's hard.

I just bought some shrimp that was farm raised in India-- I consider that a good sign.
The carbon footprint of getting that shrimp to market in the US-- that's another story....