Thurs., 2/16/12: An Ailing Industry Casts About for Solutions

Andreas commented on The Callie Crossley Show on 02.17.12
I tuned in for the last half hour of the show. From the Rep Franks great comments to the end. It was a great show. I have been photographing the Gloucester harbor for the past three years, and I would hate to see the small fishermen get wiped out. I was recently told by a Gloucester captain that there are only 70 small fishing boats left between Gloucester and Rockport. And with continuing and increasing restrictions the numbers will decrease even more. These guys do not want to fish the last cod or last shrimp. But they are forced to either find a way cheat or get out of the business. Limits, catch shares, consolidation and everything else that is piled on top of everything else will be detrimental to the local fishermen. I was looking at a picture I recently took and googled the name of the boat in it NHATRANG. It is a boat that was abandoned in the Jodrey State Fish Pier a couple of years ago. Just abandoned. This is the new reality of the fishing industry. Rather sad. Andreas

Kathy commented on The Callie Crossley Show on 02.17.12
Thank you Callie for doing this show about the destruction of the fishing industry. Stephen is my brother, he is one of the hardest working men I know. This is a difficult, dangerous job to begin with, and now the government is breathing down the necks of all of these hard working men who are trying to make a decent living. Most people probably dont know about the black boxes tracking devices that are now mandatory on the fishing vessel and about the government employees sorry, I dont remember their titles who meet the fishing boats when they dock and oversee the unloading to make sure they havent caught too many fish more job creation. These catch shares are going to put the independent fishermen out of business, who can afford a 60 pay cut when you have a crew to take care of, a boat to maintain, and a family to support? Maybe it would be a good idea for a some Washington bureaucrats to spend a few days out on a fishing vessel actually working, and then let them reassess taking away their livelihood. Consolidation of an industry is not always the right answer for an industry like fishing and for consumers. It is time we stop all of this government interference. Thank you again for sharing their story and for educating the general public. ~ Kathy, NH