A call to action
When is enough, enough? As fishermen we have collectively stood by as we watch our livelihoods, families, communities, and businesses get destroyed by an out of touch, uncaring federal government that has been lying to this industry and to the American public for decades.
The line has been that because fish populations were in decline something had to be done to bring them back to more sustainable numbers. The lie has been that once we did this, we as fishermen would be rewarded for our collective sacrifices and we would once again be able to return to the job of harvesting this God given resource and once again feed the American people the finest, purest, cleanest form of protein available to man.
Well we all know how this plan has played out. It has been hijacked and redirected by phony environmentalists, corporate capitalist’s and unelected bureaucrats that were put into positions of power through political appointments. It is what the founders of this nation warned us about. When government gets too big it undermines our rights and freedoms that so many have fought and died for. They promote their destructive agendas at the expense of this industry and the American people who rely on it for their source of seafood.
Have you had enough and are you willing to take a collective stand against this tyranny?
These days we have federal fishery agents invading our vessels upon return to port tearing into everything from totes on deck to our refrigerators and cupboards. Small amounts of fish that have been filleted for us to take home and eat or give away to friends are now in question. Are you kidding me? Regulation nation has run amuck and all common sense has given way to government sponsored intimidation. We saw it out west with the murder of Lavoy Finnicum, a rancher with many of the same issues fishermen are facing at the hands of ever more oppressive federal enforcement agencies and the agents that carry out their orders. That should serve as a wakeup call to what’s happening to all Americans rights and liberties.
So on this Memorial Day 2016, a day when we honor those who have answered the call, and to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, I ask this simple question. Have you had enough and are you willing to take a collective stand against this tyranny?
For far too long we have been played by the elites who have divided us and used this ploy to turn this industry into a privatized cash cow for those corporations with deep enough pockets who are willing to pay to play. This is what we are heading towards under this government perpetuated scam. If they are allowed to continue there will no longer be the small businessmen and family operations that have been the backbone of this industry since it all began.
The time for action is now. We have played by their rules to our own demise. 75% of former small fishing business’s are now gone. It’s clear to me that if we don’t do something to open the eyes of those who are not aware of what’s happening, the remaining 25% will soon follow.
So what do we do? I call for local fishing organizations up and down the eastern seaboard to set a date and a time where fishermen go out for a day and bring home all of the legal sized catch that these tyrants have been making us throw away to open the eyes of those who can’t see what is happening on the water every day. Let them see the Sea bass, fluke, tautog, black back flounder, and the other species that are being thrown away at alarming rates in the southern new England area. And for fishermen elsewhere with the same problem, do the same thing. Please, if you are reading this, share your thoughts with your fellow fishermen and respond in the comments section of this post. Also reach out on other social media venues to expand these thoughts and ideas.
This has to be an orchestrated well thought out plan. We need to reach out to local and national media outlets and get them interested in reporting on this plan. We also will find out which politicians really care about what’s happening to their constituents and not just giving election year feel good speeches and getting photo ops. And lastly we need to bring all this bounty in and give it away on the docks for free to the poor, the hungry, and to our neighbors. We need to take this resource back from the crabs, scavengers and the corpo-enviros and give it back to those who have the fundamental right to this valuable God given resource.
It has to be understood, this act of civil disobedience could have legal consequences. But consider this, WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF CONTINUING TO DO NOTHING?
This tyranny must not be allowed to stand. When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes duty!
Submitted. In the Spirit of William Wallace