Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral-Fishing industry needs research money as well as disaster relief
The elections may be over, but the current Congress still has work to do…..We need reliable, independent science. And Massachusetts is best equipped to provide it….That’s because there has not been adequate, sustained funding for independent research centers…..environment using scientific evidence that is, by its own scientists’ admission, often unspecific, unproven and unreliable. NOAA has been put in the position of acting not only as judge and jury, but as prosecution, defense and expert witness…..In particular, the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at UMass Dartmouth is uniquely suited to provide this research. SMAST has an ideal location as well as a history of fostering positive collaboration between all fishing stakeholders. SMAST can also boast a proven record of success in fishery research. In the 1990s the scallop industry was on the verge of collapse when SMAST pioneered new research on a very tight budget that proved the scallop population wasn’t devastated, http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121118/OPINION/211180303
This part of the excellent letter kinda has an ironic touch.
" NOAA has been put in the position of acting not only as judge and jury, but as prosecution, defense and expert witness"
And that was about the science!!!