When previous catch reductions have been rolled out by the New England Fishery Management Council, fishermen have reacted with some degree of anger. This time, though, the council’s announcement of a stiff drop in the allowable catch of cod and other groundfish has been met by many on the Cape with something else: resignation. Fisherman Greg Walinski of Dennisport was one who saw this coming, but he said there’s more to the problem than just overfishing. Read more
NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?
While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here
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