Mayor Jon Mitchell: Rafael arrest not the end of New Bedford fishing industry
Mayor Jon Mitchell said he does not believe that Carlos Rafael’s arrest for conspiracy and falsifying records to skirt federal fishing quotas will result in the demise of New Bedford’s fishing industry. “I’ve heard a lot of talk that this is the death of fishing in New Bedford but I think that is wildly speculative and way overstated,” Mitchell said Monday. “This is not going to shake out in weeks, but years.” Mitchell said that the fate of New Bedford’s fishing industry will be in fuller focus after the criminal case against Rafael is decided. Former Mayor Scott Lang said that Rafael’s practices are not at all reflective of the many smaller fishing operations in the area and praised the efforts the region’s fishermen who have complied with what he described as two decades of challenging regulations. Read the rest here 08:19
Death of the Fishing Industry? No please, I think the fishing Industry is a bit greater than Carlos Seafoods.
What it should be the death of though, is the catch shares or Individual Transferable Quota privatization scheme that allows, if not encourages, the consolidation of significant amounts of fish allocation (or the “right” to land fish) into the hands of a single individual or corporate entity.
Entities that might or might not have the ability or willingness to responsibly and legitimately manage that “right” to utilize a sizeable chunk of the—formally held in public trust—fish resource.