Sam Parisi: Some acknowledgments and concerns
As a third generation fisherman, I am very concerned as to where our oldest industry, the fishing industry is headed.
My concern is for the younger generation that is not interested in making fishing their occupation, and a next generation of young people from fishing families where fathers are telling them to do something else because our government has imposed so many restrictions that have robbed them of opportunity, while reducing local fishing fleets to a bare minimum.
If we don’t do something we will not have any of our kids going fishing, so what then? Who will take the helm?
We need to have our politician’s to act and help us with a number of issues, from the Greying of the Fleet, to having NOAA pay for fishery monitoring, preserving our Working Waterfront, and other issues such as dredging, and maintaining fishing industry infrastructure.
We certainly appreciate the efforts of New Hampshire Senator Shaheen to pressure NOAA into paying for monitoring for an additional year, bringing temporary relief to the New England groundfish fleet, but this must be funded permanently.
Next, special thanks and congratulation to Senator Dan Sullivan Senate passage of S1322, the “American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act”, bipartisan legislation he introduced with Senators Maria Cantwell, Elizabeth Warren, and Lisa Murkowski to create an Advisory Committee to assist in the awarding of fisheries marketing, research, and development grants. Alaska Congressman Don Young is the sponsor of companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The bottom line is things seem to be improving, and maybe we should encourage our kids to enter the fisheries. If we do not encourage our kids to come aboard it will be a sad day. I hope they will give it some thought.
Sam Parisi
Gloucester, Ma.
