Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries
256 Figueroa Street #1, Monterey, CA 93940
www.alliancefisheries.com

 

informed sources tell the public it is not being responsible, the government is not doing its job, and fishermen are overfishing seventy percent of the fisheries or using harmful gear which kills thousands of harmless and endangered seabirds, marine mammals and other innocent species.

 

Given this public image, as opposed to the one they know of hard working family small businesses, it should be no surprise when the fishermen sound frustrated and why when they testify … they may appear upset.

 

They see reams of paperwork and confusing documents. They see a regional council that often does not take the advise of the advisory sub-panels of stakeholders which may have spent days reaching a compromise position on what is best for all parties.  Please imagine how it must feel when they testify.  Most of the fishermen feel helpless in front of a process that even many lawyers, scientists and fishery managers do not fully understand. 

 

But, then it all comes down to how can the process better serve the all the people?  This is still the best process we have with its many checks and balances.  We must remember why we are here. We should serve all the working people in the best, most honest, direct  and transparent way we can. 

 

We strictly regulate our own vessels and fishermen but often have no way of accessing with any accuracy the impacts from other countries’ actions.  How many turtles are killed every day by foreign fleets, how many turtle eggs are harvested and consumed elsewhere, and how much habitat is destroyed by development in other countries.  Has anyone been to the beaches of Cancun recently?  Fishermen see these effects. Fishing is a global business and every time we constrict the U.S. fishermen from maximizing their production, the bubble expands elsewhere to feed people here. Fishermen know when they ask for something that many other factors over which they have no control affect the outcome. Protected mammals are such a case.  And we all know it and are seemingly unable to adequately address it within the current system.

 

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