It’s hard to imagine Commerce Secretary Gary Locke dismissing the plight of the Massachusetts fishing industry more cavalierly.
With Gov. Deval Patrick, Congressman Barney Frank, and Sens. John Kerry and Scott Brown all alerting him to the questionable science behind the disastrous catch shares system, Locke turned his back.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Commerce that oversees it, are unwilling to work in a way that respects the views of both fishermen and environmentalists.
David deOliveira, the manager for two New Bedford fishing sectors, summed up the long-biased approach of the federal government to fishermen best. He put Washington’s actions toward hard-pressed fishermen in context of what it’s done for other industries:
“We bailed out the banks and the automobile industry and we subsidize farmers, but we won’t even help the fishermen,” he said.
Read the complete opinion piece at The South Coast Today.