GLOUCESTER, MA (February 3, 2009) – It sounds great on the surface: Senators from Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island have asked that $156.4 million be included on the Senate side of the federal economic stimulus package for the struggling New England fishing industry.
But below that surface — and not very deep below, either — lurk a number of important questions. The first, most obvious question is: Stimulus for what?
The truth is, it’s not even necessary to look at the fine print to see that this request — which has the backing of fishing-friendly Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John Kerry — appears to provide incentives for fishermen to go out of business, not a boost to stay in it. The majority of the appropriation — about $100 million — would be used as boat buyout money. Another $41.5 million would be used to help regulators monitor the catch of fishermen even more effectively than they do now, and a mere $10 million would be used for job training for those entering and leaving the profession. And that may not be the type of governmental action the fishing industry now needs.
Read the Gloucester Daily Times story in full