Unless the government's strangle-hold of regulations are lifted or put on hold to await more thoughtful consideration of their economic, social, cultural, and environmental impact, what's left of the nation's oldest and most storied commercial fishing fleet will be significantly reduced by as early as the end of this year.
One after another, Gloucester fishermen arose to testify at Friday's meeting that the government's new catch shares, sector management system not only won't work, it will absolutely kill local-based commercial fishing, or what's left of it today. Already, during the last 35 years in which fisheries conservation measures have been enacted and implemented at the expense of the lives and livelihood of Gloucester fishermen, the city has lost 50-percent of its fleet.
Read the complete editorial at The Gloucester Daily Times.