Saving Seafood

Beto O’Rourke promises to ‘guarantee long-term survival’ of nation’s fisheries

October 4, 2019 — Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, after visiting a small fishing business in New Hampshire a month ago, is releasing a plan Friday that his campaign says will “guarantee long-term survival” of the industry and the nation’s fisheries.

The O’Rourke campaign shared the plan with WMUR.

Visiting New England Fishmongers in Portsmouth in early September, the Democratic former U.S. House member was told by owners Capt. Tim Rider and Kayla Cox and their crew that small fishing businesses are having difficulty surviving due to an encroachment of large fishing corporations, the current trade war with China and warming ocean waters resulting from climate change.

Rider wrote in a letter to a Seacoast newspaper that O’Rourke is “the only presidential candidate that has ever cared enough to show up and listen.”

Read the full story at WMUR

New England Fishmongers say catch shares are driving them out of business

September 9, 2019 — If things can’t turn around for Capt. Tim Rider, the owner of New England Fishmongers, he and his business partner will be out of business at the end of this month.

During a boat tour of Portsmouth Harbor on Sunday morning, Rider and Kayla Cox told Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke about the struggles they have.

The biggest economic hurdle for Rider, who still uses a rod and reel to bring in most of his fish, is catch shares. That’s when part of a share of a species of fish is allocated to individual fishermen or groups. In most cases, fishermen or groups can buy or sell or lease shares.

“Someone owns the rights to the fish and can sell the rights to the highest bidder,” Rider explained before O’Rourke arrived.

O’Rourke had lots of questions for Rider and Cox about the system and what they are doing to make sure they survive in an industry they love but that seems to be getting gobbled up around them.

Read the full story at the Union Leader