FROM THE CROWE’S NEST 

Reallocating Access

The New England Fishing industry is faced with a multi-pronged assault on its survival. With federal managers more interested in covering their asses for the 2014 rebuilding deadline, none will break ranks to do what’s right for the New England industry or the resource. The public has been made to believe that 50 foot boats drove the resource into a ditch. The public is also under the impression that once the feds have brought all the fish back that all the boats can go out and catch just the right amount to keep the resource in perfect balance.

But corporations run the U.S. Congress, and it runs NOAA and NOAA Fisheries (Formerly the National Marine Fisheries Scandal). The corporation is a construct that has worked to structure businesses around. It is not however, a democracy. All employees do not vote on governance.

An owner, CEO, or board that acts as a unit runs a corporation and their word is law, period. The arrangement seems to work for running a business. In government that arrangement is known as a dictatorship.

The question then is, Can a nation be a democracy if it is run by a handful of very powerful dictatorships? President Eisenhower in the 1950’s warned of the power of the military-industrial complex. Now it’s the everything-industrial complex – finance, real estate, insurance, energy, medical, agricultural industrial complex - grafted onto congress.

Added to this list of industries is the fishing industry. Large fishing corporations have been around awhile. Unilever, Tyson Seafoods, etc.

With 83% of our seafood imported, the corporate industrial fleet wants the other 17%, along with whatever else comes from the rebuilding effort in 2014. NOAA’s plan from on high is to give them our multi-billion dollar resource.

It was 300' industrial fishing ships that drove the resource into the ditch when they expanded with federal funding 40 years ago. Unless federal policy changes there will not be any 50’ boats fishing in 2014. Foreign corporations could be the high bidder for the resource and industrial ships will do it again.

Some New England politicians have called for relief, but none have made the tough calls and commitment to changing policy. NOAA fisheries is supposed to be rebuilding the resource. Instead it is reallocating access to the resource.