F R O M T H E C R O W E ’ S N E S T
Full Speed Ahead
The New England Fisheries Management Council held a series of five thinly-attended public hearings around New England in August. The meetings were at least in part to explore avenues for promoting fleet diversity and preventing excessive consolidation. As is often the case, the council conclusions clashed with those of fishermen who attended.
Since the catch shares program started in 2010, which fishermen opposed, consolidation of the New England ground fishing fleet has been alarming. Profitability for groundfish vessels has plummeted 25%–50%.
Most fishermen don’t have the time or money to spend three weekdays every other month to travel hundreds of miles to witness council meetings on their own dime. The result? What happens in council effectively stays in council. Knowing more about the context this council process is operating in –promoting and preventing excessive fleet consolidation simultaneously, for example, may not make sense of it, but it can help explain the how and why of what is happening.
A partial list of contextual forces driving management from within and without include:
• The finance industry wants wild fisheries privatized for investment.
• Wild fisheries are a few billion dollar industry, fin fish aquaculture is seen as potentially a mega billion dollar investment opportunity.
• The 2014 U.S. Farm Bill included aquaculture. Fin fish development in the ocean will have guaranteed loans available, unlike the wild fisheries.
• Private tax exempt corporate foundations have control of planning a National Ocean Policy. A very influential political wildcard. One of their top three priorities along with oil and marine parks is aquaculture, read fin fish as it is 600% more profitable than small scale eco-positive shellfish and seaweed aquaculture.
• The corporations making our ocean policy use “trade off analysis” to justify handing over wild fisheries to private corps, the commons to investors and justifying who wins or loses.
• The same lobbyists for catch shares called for monitoring cod by-catch in lobster traps with no available data.
• The balance of trade in seafood is a regular DOC topic. Their fix is open ocean fin fish aquaculture.
• The week of Sept. 21 is U.S Aquaculture Week. Highlighted by Cargill Corp’s $3 billion purchase of a Norwegian fin fish feed company and Monsanto’s like investment in fish feed.
• Shell Canada and BP are preparing to drill offshore in Southwest, Nova Scotia.
We are living in an era of dwindling resources like no other in recorded history. The race is on.
Damn the voters, full speed ahead. (See links in Mega corporations Bet Big on Fish Farming and
Whose Really in Charge of U.S. Fisheries?)