FROM THE CROWE'S NEST

Economics Not Politics

In the evolution of the herring fishery we have seen the loss of weir fishing and stop seining to the purse seine boats. Are we now going to see the loss of the purse seine boats to the mid-water fleet? Where will that leave us? Consolidation of the fishery in the hands of a few boats that will control the fishery and the decimation of the small boat fishery that sustains many communities is where that will lead. The concept of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQ’s) is not a road we want to travel down, either. That option limits the fishery to an even smaller number of boats.

It has been said that money is the root of all evil, and that may be the case in the recent perfect storm brewing over herring allocations. Are the large investments that have recently taken place in the herring-processing sector a sign of things to come? Just because a few people invest a lot of money in a vision of the future, that should not allow them to jeopardize the livelihood of many. Bad investments are a reality in business.

The groundfish fleet has sacrificed their livelihood for the sake of the resource. Why should they be penalized because of someone else’s bad investment? If the stocks are rebuilding should it not be: those who have sacrificed first, be the first to reap the benefits of rebuilding?

As for the questions on trip limits or a cap to solve this dilemma: the use of trip limits would allow overfishing due to the size and efficiency of the midwater fleet being able to fish all levels of the water column day and night. Those boats were designed to fish places like Georges Bank and that’s the only place they should be allowed to fish.

If the science has been incorrect on the availability and location of the herring resource (and it certainly seems to be) that should not be the groundfish fleets problem. It should not threaten the small boat fleet to the point of eradicating local fishing communities.

It is now accepted that big money, big politics and big government decimated the ground fishery in the 1970’s. When do we begin learning from our mistakes.

The issue of bycatch has to be dealt with, but it should be done in a fair and equitable manner. It should not be done in a way that allows the mid-water boats to run amuck and make a mockery of sustainable fishing. Nor should the concept of ITQ’s be used as a tool of convenience. There is a need to maintain the infrastructure, but economics of scale should be the guiding factor not preferential politics and blindness.