To the editor:
Given the fury of activity over the last two weeks concerning the alleged consolidation schemes, it's been suggested that I have no love for the fishing industry and enjoy watching it self-destruct.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Participating in due process through the New England Fishery Management Council process, my only goal was to keep as many guys fishing as possible and to keep the door open for those who come after me.
The self-destruct mode I now believe the industry is allegedly in is a direct result of catch shares. This was known well in advance of implementation.
Throughout the whole process of development, it was well know there would be fierce allocation issues given the ill-conceived proposals around initial allocation.
The council dropped the ball in the discussion to rush implementation, and those who could knew full well they would be able to exploit this flaw did so. Way back when you had a chance to say you are for or against catch shares, I never wavered from my opposition to them for these very reasons.
There were also comments online suggesting consolidation has not happened and roughly the same number of boats are fishing as were at the beginning of catch shares.
Well, anyone who thinks that must be looking out into a completely different harbor, or at the very least looking through rose-colored glasses. Maybe the same number of boats left the dock at least once — so this could be somewhat truthful. But what happened?
On any given day, prior to implementation there were anywhere from 20 to 50 boats leaving the harbor to go get a day in. Now, a big day for fishing is if you see one or two lights ahead of you on the horizon. Then, if any fish make the mistake of showing up inshore to spawn in Middle Bank of Stellwagen, the borderline factory trawlers and, yes, industry leaders' boats, beat any chance of fish reproduction into a bunch of smashed and broken pieces in the areas where just a year ago 100 boats could work.
This is what's known as "the tragedy of the sectors," a far cry from the hundreds of more jobs and the thousands of more families being supported under the old "tragedy of the commons" regime.
Gone are the fish, gone are the chances for the new guys to get involved in fishing. Anyone who has the money to get into fishing now certainly does not need to fish for a living. It is truly disheartening to watch the guys I've worked with over the past 20 years all turn like wild dogs.
All what's happening was known up front early on, throughout the development of sectors I was there.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is not being completely honest — and should not be representing fishermen.
DAVE MARCIANO
Gloucester
