Hi Ron,
Good post here. AS a Massachusetts native, I love to eat all kinds of fresh
fish. I have at times felt guilty about eating fish like Haddock and Cod which
have had major restrictions placed on them. The last article I read on the
subject indicated that both haddock and cod are making a comeback here in the
northeastern US. Obviously, we don’t want to fish any species into extinction.
But when the government places such restrictions on any given species they need
to be taking better care of the folks who are directly impacted by such
restrictions. I’ve seen too many sad stories on the local news about fishermen
from places like Gloucester Mass who have been forced to sell their boats and
sometimes even their homes as a result of these restrictions.
I recall one of our ACB Capitol Hill visits when I happened to meet with the
Congressman from the North Shore of Mass which includes Gloucester. After
bringing our ACB issues to his attention, I mentioned the plight of these
folks. AT the time, he was working on legislation designed to better compensate
these folks for their losses when the losses are caused by government
restrictions.
WE also briefly discussed a movie entitled The Perfect Storm which tells the
true story of a Gloucester sword boat captain and how he and his crew were lost
in a historic storm. For those of you who’ve not seen the movie, I highly
recommend it. I do wish I could find it with audio description.
Bob Hachey
