This article updates on an earlier post on the slow-motion destruction of an industry that has destroyed itself through unsustainable practices:
EUREKA -- Grim-faced fishermen and business owners faced fisheries managers at a packed meeting on Tuesday night, voicing anger, distrust and hopelessness over the gloomy salmon season promised this summer.The fishermen who are unable to face reality (perhaps because they have bills to pay and do not want to work in another business) are trying to "just this one last time" their way into the water. If they go in, the recovery (if ever) will not take one year longer but five or more.
Many pleaded with the Pacific Fishery Management Council at the Red Lion Inn to adopt the most liberal of three options it is considering, and even asked for more time on the ocean in the late summer. Some pushed the council to shut down fishing altogether this year, while pressing for solutions to prevent further affects of dams, water diversions, sea lions, hatcheries and other problems.
Former Trinidad tackle dealer Thomas Richardson said that all three options -- ranging from no fishing to 10 days of fishing -- are unacceptable. He argued that the council has mismanaged the fishery, and fishermen are paying for it.
”I think this whole situation has been a waste of time,” he said.
”You guys have had 30 years to get this straight.”
Bottom Line: Don't beat on a resource when it's in trouble. If you want it to renew -- lay off.
2 comments:
No reflection on dams?
Dams and water diversions to agriculture made the problem worse, but mismanagement of the fishery played a critical role in killing what was left. All three are responsible for the damage to the fishery, and any of the three alone could have killed it off.
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