Showing posts with label lobstermen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lobstermen. Show all posts

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Can You Support Local Fishermen AND Conservation?

Entangled Humpback calfI love local seafood AND local fish & wildlife. It's frustrating to hear local fishermen constantly oppose any and all regulations geared towards conserving natural resources for future generations.

This week's example: As federal regulators seek to protect endangered whales from entanglement in lobster trap lines, Cape Cod lobstermen have come up with a laundry list of reasons to oppose the rules, but (at least according to the article) not a single alternative solution or possible compromise. As someone who doesn't think we have to choose between a thriving seafood industry and a healthy environment, it's frustrating when fishermen come to meetings with nothing to say but NO.

Fishermen have been open-minded when it comes to offshore wind development. It would be nice if they sought a similar role in regulating their own industry.