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Fishery report cites widening trade deficit |
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In the fourth decade of the nation's epic and largely successful effort
to reverse centuries of overfishing, 2010 commercial fishing landings
and revenues in U.S. ports increased, but the nation continues to import
the vast majority of its seafood.
Although New Bedford's landings were almost six times more valuable than Gloucester's, the volume landed — 133 million pounds — was not twice as large as Gloucester's 88 million pounds. A report due in November on the economics of U.S. fisheries will contain the first hard numbers on the number of boats and fishermen working. Overall, America's dwindling fleets landed 8.2 billion pounds of seafood, an increase of 200 million, and were paid $4.5 billion, an increase of $600 million. "These increases in fish landings and value are good news for our nation's fishermen and for fishing communities, where jobs depend on health fish stocks," NMFS administrator Eric Schwaab said in a prepared statement. Read the complete story by Richard Gaines in the Gloucester Times
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HASTINGS: Time to improve the Endangered Species Act
May 18, 2012 - When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law in 1973 by President Nixon, he spoke about the importance of preserving “the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.” I believe that goal is as important today as it was back then. However, after nearly 40 years, it’s time to take a fresh, honest look at the law and consider whether there are ways it could be improved to do a better job of protecting and recovering species.
