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Home arrow News arrow Opinion arrow LETTER: Fishermen need a full Magnuson-Stevens overhaul
LETTER: Fishermen need a full Magnuson-Stevens overhaul
To the editor:

Given the flap over last week's fishermen's letter regarding catch shares, it seems to me that we should really be having a serious discussion about the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Act.
 

Its fabricated, unrealistic goals and requirements, expectations and regulations are arbitrary, un-achievable, and in many cases unnecessary. Same goes for the Marine Mammals Protection Act, MPA.

Any engine that drives a vehicle that provides the opportunity for a single entity to "own" 39 percent of an entire stock (Georges Bank winter flounder, just one glaring example) is a runaway and desperately in need of a complete overhaul.

Replacing belts, hoses, pumps and filters won't fix the problem. The overcompensated armchair "mechanics" at NOAA, the councils, and even some of our own organizations, excel at protecting their own interests and paychecks, yet are remarkably reluctant to roll up their sleeves, get their hands greasy — not just their palms! — and rebuild the source of the problem.

Read the complete letter from 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.