Given the Obama mantra of hope and change, it would be reasonable to "hope" that — considering the magnitude of the "change" forced on the commercial fishing industry over the past week — the federal agencies responsible would be interested in seeing how it is working — or not.
Thankfully, our elected officials are committed to keeping on top of the impact of catch shares. And hopefully, they'll also get new backing from other state and federal lawmakers who, if this system is failing, must put the brakes on it before it destroys New England small fishing businesses and economic heritage even sooner than Lubchenco and her henchmen hope.
So, even one week into this deadly economic experiment, it is indeed important to hear fishermen's concerns first-hand. So Kirk, Ferrante and Tarr deserve credit for pulling this session together.