March 1, 2011 – A West Coast congressman with a long history of collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund is co-sponsoring a fisheries briefing today for congressional colleagues, featuring the past and present heads of NOAA Fisheries and two ardent advocates of the government's and EDF's catch share management policy.
The briefing invitation to members of Congress, which was published by the industry daily-news website Saving Seafood, does not mention catch shares — the policy that allocates fishermen a "share" of a limited total catch, yet allows for shares to be traded in a commodities format that is steering shares and permits to larger corporations and investors and away from smaller, independent boats.
The system, already bringing about a hyper consolidation of commercial fishing fleets from Gloucester to the West Coast, is the focus of intense lobbying since the U.S. House two weeks ago voted to freeze the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's spending on any new catch share fishery markets.
Instead, the announcement of the briefing by Democratic Congressmen Sam Farr of California and Jay Islee of Washington branded the session as "Reviving coastal economies through healthy, vibrant fisheries and oceans." And the promotion concluded with "the hope that you will be able to join us to learn more about our nation's efforts to put the fishing industry on a path toward sustainable growth and profitability."
Industry advocate Bob Zales was among a number of fishing industry figures arguing that the "briefing" was a camouflaged propaganda effort orchestrated by EDF, and noted that Keith "Buddy" Guindon, identified in the Farr-Islee invitation as treatuers of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Shareholders Alliance in Galveston, Texas, was an EDF mouthpiece.
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.