[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19101-19102]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     FISHING RULES TAKE THEIR TOLL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 21, 2006

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, in my representation of the 
City of New Bedford, I have of course spent a significant amount of 
time on matters affecting the fishing industry that is so vitally 
important to that community, economically, culturally, and in every 
other relevant way. In doing so, I have benefited from the wisdom and 
experience of a number of people involved in the fishing industry, one 
of whom is Deb Shrader, the executive director of an excellent 
organization called Shore Support Inc.
  As part of a very useful series that the New Bedford Standard Times 
is carrying on the fishing industry, Deb Shrader published an article 
in the Standard Times for September 20, which gives an excellent 
summary of the difficult economic position in which current fishing 
policy puts so many hardworking people and their families. I hope my 
colleagues will read this because they will understand why I am working 
as hard as I am for amendments to the Magnuson Act, which will 
thoroughly recognize the legitimate economic interests of people in the 
fishing industry and will do so in ways that do not jeopardize any 
valid environmental concerns.
  Mr. Speaker, no one should be voting on fishing issues without having 
a full understanding of the matters that Deb Shrader discusses so well, 
and for that reason I ask that her article from the Wednesday, 
September 20, Standard Times be printed here.

[[Page 19102]]



               [From the Standard Times, Sept. 20, 2006]

                     Fishing Rules Take Their Toll

                            (By Deb Shrader)

       How fishing regulations affect the people in a fishing 
     community is nearly a taboo subject. Though the Magnuson Act 
     of 1976 requires that the social and economic impact of 
     fishing regulations be studied, in fact the impacts are 
     rarely measured, the information that is gathered is 
     considered anecdotal or it's ignored. Measuring the 
     cumulative effects of these omissions is impossible, much 
     like retracing the steps of a dinosaur after their 
     extinction.
       Presently, Shore Support, Inc. is working with UMass 
     Dartmouth and its School for Marine Science and Technology, 
     and economics Professor Dan Georgianna, to study the most 
     recent effects of regulations on groundfishermen. We have 
     been meeting with fishermen, aboard their boats, to talk with 
     them. I recently spoke with members of a crew who, after 
     spending 10 days at sea, working two nine-hour shifts with 
     three hours rest in between, came home to a paycheck of $750. 
     If you work out the 18 hour day, multiply by 10, and then 
     divide the $750 by the 180 hours worked, these fishermen 
     worked for well below minimum wage at about $4 an hour. The 
     high cost of fuel, coupled with the low prices for fish make 
     me wonder why they still ``go down to the sea in ships,'' and 
     I'm not afraid to ask that question of groundfishermen. The 
     answer is usually that they are fishermen through and 
     through, and with most of the men in their mid to late 
     forties, the idea of starting at the bottom of a ladder in a 
     new trade is more than depressing. They are used to the 
     unique lifestyle of commercial fishing with its sense of 
     independence, competitiveness and chance to work close to 
     nature.
       In 2005, Professor Georgianna and I published a study 
     called ``Employment, Income and Working Conditions in New 
     Bedford's Offshore Fisheries.'' As part of this study, we 
     visited and spoke with the captains and crews from more than 
     half of the offshore scallop and groundfish boats that call 
     New Bedford home port, and are 50 feet or longer.
       In this study, working with fishermen and settlement 
     houses, we put a human perspective on the industry. After 
     meeting with crew from more than 200 boats, we found that the 
     workers in the industry are rapidly aging. The average age of 
     a scalloper is 40 with 19 years at sea; the average age of a 
     groundfisherman is 46 with an average of 26 years at sea. 
     These fishermen are professionals with many years of 
     experience, in some cases more than half their lives. During 
     our entire process, we spoke with only four groundfishermen 
     who were 25 years old or younger. We attribute this to the 
     fact that fishing is so very dangerous, that considering the 
     difficulties and insecurities created by a regulatory system, 
     young men are not choosing to fill their father's boots, a 
     practice in previous generations that has kept our port so 
     strong. In fact, many fishermen discourage their children 
     from joining them on the boats. Instead, they discourage 
     their sons from being involved in an industry that has become 
     too complicated and laden with bureaucracy.
       It has been predicted that the Port of New Bedford will 
     lose approximately $15 million due to the changes presented 
     in the most recent Framework 42 (a framework is a process for 
     amending a fisheries plan) of the groundfish regulatory 
     system. Please keep in mind that because we have an offshore 
     fleet, our boats are larger and carry more men than some of 
     the coastal fisheries in other areas. Each groundfishing boat 
     carries three to five men. At the end of each fishing trip, 
     the boat owner and crew split the proceeds. The boat owner 
     usually gets 50 percent of the value of the fish caught, 
     while the crew splits the remaining 50 percent (after 
     expenses like fuel, food, and ice are deducted). Each 
     groundfishing boat represents four to six families' incomes. 
     If this community loses $15 million in commerce from these 
     regulatory changes, $7.5 million will be removed from 
     fishermen and their families, which has a wider spread effect 
     than a corporate loss. This would mean $7.5 million less to 
     pay mortgages and auto loans held by local banks, less to buy 
     groceries in local markets and home goods at the local mall. 
     If you think this crisis will not affect you because you are 
     not involved in this noble industry, you are wrong. These 
     types of losses in a community with rampant unemployment will 
     be devastating to all.
       New Bedford is also one of the last great ports as far as 
     what is available for shoreside support industries. The 
     failing of the industry in Gloucester, and other smaller 
     ports, has already caused a collapse of the net makers, 
     dredge builders, welders, ice makers, chandlers, and other 
     support industries in those ports. New Bedford has become one 
     of the last remaining sources for supplies and labor on which 
     all the boats depend. The big question is whether these 
     crucial support industries will survive this regulatory 
     process. Many of these are small businesses and are presently 
     carrying a great deal of debt owed by the boat owners who 
     have a difficult time paying for expenses due to changing 
     regulations (limited days at sea, catch limits and gear 
     restrictions). Support industries are crucial to the survival 
     of the fleet. And the survival of the fleet is crucial to the 
     survival of the support industries. This interdependence puts 
     our port city in danger of losing not only our fishing fleet, 
     but these businesses as well.
       While we all know that money does not bring happiness, not 
     being able to support your family will take the joy out of 
     life. Recently implemented regulations and those proposed in 
     Framework 42 have added a new degree of insecurity to an 
     already difficult industry. Fishing has always been 
     physically demanding and dangerous work.
       Fishermen's wives have always worried about whether their 
     husbands would return safely to port. But today, because of 
     these regulations, with each trip, groundfishermen wonder 
     whether they will be able to provide for their families.

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