FROM THE CROWE’S NEST

Simple Math

Fishermen, scientists, environmentalists, lawyers, tuna fishermen, ecologists, lobster fishermen, whale watchers, and bait dealers, many of them are typically at odds over fishing industry issues. However, they have come together to demand something be done to prevent a herring fishery collapse. In the 1970’s factory, ships on the horizon in the Gulf of Maine coincided with warning signs of collapse in the cod fishery. The ground fishermen who sounded an alarm were heard, but unfortunately it was much later, at the wake of the cod fishery.

This time all the major players, but one, are saying something is wrong. The mid- water trawler companies that have harvested most of the herring in recent years, say there is no problem and if there is one, it is not their fault.

What cigarette smoker can forget the row of suited tobacco company executives standing to swear that cigarette smoking is not addictive? Big, easy money might be addictive too. East Coast Pelagic Association speaks for 14 mid water trawlers between southern New Jersey and Rockland, Maine. Their spokesperson has said some of their trawlers take 67% of all herring revenues from Area 1A. (1A is inshore of a line from Provincetown, MA to just off Eastport, ME.)

If herring were an environmental pest the best way to get rid of it would be the mid-water trawler. Mid-water trawlers target relatively small fishing grounds with repeated tows until the herring is removed. As more herring enter the area the process is repeated. Sonar picks any strays. Mid-water trawlers are powerful vessels capable of holding 1,000,000 (1 million) lbs. of fish. The pattern is both incompatible with ground fish rebuilding efforts and sustainable practices in general.

The impact on herring is not guesswork tossed around by competing interests. Since the transition to mid-water gear, product samplings found poor quality blue fin tuna rose from 9% in 1991 to 76% in 2004. This was a direct result of less herring for tuna to forage.
  
That all these disparate groups have come together is a clue to herring’s importance to the marine ecosystem. Described as a linchpin in the system, its collapse would bring down the many marine animals and human industries that depend on it.

The mid-water trawler vessel owner’s response to the Alternative 7 proposal prohibiting mid-water trawl gear in Area 1A, was that it would cost too much to refit for purse seining. What will it cost the other fishermen — to lose their livelihoods entirely? What will be the total cost of losing an ecosystem of this scale in the Gulf of Maine?

It’s pretty simple math, if you’re spending more than you’re making, maybe you’re in the wrong business. If you’re wiping out a resource that others depend on to boot, maybe its time to align with the accepted practices.