Congress Holds Midnight Give-Away
In the wee hours of last Saturday morning, Congress passed a fisheries bill that sets the direction for the management of our ocean resources until 2013. Too bad it's the wrong direction.
![Oceans Sold [blog]](/fish/copy_of_images/blog/oceansold.jpg)
The bill allows regional fisheries councils to spend the next seven years converting a public resource into private property by parcelling out individual fishing quotas. As we've mentioned before, doling out guaranteed shares of the fishery tends to be great for the Gorton's Fisherman and his corporate owners but lousy for real people who make their living on the water.
While the bill sets some national standards for future quota programs, it does not ensure that small fishermen and their crew get quotas at all.
We think that stinks worse than spoiled cod. Food & Water Watch will take every opportunity to protect participation rights of small fishermen and crew. You can too if you sign up for updates from our Wild Oceans Listserv.
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