By Farmer Stephen Bartlett, guest blogger
US Food Sovereignty Alliance
Ag Missions
Davenport, NY
Note: This letter was addressed to New England fisheries decision-makers regarding Amendment 18 to the groundfish plan. We encourage everyone to join Stephen by submitting your own comments in support of fleet diversity. Click here to learn how.
Loss of fleet diversity affects me because “loss of fleet diversity” is really a code for exclusion and concentration of the industry into fewer hands. Such economic inequality impacts on everyone. I have faith that organized small scale fisherfolk have the knowledge and motivation to protect their fisheries and not overfish them. Having the industry concentrated into fewer hands actually threatens rather than protects fisheries. As someone who loves to eat fish, this is also a threat to me and my family. Will my grandchildren have healthy, wild fish to eat? Possibly not if the industry continues to favor the large scale over the small scale, and massive overfishing continues.
Farmer
Davenport, NY
NOTE FROM NAMA:
Thank you Stephen for sharing your comments. We encourage everyone who, like Stephen, believes fleet diversity can help bring more fairness into the fishery, to submit your own comments as part of a public comment period that ends March 1. Click HERE for help on e-mailing comments. Every comment counts!