On Tuesday this week, Election Day had local and macro effects on the fishing industry.??
Oregon’s voters once again voted down a net ban proposal that would have pushed local salmon gillnetters out of the Columbia River completely. The ban lost most of its momentum when Gov. John Kitzhaber proposed an alternative that would move netters into side channels, which also has the potential to deal a crippling blow to the fleet.??
In Massachusetts, the fishing industry lost a great advocate in freshman Republican Scott Brown when he lost to Democrat Elizabeth Warren. During the campaign, Warren promised to stand with fishermen and fishing jobs. And in this very blue state, the industry has received stalwart support from other Democratic leaders. So here's hoping Warren follows through on her promise. If she's not up to speed on the groundfish crisis, she will be in need of a lot of education on the topic.??
With Obama’s re-election, the fishing community at large will continue under the leadership of NOAA's Jane Lubchenco. My ever-optimistic outlook hopes mostly that a second term will give Lubchenco the stomach to push forward with an investigation of blatant and widespread corruption in NOAA’s office of law enforcement. The alleged abuses did not begin with her leadership, so she can only help to clear the name of her agency. Failure to investigate would simply be contributing to further corruption.??
After all, what incentive does anyone have to stop corruption from within NOAA if the offenders are simply moved laterally in the organization and their offenses swept under the rug???
Once again, this week, our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the communities in New Jersey who continue to be affected by Superstorm Sandy and the northeaster that blew through the area on Wednesday night. We are working with partners on the East and West coasts to create a foundation for those fishing families. Many thanks to Lori French at Faces of California Fishing for staying on the ball with this effort. Stay tuned for details!
