Political Quotes

“In the Magnuson Act renewal of 2006, we set up a procedure whereby there can be a referendum in each fishery to do the equivalent of catch shares. NOAA's getting around that. There are some places I'm told where people like that. The procedure under the Magnuson Act whereby they can, by referendum, impose that remains available but it would require the approval of the men and women in the fishery. In much of the east coast, people don't like that. And what NOAA is doing is going around that referendum requirement by a new thing which they call catch shares. They can do the equivalent in another way. I am particularly puzzled to have in the Obama administration people tell us, Well, it's okay. What it does, of course, is to lead to consolidation. They say it's the same amount of income, but it goes to a small number of larger entities, and the smaller individuals are frozen out. And in the area that I represent, the fishing industry doesn't want it.”