Political Quotes

“in keeping with the old adage that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it, I am introducing a bill today with Senator Kerry which is designed to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past in fisheries management. Most of the major commercial fisheries in both the United States and the world are either fully exploited or overexploited. In many instances, these fisheries have approached or reached an overfished condition because the fishing fleets which targeted them became overcapitalized before the management system in place could respond effectively to this excess fishing capacity. As a result, we find ourselves today faced with case after case of having to make wrenching management decisions to reduce fishing effort that have substantial socioeconomic impacts on coastal communities that depend on fishing for their livelihoods. In the cases of Atlantic herring and Atlantic mackerel, however, we still have time. Through torturous but ultimately fortunate historical circumstances, the offshore stocks of these fisheries remain, at least according to the best information presently available, fairly abundant.”