From Sea To Shining Sea: New Conservation Measures Leave Long Island Fishermen Worried

Long Island used to be a farmers dream and a farming Mecca. Today we’re lucky to find a scattered and straggling farmer’s markets along the recently booming east end. And, now our fishing industry may also be under fire.

With environmental conservation at the forefront of almost everyone’s (political and humanitarian) agenda, local fisherman are concerned about the most recent proposals geared at protecting Long Island waters which could potentially put them out of business.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMF) recently voted on a measure calling for a reduction in fishing limits coastwide for summer flounder, more typically known as fluke. And, the number they’ve decided on is a reduction to 17 million pounds in 2007 from a previous 23 million pounds. But, who is they? They is a 15-state commission, a deliberative body that oversees and organizes the conservation and management of shared fishery resources, and they number were derived upon determining that recreational fishermen has far exceeded their (current) quota.

Additionally, the decision is noted as following on the tail of recent research stating that without curbing the fishing industry, their could be a “global collapse’ of marine ecosystems by the middle of the century. However, experts contend that if immediate action is taken, there’s a good possibility the course can be reversed noting that predictions (at that point) shouldn’t be set in stone.

Still, while well aware of the environ-mental consequences, local fishermen fear these measures significantly and adversely affecting their livelihood and the local economy. They suggest that based on a trickle down economy, failure to fish will affect gas, since they’ll stop filling up their boats, their cars, frequenting the deli, etc, harshly and heavily impacting secondary and tertiary businesses.

It is noted that the decision to lower the quota for this favored fish was an outcome of the ASMF’s expectations with regards to the already “in-place” management plan which calls for doubling East Coast fluke populations within a four-year span, from 104 million to 204 million. Additionally, while some opponents focused on the population increase in recent years, the state Department of Conservation Head of Marine resources, Gordon Colvin, a commission members, suggest that New York’s recreational anglers exceeded the ‘06’ quota by 30 percent.

Their ultimate coal is to rebuild so that commercial fishermen will be permitted 60 percent of the new quota and recreational fishers the remaining 40 percent coastwide.