As it relates to fish, I believe it's time to go on offense. Thousands of Alaska fishermen are going through a very difficult time right now. Our fishermen are the farmers of the sea. Farmers get loans. Why shouldn't our fishermen? Farmers get crop insurance. Why shouldn't our fishermen get insurance? Farmers get federal relief when foreign markets are closed. Farmers get help when extreme weather hurts their harvest. Why shouldn't our fishermen?
The Farm Bill that we're currently negotiating presents an opportunity to de-risk our fishing operations in ways the U.S. government does for farmers. My legislation, called the National Seafood Supply Act, begins to accomplish this. It's a big idea. But there are many naysayers who are against my bill, even though it will dramatically benefit our hardworking fishermen and their communities. Stay tuned.
Read Sullivan's full address here.
6 comments:
I thought he was a conservative?
Welfare for us fishermen doesn't sound too conservative to me.
SOOOO, DID THE TRAWLERS & TRIDENT GET A HEADS UP TO START THE WRINGING OF THE HANDS AND CLUTCHING OF THEIR PEARLS SO THEY CAN GET IN LINE FOR THIS MONEY IF THIS AID PASSES? SEEMS A WEE BIT FISHY THAT THE TRAWLERS, TRIDENT & OTHER ONSHORE BUYERS COME OUT WITH ALL THESE CLOSURES AND WOE IS ME SOB STORIES ABOUT FISHING BEING BAD. YET THEY ARE IN PROCESS OF BUILDING MEGA TRAWLERS THAT ARE BASICALLY FLOATING CITIES WITH NO ONE TO ANSWER TO. HELLO, THEY ARE THE MASTERS OF THEIR DESTINY, VEILED THREATS OF "WE WILL GO HERE AND CAUSE MORE HARM IF WE ARE LIMITED IN AREAS THAT WE WANT TO KILL OFF", SO THAT GETS THEM A FREE PASS TO DO WHATEVER THEY PLEASE. THIS MAY BE A STRETCH BUT NOW DUNLEAVEY WANTS TO MAKE PROTESTING A CLASS C FELONY.. SO BASICALLY, IF FISHERMEN PROTEST THE RAPING AND PILLAGING OF OUR OCEANS, WE GET HAMMERED WITH JAIL OR HUGE FINES WITH A BLACK MARK ON OUR RECORD. AND WE ALL KNOW HOW THE GOVNR LOVES HIS POLLOCK. THIS IS AN UGLY TREND. THE AVERAGE FISHERMAN, COASTAL AND INTERIOR PEOPLES ARE STARVING, WE HAVE TO TOW THE LINE WHILE ALL THE TRAWLERS JUST CONTINUE THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OCEANS ECOSYSTEM. SOMETHING NEEDS TO HAPPEN AND FAST, BECAUSE THE LITTLE GUY IS GETTING SCREWED! TALKING TO NOAA AND NPFC IS LIKE TALKING TO A WALL. THE STUPIDITY OF THE SO CALLED EXPERTS IS AN EMBARASSMENT TO COMMON SENSE.
"When I became a farmer in the 1980s, New Zealand supported agriculture the way so many governments do. Rather than letting us operate in an unfettered free market, it paid us subsidies for our sheep, wool, dairy, and beef.
"Then a new government came to power. It viewed farmers as a bunch of privileged, wealthy landowners. We didn't know it, but while we were pulling weeds from fields and cleaning out pig sty, we had become New Zealand's landed gentry.
"So the government took away our subsidies. It didn't just reduce them. It didn't phase them out over a stretch of time. It wiped them out all at once. It cut us off cold turkey....
"The irony is that although the elimination of subsidies started out as a kind of political punishment, it wound up becoming a long-term blessing for farmers. We went through a difficult period of adjustment but emerged from it stronger than ever.
"My family focused on our farm. When faced with hard choices, we suddenly had the flexibility to make decisions based on nothing other than good agricultural and business practices. We became ruthlessly efficient, which is another way of saying that we became really good at what we do."
Craig Mackenzie, writing in the Global Farmer Network website, August 16, 2018
"...We also improved our ability to resist regulations that hurt agriculture. Subsidies empower politicians, who can threaten to cut off aid if farmers refuse to accept new forms of control. Without subsidies, we have more freedom to solve problems thru creativity and innovation rather than the command-and-control impulses of politicians."
New Zealand farmer, off the government milking machine, Craige Mackenzie
While he's at it, how about compensation for our losses from marine mammals just like farmers are compensated for wolf and other predation loss? If we are going big, let's do it right.
Why do you people who hate trawlers always sign as anonymous? How do we know that you might be a fisherman or a Biden Democrat Party hack? You might be a fisherman. If so, is your fishery eco clean? I could probably find a problem. That's what makes me think you're just a Biden hack. I have found that most fishermen don't run around trashing other gear groups. It's only a matter of time before Biden and the environazis find your group.
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