Tell the EPA You Support the Fishermen of Bristol Bay by September 19

This post comes to us from Sarah Schumann, a Rhode Island shellfish harvester and Alaska salmon canner.


About once a week, I dream about low tide. Not a regular low tide, but a near-total emptying out of the bay. I dream that the soft bottom is suddenly exposed – and with it, acres of quahogs or clams, packed shell to shell. Then I go out and frolic in the abundance. I grab shellfish as if they were daisies in a summer field, filling bushel after bushel, delirious with joy.

Other fishermen have told me they have similar dreams. Nets plugged. Traps filled to the brim. Fish doubled up on the hook. I would guess that all humans have some form of this basic “abundance dream” buried deep in our psyches, but once our hunter-gatherer instincts have been activated by commercial fishing, it becomes a regular part of our nights - even long after we’ve retired from the water.

Boats in Dillingham, AK, awaiting the start of the spring season

The only place where I have seen this kind of abundance with my waking eyes is in Bristol Bay, Alaska. I’ve spent the last seven summers working at a salmon cannery here, far from my winter home of Rhode Island. From atop my perch above the eight giant pressure cookers that I operate, I stare out at a warehouse full of rows of bronze-colored cans full of salmon. As fast as the forklifts can load pallets of cans onto barges, we keep filling more and more of them. In the glow cast by the midnight sun, they resemble thousands of ingots of gold.

But some people have a different kind of abundance dream: one that involves real gold – and copper. In an area 125 miles northeast of here, the Pebble Partnership, an enterprise mostly owned by the Canadian company Northern Dynasty, hopes to develop the largest open-pit mine on North American soil. By digging a mile into the ground, they estimate they could get at $300-$500 billion in metals buried there.

The only problem is this: that huge mineral deposit lies directly underneath the headwater streams and wetlands that feed two of Bristol Bay’s most important river systems. Those streams and rivers are where five species of Pacific salmon return each year to spawn.

By now, many of you have heard of the proposed Pebble Mine. You may know that commercial fishermen, along with Native tribes and sports fishermen, have been battling this proposal for a decade. When they were rebuffed by many within their own state’s political system, they turned to the federal government – specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – to protect their fishery from the effects of mining.

What you may not have heard yet is that on July 19th, the EPA announced a proposed action to protect Bristol Bay fisheries by severely limiting the extent of mining that can take place there. This is the result of years of advocacy by the people who depend on Bristol Bay salmon. It is their last, best chance to prevent devastation of one of the world’s biggest salmon runs by industrial mining.

The EPA will be taking public comment on this proposed action until September 19th. Input from members and supporters of the commercial fishing industry and their supporters around the country will be key to pushing the EPA to stand by its own scientists’ advice and finalize the proposed protections for Bristol Bay.

You can sign onto a letter created by the Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay, a coalition of fishermen around the nation who stand in solidarity with their peers in Bristol Bay. Or you can submit an original comment by following the instructions at the EPA’s own website.

Faced with two forms of astounding abundance – one animal and the other mineral – the people and tribes of Bristol Bay had a choice to make. An estimated 80% of the region’s year-round residents have chosen to oppose the mine. Not only is the mine enormous, they say – its total footprint could be as large as 50 square miles and it could require a 700-foot tailings dam to store its liquid waste – but it would be situated at one of the worst locations in the world: a totally pristine, intact natural habitat that supports the world’s most bountiful sockeye salmon run.

Three years of in-depth EPA research have expressed similar concerns. The EPA’s proposed protections state that routine operations of even a much, much smaller mine could disrupt stream flow and wetland habitat to the point of having a major adverse impact on salmon. EPA administrators are poised to act on that finding, by protecting Bristol Bay once and for all.

The EPA’s current public comment period is the last time that non-Alaskans will be able to weigh in on the outcome of Pebble Mine. You can help ensure that the years of hard work by Bristol Bay communities and fishermen finally pay off by signing a letter before September 19th.

Future Bristol Bay fishermen play in the boatyard

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From Ferguson to Fishing Communities, Racial Inequity is Real

This post comes to us from Brett Tolley, NAMA's fishing community organizer.

I think by now we’ve all heard about Michael Brown, the 18-year African-American young man, who last week was crossing the street in broad daylight, unarmed, and was shot to death by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Amidst the whirlwind of news that I’ve absorbed in desperate search to make sense of this tragedy as well as the ongoing violence, I was shocked to hear the Ferguson Mayor James Knowles recently say, “there's not a racial divide in the city of Ferguson."

Source

I was also shocked to read the PEW Research Center’s national survey that found blacks and whites had sharply different reactions to the police shooting of Michael Brown. By about four-to-one, 80% of African Americans said the shooting in Ferguson raised important issues about race that merit discussion, compared to only 18% of whites. 

Another way to put it – 82% of white people surveyed believe this event does not merit a discussion around race.

I struggled to comprehend that so few white people believed race did not even merit a discussion. Seriously? Even in the wake of several other recent and senseless racially charged killings such as Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and Oscar Grant? Even despite growing racial inequities in our schools, prisons, healthcare, government, food, and the list goes on and on? Really? 82% of white people don’t believe this merits a conversation about race?

But then I thought more and realized that 82% is probably right on the mark.

I’m a white male who grew up in a predominately white community and was granted privileges that I did nothing to earn. And although I’ve worked and lived for years in communities of color, right now I work mostly in white communities and amongst mostly white people. It’s been my experience that my white friends and colleagues struggle to talk about race.

Source

In the fishing communities where I work, there are also small minorities of white people who don’t struggle to talk about race. And then, unfortunately, there are some who are straight up ignorant and racist. My guess is that neither make up the 82%. I think the majority of white people fall somewhere in the middle.

At a recent food systems conference, I participated in a workshop about dismantling racism. One of my white colleagues said, “My community is nearly all white people, we are not affected by racism, and I’m not sure where to go with this discussion.” 

To me this reflected much of what I hear in the communities where I work. And my take away is not that my white friends and colleagues are unwilling to acknowledge racism, but rather they struggle to enter the conversation in a meaningful way and they don't necessarily see themselves as connected to the racially-charged aspects of our society.

Part of the challenge white people face entering the fight against racism is personal: we reject overt acts of racism and/or we don’t see or experience racism on a daily basis. 

What we are learning is that even if we don’t identify ourselves in these ways, there is something called implicit bias, a physiological element of our brains that tends to favor one group of people over others almost without our explicit consent. 

Maybe it's that we are blind to our unearned privileges? Or perhaps we fear saying the wrong thing and want to avoid making things worse. Or perhaps we fear getting ostracized by other white people for standing in solidarity with people of color. And then there is the issue of white people not realizing some of the limitations placed on them is rooted in racism. Maybe it’s all, none, or much more than that.

But lets pretend those fears are true for some people. I’m not discounting the fears, but I would like to challenge other white people to go deeper. Become more aware of how you benefit from white privilege. Be brave to enter into the conversation. And question whether or not failing to speak out or act is the right course of action when inaction might mean the oppression or even death of innocent people.

At NAMA we’re taking up the challenge, especially as part of our role within the New England Food Solutions Network and the US Food Sovereignty Alliance where dismantling racial inequity in our food system is an explicit network value.

I imagine not everyone reading this will understand why NAMA or any group that works on marine conservation or food justice issues would be discussing racism. But I’m reminded of what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” 

And to our allies and colleagues who are committed to advancing justice for the ocean, fishing communities, and the seafood system, I’d say Michael Brown’s death is highly relevant. I appeal to the white community to go deeper in our collective dialogue, remembering that we’re part of a much larger community of people, and to lean into the challenging discussions of our time.

If you want to go deeper, here are a couple additional articles that may help you start thinking about race differently:

• Things to Stop Being Distracted by When a Black Person Gets Murdered by the Police by Mia McKenzie, award-winning writer, speaker and creator of Black Girl Dangerous

• Does Money Make You Mean? TED Talk by Paul Piff who has done research on privilege and how even those who know the deck is stacked in their favor tend to ascribe success to personal effort) 

• Is a Hard Life Inherited? by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times.

Meet the Fish Locally Collaborative: 6 questions w/Susan West from Hatteras Island, NC

Welcome to the first edition of our new feature, Meet the Fish Locally Collaborative! This national network we're part of is filled with great, passionate people - fishermen, food activists, CSF managers, and more. Let's get to know some of them, starting with Susan West, from North Carolina. 

FLC member Susan West at her local farmers market

1. Tell us about yourself. 

I’m a journalist on Hatteras Island, NC and write about cultural and environmental issues in the context of the impact on people and places in coastal NC, especially commercial fishermen and fishing villages.  I help organize the Talk of the Villages forum and the Seafood Throwdown at Day at the Docks, an annual celebration of the island’s fishing heritage. I'm co-manager of Coastal Voices, a local community-led oral history project. My husband and many of my friends and neighbors are commercial fishermen.

2. How did you come to the work you do?

Happenstance or maybe fate.  I moved to Hatteras Island nearly 40 years ago and worked as a waitress and a postal service clerk, and helped organize a commercial fishing advocacy group on the island.  The editor of a local newspaper asked me to write a monthly column called “Fishing for a Living” in the 1990s, bringing me full circle back to my childhood ambition to be a writer.  Of course, back then I thought I’d write the great American novel.

3. Why do you do it and what are the values that guide you?

The world could learn a lot from small places.   Policy-makers often latch on to the misguided idea that people in small places are not worldly enough to understand the complexities of issues.   That’s pure nonsense and flies in the face of the intelligence, resiliency, and strength I observe here.

4. What excites you most about what you’re doing?

I like to think that my stories help dismantle the popular notions that local fishing communities are expendable and that commercial fishing is antiquated.

5. What would you say is the biggest challenge community-based fishermen face in the immediate term? What about the long term?

The biggest immediate challenges for community-based fishermen are policies rooted in economic efficiency theory that don’t factor in other values.  A long-term challenge but also one with immediate consequences is how little we really know about fish and about oceans.

6. If you could be anyplace in the world right now, where would you be? And what kind of fish would you be eating?

I like being right here on Hatteras Island, eating sheepshead.

Food Stamp Bait and Switch

This post comes to us from Joanne Burke, PhD, RD. LD. Dr. Burke is the Thomas W Haas Professor in Sustainable Food Systems in the Sustainability Institute at the University of New Hampshire (UNH).

As advocates for fair wages and access to healthy food, we're more than a little skeptical about Congressman Paul Ryan's (R-WIS) plan to address poverty in America. 

Ryan's pitch includes life coaches for those on assistance. 

Just before the house recessed at the end of July, the House Budget Committee Chairman republican leader (and the former vice-presidential nominee with Mitt Romney) released his plan, which, under the cover of 

Opportunity Grants, proposes combining 11 key safety net programs, leaving the states to determine how the funds will be divided.

Let’s examine just one program identified for inclusion in the Opportunity Grants bundle, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Presently, SNAP is an entitlement program. Anyone who meets the stringent eligibility requirements can be enrolled. For example, in the continental United States, if you were a family of four, and after review of your application and standard deductions, your net annual income was below $23,850 (100% of the Health and Human Services poverty guideline) your family would be deemed eligible to participate. Pretty straightforward. 

SNAP participation in U.S. 2010-2012. Image courtesy of Joanne Burke. 

Under a Block Grant structure however, inclusion in SNAP would be based on arbitrary state based limits: states would be allowed to decide what programs get funding and at what level. Many fisherman and family farm operations have incomes that are low enough that they qualify for SNAP food assistance, but they could be out of luck depending on the amount of funding and potential changes in eligibility based on decisions that will now made at the state level.

Additionally, there are over 47 million Americans classified as working poor . Some earn above the SNAP criteria, but routinely struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table. Ryan's plan doesn't address this level of economic instability and food insecurity. 

Given that a majority of the 11 programs Ryan proposes to combine involve food and housing assistance, combining funding into one resource will likely lead advocates for decent housing pitted against advocates for adequate food. Historically, the bundling of programs has led to less overall funding for the programs that are put under one funding source. 

The Block Grant structure Ryan proposes has the very real potential of undermining funding for safety net programs that are already inadequate to meet the escalating demands in this country.

It is this escalating demand for assistance that needs to be interrogated and addressed. Rather than Block Grants, we need a comprehensive commitment to economic policies and practices that result in livable wage jobs designed to help address the structural causes of poverty in our country. 

The call is for a comprehensive community approach that invests in people, communities and our collective future. This vision includes jobs and business opportunities that provide equal pay for equal work and incomes that reflect the work performed, not pay based upon race or gender.

Ryan's “Opportunity Grant” is a bait and switch program that provides multiple opportunities to shortchange our most vulnerable Americans and divert efforts to address the root causes of poverty. The tough work ahead is designing strategies that are focused on building an equitable economy and just society. 

The need for the myriad of public assistance programs will naturally decline when more Americans are able to more fully participate in  a more just, robust and equitable economy. 

(Visit talkpoverty.org for more detailed comments on the risks of the Ryan proposal) 

Joanne Burke, PhD, RD. LD is the Thomas W Haas Professor in Sustainable Food Systems in the Sustainability Institute at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). Her work with UNH Food Solutions New England includes state and regional food system planning and efforts focused on food system justice and equity. She is also Director of the UNH Dietetic Internship in the UNH Nutrition Program.

From Young Blood to Old Timer; Life on Amtrak - RevolOceanary Road Diary 8/6/14

This post comes to us from Niaz Dorry, NAMA's coordinating director, who has been on the road - actually the train - for three weeks. These are her RevolOceanary Road Diaries.

Warning: this is a long blog entry. But I believe it’s worth reading because the stories of Amtrak attendants I spoke with are truly priceless.

I’ve always had a fascination with railroads. Talking to various members of the Amtrak crew on this trip - sleeper car attendants, engineers, crew, dining car waiters, and café car attendants working on the Empire Builder, Coast Starlight, California Zephyr, and Lake Shore Limited Routes - gave me a greater appreciation for those who work on the passenger rail systems. The activist in me also made me wonder about advocating for ways of making rail travel better and the workers lives easier. If I only had more time!

There was consensus amongst all of them that they all love what they do, and hate delays. Which is funny because delays are so common. Every single train I took was delayed. As of this writing, I’m back on the Lake Shore Limited, this time heading home and we are already four hours late.

From all the conversations, two of them stand out and both were with sleeper car attendants. One worked on the Empire Builder (Chicago to Seattle) and the other on the California Zephyr (Emeryville to Chicago).

Honestly, I couldn’t do what the sleeper car attendants do. They have to have a mixture of people skills, patience, good nature, technical expertise on a whole range of things, ability to deflate frustration and housekeeping. One moment they are a waiter the next they are electricians and plumbers. They have to keep track of every person in their care, where they got on and, most importantly, where they need to get off. Getting rest is sometimes a luxury, especially if the train is running late.

The Chicago-based attendant is now an “old timer” having been at Amtrak for almost 30 years. He said when he first started an old timer encouraged him to take a job as a sleeper attendant when his job as a cook was eliminated in the 80s due to Amtrak’s downsizing. The old timer said: “Young blood… This is the best job on the train [sleeping car attendant].” He says he soon realized why. He clearly loves his work, and takes great care of the passengers in his car.

 

"Old timer" reflecting on "his story" as towns whizzed by

When we first got on, he went on to explain everything and then said “when you go upstairs where the coffee is, you’ll see some snacks. If you don’t see those in other cars it’s because I believe you are all special.” And believe me, he made us feel that way. And it wasn’t because of the snacks. He is a special man that brings a special attitude to his job.

My car attendant on the Seattle-bound leg had to stay up almost the entire trip. The train was late and he needed to make sure passengers whose stops were now in the middle of the night wouldn’t sleep through them. Although the engineers, conductors and drivers are required to stop and rest at 12 hours, similar requirements don’t exist for other crew.

He was good-natured, and his way of dealing with requests he couldn’t meet was to reply with “I love you!” And that usually meant, “no!” He’s what the attendant on the Chicago-Bound train would call a “young blood” because he’s only been working on trains for six years. But his family has roots on the railroad. His grandfather, great uncle – and all his sons - worked on the switch crew for Union Tank. He clearly loves his job, but hates delays because they change everything.

I asked him about a story that stuck out in his mind, and he shared a rather tragic one. An urgent call over the PA broadcasted a “drop everything and go” emergency. An older man, possibly with dementia, was affected by high elevation in Montana. He had kicked out both windows in their sleeper car and was trying to shove his wife outside all the while yelling “you need to be with the trees. The trees need you.”

"Young bloods" ready for action!

At the Essex stop, the older man got out and started to run through the community, and even tried getting into the driver seat of a shuttle van. After much to do and great presence by various branches of law enforcement, he was detained. His wife joined him and they disappeared into the trees. Just kidding. He didn’t know what happened next. But what he does remember is waking up to the primal screams of the man's wife in the middle of the night.

I asked the attendant on the Zephyr about a story, and he said he doesn’t think about them because those are tragic stories involving people who clearly had a need. He rather remembers his own stories, and the one he told me was when a recurring nightmare actually came true.

He said he often dreams about missing the train, and one day he actually did! Many years ago, the crew stepped off in Havre, Montana, where the train needed some extra work. As it often happened, they went across the tracks to a place where they could see the train, hang out, smoke, and take a break. He got distracted, looked up and the train was gone! The ticket agent said it had left 10 minutes earlier. He never heard the two horns and the classic “All Aboard” calls. He recalls what he had to do to catch up with his train as “one of those national lampoon vacations when nothing goes right. But I made it and that’s my story!”

But the best story about this attendant was how he got into train work. In 1976, he took off with a friend on a whim, flew down to Miami on a fourth of July weekend. No luggage; nothing. They planned to come back a couple of days later, but met up with a couple of girls and stayed for 2.5 years. The two of them married those two girls, and are still together. Originally from Washington, DC once they finished college in Florida, they moved to Chicago; the girls’ hometown.  The girls’ lived downstairs from Amtrak’s union local 43 president, Richard Smith, since deceased. He got him a job on Amtrak, starting as a cook, and the rest, is history. Or as he says “my history.”

He started as a ‘young blood’ when you get 48 hour breaks between long shifts. Eventually seniority led to 6 days on, 8 days off, a schedule he considers “leisurely.”

I could paraphrase his words and how he talked about those days, but I really think his own words are priceless. I felt transplanted to a better time as I listened to him. So although this blog is already really long I hope you’ll take the time and read his story – and history.

“Beginning was great. Very family oriented atmosphere. Everyone took care of everyone else. New and old employees mingled. Admired how everyone banded together. Older employees took us under their wings. Exciting times. Different times. Different cities!

I started off as a cook in the kitchen – or the Gulley!

Back then it was such camaraderie. Everyone was in synch. We had log-burning stoves, steams, and everything was prepared from scratch. You rode the train just to have dinner or a good meal! It was a good time in my history. In history period.

 

An Amtrak kitchen at the time our "old timer" worked as a cook. Circa late 1970s, early 80s.
http://history.amtrak.com/archives/cooks-in-a-superliner-kitchen

There were 4-5 cooks in the gulley, 7-8 waiters.

When we reached various points in the trip, people would show us around the town. We grew up with people on those trains and these towns.

These were our second homes. We were all so close. When you’re off only 48 hours, you’re here more than you’re home. Marriages broke up. Relationships ended, but you grew a thicker skin.

After being home for a while, my wife would say “don’t you need a trip?” Then kids came along, and when they became teenagers and didn’t want you in their business they’d say “Dad, don’t you have a trip coming up!?”

Back then you could take family trips for free. But that all changed in the 80s. Back in the 80s when the downsizing phase hit, Amtrak fell in that niche, too. They closed a lot of bases. New Orleans, Miami, Seattle, Portland (OR), and others. All those folks with seniority transferred. Chicago was a big transfer point. That meant many of us got phased out, or were furloughed. But that was for short periods. Then downsizing came in and more jobs phased out.

Cooks went down to 1 to 2. Waiters to 2. Food phased out, too. No more cooking from scratch. It was like airline food. Microwaves and prepared foods. Eventually, they started to bring some things back cause people wanted fresh stuff.

But still just 2 people down there. We got more work with less people.

Beyond that it’s been great.

When they changed over, they took my job away as a cook. Had to become a waiter or a sleeping car attendant. Cooked for 5 years, then a porter, and the rest has been as an attendant.

People you meet, sometimes you become friends for life. Passengers and coworkers. They invite you to their homes – all over the country – and we invite them to our homes.

Hopefully be around when my time is up I’ll turn it over to the young bloods! I used to call others old timers, now I’m one of the old timers. I’ve adapted and used what they’ve taught me. I’ve come to enjoy it. I’m here. It’s people helping people. Why be here with a frown even though some times it gets to you.”

He’s now reaching retirement age. At Amtrak, you can retire at 60 or when you’ve served for 30 years. He’s almost there. I asked him if he knew what he wanted to do. Here what he said – again in his own words:

“Now is now. Some guys stick around till 60 or 70 years old. When you go home, there isn’t much life when you’ve been traveling all your life. You can stay home and then your wife will say “don’t you have a trip coming up?”

Towns going by... this is Lincoln, Nebraska

We hear stories about “your wife doesn’t want you there!” Gotta find something to do. Go work at Walmart as a greeter? Or stay at Amtrak? It’s long hours, sure, but we rest. We get used to it in a sense. Mentally. Some can’t take it. It’s not for them. Some say I give it about 5 years… I said that. And now it’s been almost 30 years. There are a lot of stories, sometimes I think I should get a diary and write it all down. When we come through a town, it triggers thoughts. Maybe some day…”

As my trip comes to a close I want to take this opportunity to thank all the Amtrak folks who took care of all of us, delays and all, with a smile on their face and a helping hand.

They made the RevolOceanary Road truly memorable. My advice to you, should you plan to travel by train, is take the Chicago-based attendant’s advice: "don’t be here if you’re gonna have a frown on your face." Even if the delays might get to you!

In the Middle – RevolOceanary Road Diaries 8/4/14

This post comes to us from Niaz Dorry, NAMA's coordinating director, who is on the road - actually the train - for the next couple of weeks. These are her RevolOceanary Road Diaries.

Writing blogs as I go along has proved harder than I expected. Way too much packed in every day that by the end of the day all I could do is rest my weary brain. So I’ve got much to catch you all up on, which I’ll do even after the trip.

For now, the train is entering the middle of the country. The Amber Waves of Grain country - where much of the corn and soy that's grown for animal feed on industrial-scale farms, or processed into cheap, unhealthy foods - is grown. It's also where a lot of bad fish with unknown origins is sent to market - whether as generic fish sticks in the grocery store or piled on an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. 

Midwest cornfields captured from train window

What I want to share here is another bad thing being discussed in the middle of the country, specifically in Missouri: The Right toFarm Bill. Today’s primary election is supposed to bring farmers and others out to vote on this constitutional amendment. As our friends at Missouri RuralCrisis Center and National Family Farm Coalition and others say, it’s really the Right to Harm Bill.

I first met the folks at Missouri Rural Crisis Center when I was at Greenpeace. In 1998, we organized a national bus tour to take the issue of factory fishing to the country. The stop in Columbia, Missouri still brings tears to my eyes. Members of Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association flew out and joined us. They brought seafood with them, and with the pork from MRCC’s hog farmers, we had a press conference cook out! The banners “Stop Factory Farms” and “Factory Trawling is Overkill” were hanging above us. For the first time we connected the fight on land to the fight at sea.

Unfortunately, it's a fight we continue to tackle. Pieces of legislation such as the Right to Farm in Missouri are not new and we've had to deal with them on the ocean side. The parallel in the fisheries world is Catch Shares. On the surface the Right to Farm bill seems rather benign (Just like Catch Shares.). It asks a simple question: "Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure that the right of Missouri citizens to engage in agricultural production and ranching practices shall not be infringed?"

From Patchwork Family Farms, Missouri

But it doesn't seem to be that simple at all. As laid out by journalist and author of The Meat Racket, Christopher Leonard, this amendment is really about ensuring the right of agribusiness to go about doing what they have done for a few decades: promote factory farming, consolidate the farming sector, and control the production, processing and distribution.

The truth is I want to be open minded about this. But the concept of Catch Shares was introduced in similar benign terms to the fishermen and the public. Let the industry own the rights to fish forever, as the industrial fleet has wanted all along, and that will automatically translate to taking care of the fish.

Catch Shares are just as much about catch accumulation as the Right to Farm is about the Right to Further Consolidate and Harm… Harm our family farmers. Harm the land. Harm the animals. Harm our food. Harm our rural communities. Harm our environment.

As Christopher Leonard suggests, part of the problem is that no one has taken the time to define what we mean by a farmer. Or in our case a fisherman. This omission leaves a loophole big enough to drive an industrial scale combine or a factory trawler through. The time has come.

The RevolOceanary move is to define what we mean and stand up to protect it. That’s is everyone’s right.