There is a new online campaign dealing with fisheries that people concerned about fishing in the Great Lakes might be interested in.
It has a strange but catchy name: Who Fishes Matters.
The campaign promotes awareness about who is fishing in the ocean and asks regulators to stop consolidating fishing permits for big businesses. Campaign officials say such consolidation gives control over fishing to those with money and fosters a corporate buyout of the industry.
The Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance is behind the campaign and has created a particularly intriguing strategy to influence policymakers. It hosts a series of video testimonials from small town fisherman or women who are in favor of caps on the consolidation of the permits. They argue that if limits of consolidation don’t occur, they could be run out by big businesses overfishing. They express worry about the diversity of the fishery, the entire fishing community and their own livelihoods.
Although this issue seems to be New England centric – most of the fishermen featured are from New England _ Great Lakes residents or anyone interested in the politics of permitting or overfishing, might be interested in this campaign. Management of Great Lakes recreational fishing is often controversial. Those who fish in the region could use this technique to weigh in on regional issues or on the sustainability of fisheries across the United States and the politics over who should be allowed to fish.
Having those who fish film their own video testimonial is a powerful tool and shows a very emotional side of this issue. And anyone can upload a video of their opinion.