Gloucester, Mass. —
Capt. Joe Orlando has been a stalwart of the Gloucester, Mass., fishing fleet for more than 35 years.
He has an instinct for fish and an appetite for justice. Right now, he contends, there's a lot more of the former than the latter.
Orlando, 56, was a child when his family emigrated from Sicily in 1963 and settled in Milwaukee, where his uncle lived. But it wasn't right for Orlando's father, a fisherman in Sicily.
In the early 1970s, the family moved to Massachusetts to fish commercially.
"When we started, the health of the fish stocks was pretty good, but not as good as it is now," said Orlando, who maintains a fishing business with his son Mario via the 65-foot dragger Padre Pio.
It was the era of big offshore dragger boats. Intruders from Russia, East Germany and other countries were scooping up tons of halibut, haddock, cod and other prized groundfish in international waters off the U.S. coast, leaving little behind for American fishermen.
The fishermen complained and Congress responded with the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act that extended U.S. control over the ocean to 200 nautical miles from the coastline. Foreign boats left and American fishing boomed.
But the government erred when it then encouraged a buildup of the fleet through easy credit. The result was a fishing "bubble" not unlike the recent real estate bubble. The excess of boats did nothing to protect the stocks of fish.
Orlando believes the government is erring today again by implementing a system of catch shares that he believes is unjust.
He recalls that, years ago, fishermen were advised to "get off of groundfish" to relieve overfishing of cod, haddock and similar species. Many fishermen did, shifting to other species whose stocks had not been weakened by fishing pressure.
But when the federal government last year decided to determine groundfish catch shares based on catch histories, they effectively penalized those who heeded its advice and rewarded those fishermen who "kept pounding the overfished stocks."
He sees another ethical lapse in the system. Although the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires equal treatment for all groups, the government last year voted to use 5-year catch histories for two special interest groups — Cape Cod hook fishermen and recreational fishermen — and a 10-year catch history for the main group of commercial fishermen.
The decision favored the two special interests because fish were more abundant during the 5-year window.
The effect, Orlando said, was like stealing. He estimates 1.2 million pounds of cod were denied the main group of commercial fishermen.
Orlando says he appreciates the way the catch share system guarantees him a given amount of fish and liberates him from the pressure to participate in "derby fishing” under the old days-at-sea system.
But the political decisions that made some fishermen winners and some losers, "that's just not right."
"I'll be OK," Orlando said, "but that doesn't make it right."
---
Richard Gaines is a reporter for the Gloucester, Mass., Daily Times. Contact him at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.
Gulf Oil Spill
Related Photos
-
Captain Joe Orlando on the deck of his Padre Pio: nets full of cod, rules of confusion. Kate Glass
Discussion
Fishery Under Siege
- Gulf Oil Spill
-
-
Major study proves oil plume that's not going away
A 22-mile-long invisible mist of oil is meandering far below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, where it will probably loiter for months or more, scientists reported Thursday in the first conclusive evidence of an underwater plume from the BP spill.
-
Fishermen battle ‘green seafood’ force to survive
The gleaming cod delivered whole from the Gloucester-based Debra Ann II to shareholders in the Cape Ann Fresh Catch program were pulled from the ocean just hours earlier and only a few miles from the dock.
-
Fisherwomen key players in fight for survival
In 1977, 18-year-old Terri Farscone showed up at the Coast Guard station in Boston to apply for a 100-ton boat captain's license.
-
Work remains even with BP leak plugged, oil fading
Crews made key progress in plugging BP's blown-out Gulf oil well Wednesday as a report said much of the spilled crude is gone, twin victories that heartened leaders who have taken political heat but left some experts and Gulf Coast residents skeptical.
-
Incoming BP CEO: Time for 'scaleback' in cleanup
BP's incoming CEO said Friday that it's time for a "scaleback" of the massive effort to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but stressed the commitment to make things right is the same as ever.
-
Harvard graduate to fishing boat captain
Russell Sherman believes he and his buddy Glen Yngve, now in Alaska, are the only two Harvard graduates in commercial fishing, unless you count the ones who regulate the industry.
-
New rules threaten oldest fishing port
The concern over the changes threatened by catch shares is also for the way of life that the American fishing industry has sustained communities that harbor the commercial fleets.
-
Flawed science behind new fishing rules
The message that many environmentalists would have you believe is this: We're catching and eating the oceans bare.
-
BP replaces CEO Hayward, reports $17 billion loss
The American picked to lead oil giant BP as it struggles to restore its finances and oil spill-stained reputation pledged Tuesday that his company will remain committed to the Gulf region even after the busted well is sealed.
-
Fishery Under Siege
Capt. Joe Orlando has been a stalwart of the Gloucester, Mass., fishing fleet for more than 35 years.
- More Gulf Oil Spill Headlines
-
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
