Small-Time Fishermen May Soon Be History Thanks to Nanny State GovernmentBy James Holbrooks Previously, the government has paid for these third-party observers, who accompany fishermen on trips and in addition to making certain vessels adhere to catch quotas are there as part of a NOAA program to monitor the overall health of fish populations. But NOAA says its federal funding has run out and that the New England fishermen themselves must now foot the bill, which amounts to about $710 per voyage. And thats a cost, according to Cause of Action the government watchdog group that filed the legal action on behalf of the fishermen that the industry simply cannot afford. It is unlawful for NOAA to force struggling fishermen to pay for their own at-sea monitors, Alfred Lechner, Cause of Actions president and CEO, recently told Fox News. The significant cost of these regulations should be the responsibility of the government. The struggling fishermen who brought the lawsuit target groundfish such as cod and halibut. Those species numbers have been sharply declining in recent years, which has in turn prompted NOAA to enact increasingly tighter restrictions on catch quotas. But many feel government intervention is only exacerbating the problem. The Salem News remarked in June that The program is far from perfect. The regulations are at worst byzantine and contradictory, and at best merely confusing. The quality and experience of observers varies greatly, and extra people on the deck of a fishing vessel can add to safety concerns in what is already a dangerous profession. Whats more, NOAA readily acknowledges via the agencys own 2015 report shifting the cost of at-sea monitors onto local fisherman will shutter nearly 60 percent of the groundfish industry in New England. Fishing is my passion and its how Ive made a living, but right now, Im extremely fearful that I wont be able to do what I love and provide for my family if Im forced to pay out-of-pocket for at-sea monitors, David Goethel, the lead plaintiff, said when the suit was filed in December of last year. Im doing this not only to protect myself, but to stand up for others out there like me whose livelihoods are in serious jeopardy. Some argue that whats happening in the Northeast is a typical case of Big Government versus the little guy. A 2014article in Newsweek pointed out that New Englanders feel the regulations will disproportionately hurt small, independent fishermen as opposed to larger corporations. This perceived bias government regulating small business out of existence in favor of corporate operations makes the situation all the more unjust for the fishermen, considering they feel NOAA has no right to govern their affairs in the first place. The failed lawsuit alleged the government was acting in excess of any statutory authority granted by Congress and that it was improperly infringing on Congress exclusive taxation authority. It further states that, under NOAAs new rules, fishermen will be driven out of business altogether due to the large portion of their income that derives from the groundfish industry, and will be unable to recover their losses because of the Federal governments sovereign immunity. Despite the ruling against the fishermen, Cause of Action president Alfred Lechner says he hasnt thrown in the towel just yet. While we respect the District Court and its decision, he said in a press release, it appears that decision is contrary to the law and facts. In the end, the federal government is overextending its regulatory power and is destroying an industry. We intend to study the decision and consider further action. This article (Small-Time Fishermen May Soon Be History Thanks to Nanny State Government) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to James Holbrooks andUndergroundReporter.org. If you spot a typo, please email the error and the name of the article toundergroundreporter2016@gmail.com. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons Probably another Micheal Chertoff machine. (ie xrays to give you cancer) Secession!!! The Russian Motherland had the KGB. The German Fatherland had the Stasi. American Homeland Homies patrolling, monitoring and recording every action of the men and women of this country sure does sound awfully familiar from a historical perspective. 