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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 37 Number 9
May 2010
Guest writers offer much food for thought
In the divisive world of fisheries these days, people with differing points of view are sometimes berated for their opinions. It can take some real guts to come out and say what you think. But it is only through the free exchange of ideas that we can find a middle ground, come to consensus, and solve common problems.
Commercial Fisheries News has always tried to provide a forum in which our readers can speak their minds, both on our news and opinion pages.
In our news stories, we strive to present multiple points of view so readers can see the different sides of a story. We try to paint a complete picture of the complexities involved in the issue at hand.
Guest columns are CFN’s version of the venerated OpEd of the newspaper world. These opinion pieces are fundamentally different. Providing balance is not the point. Instead, they are an opportunity for readers, experts, and even politicians, activists, or lobbyists to discuss a topic in-depth from their own point of view.
Occasionally, people come to us and ask us to publish a guest column. Often, following a conversation, interview, or presentation, we suggest to people that they write a guest column because we think they have something to say that will be of interest to our readers.
Now and then, we lend a hand putting the words together. During the editing process, we may condense or rearrange to help make the writing a little clearer or point out a thought or a phrase that might be misconstrued. But always we try to respect the authors’ right to say what they think, to get their message across in the press.
This month, in addition to our two regular Guest Columns in Section A, we are running a number of reader-authored pieces in Section B. They are labeled with a “VOICES” tag to make it clear that they are opinion features written by guests, not our regular staff.
It’s an interesting mix.
We have two views of catch shares. One by Ben Bowman, who until the day he submitted the column was working for Food & Water Watch, takes a careful look at how we ended up with sectors in the groundfish fishery and advocates taking extraordinary action to stop their full implementation. On the other side of that coin, we have Rhode Island fisherman Chris Brown, who conveys in the most personal way, what convinced him that sectors were the only viable option for moving on in the wake of a failed days-at-sea system.
From Nova Scotia, fish packer association leader and anti-drilling activist Denny Morrow warns US fishermen that Georges Bank is still vulnerable to oil and gas exploration on his side of the border. Michelle Pico of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has a more positive energy-related story to tell as she describes a collaboration that gives fishermen a no-cost way to dispose of derelict gear.
Mike Armstrong of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries clearly and plainly explains the need to consider additional protection for Gulf of Maine cod. And, Lee Hudson of the Maine Seaweed Council responds to a previous guest column critical of rockweed cutting by showing how the industry has adopted sustainable harvesting practices.
Most of these subjects have the potential to provoke reader response and maybe even criticism. Yet these writers have stepped up to the challenge. We appreciate it because, in doing so, they have helped this newspaper do what newspapers at their best can do – inform and inspire. /cfn/
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