Freedom
09-07-2010, 10:08 AM
As "the Ocean State," Rhode Island has a vast fishing community. There has been a lot in the papers recently about how the areas are being overfished. State and federal agencies want to lower the limits to give the lobsters and other fish time to regenerate. Fishermen, of course, need to provide for their families. Lowering the limits would put some out of work, while pushing prices higher.
So today I go to market, and they have cooked lobsters on special, a GREAT, UNHEARD of in YEARS price. So I bought 2, we shall enjoy them at lunch.
The reason? Due to the threat of Hurricane Earl, folks didn't buy lobsters for the long weekend the way they usually do. They went for canned meats, and deli meats, easy things as we well and truly expected to lose power (at the least!) for a day or so. Then when Earl stayed out at sea, people had all this other food in stock already and had to use it up.
My store alone, had over $3,000 of lobsters die in the freezer! :eek: Had to be thrown out. They cooked up what they had left, before those died too.
Makes me sad in SO many ways.
Those poor lobsters lost their life for nothing!
Those lobstermen did all that hard work, in seas getting rougher and rougher as Earl approached, (perhaps risking their lives in the process) for nothing! (Yes, they did get paid.)
And if it happened at this one store (part of a large multi state chain), how much was "lost" at other stores and other chains?
I wonder if any one tracks THIS when they are trying to set the limits for over fishing?
So today I go to market, and they have cooked lobsters on special, a GREAT, UNHEARD of in YEARS price. So I bought 2, we shall enjoy them at lunch.
The reason? Due to the threat of Hurricane Earl, folks didn't buy lobsters for the long weekend the way they usually do. They went for canned meats, and deli meats, easy things as we well and truly expected to lose power (at the least!) for a day or so. Then when Earl stayed out at sea, people had all this other food in stock already and had to use it up.
My store alone, had over $3,000 of lobsters die in the freezer! :eek: Had to be thrown out. They cooked up what they had left, before those died too.
Makes me sad in SO many ways.
Those poor lobsters lost their life for nothing!
Those lobstermen did all that hard work, in seas getting rougher and rougher as Earl approached, (perhaps risking their lives in the process) for nothing! (Yes, they did get paid.)
And if it happened at this one store (part of a large multi state chain), how much was "lost" at other stores and other chains?
I wonder if any one tracks THIS when they are trying to set the limits for over fishing?