Due to global economic crisis many business in USA are facing tough times and the commercial fishing business is no exception. With new federal and state administrations and its new policies the businesses are expecting a turning point in 2009. They are hoping for major changes in this new year. Sean McKeon, president of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a trade organization for the industry, told that uncertainty over how the year might unfold hasn’t stalled the industry though.
He further told that the fishermen are having to work harder and smarter just to stay afloat, but they still believe that eventually more rational policies will prevail. It is true that commercial fishermen worry about the recession, loss of credit, and reduced consumer demand. Market demand for some types of higher priced U.S. seafood, such as lobster and some salmon, has fallen off.
Besides, surging fuel prices have forced the fishermen to hold their breath. Most of them have tied their vessels to the docks, rather than risk “going in the hole.” The question of how federal and state fisheries policy might change under new administrations looms large all along the Carolina coast.
