2/13/96
The forgotten few from the oil spill
There's lots of talk about fishermen, lobstermen and local retail shops, and rightly so, because they are all being hit hard by this spill. However, there are others that seem to be forgotten. And now that the "surface" effects of the spill are starting to wane, concern for the "forgotten few" also seems to be waning in the public's eye, and maybe also in the eyes of others.The lobster dealers, the dockside packers, and the dockside processors in Galilee are going to be hit harder (in terms of total money lost) than the fishermen, because it is this group that buys and sells what all the fishermen bring in to port. The amount of residual oil in the water and sediment in Galilee is still very high according to DEM and the Health Department, and DEM advises it has absolutely no idea when, or more importantly, how, the oil in Galilee will return to acceptable levels. While we all wait and see birds being returned and the ocean surface start to become cleaner, the packers and processors still cannot operate normally. It is clear that . . . - Saltwater cannot be used to help unload boats. So fish pumps and flumes necessary for the efficient unloading of product, especially high volume product like herring, mackerel, and squid, cannot be used at all. These fish will have to be unloaded at great expense by hand. - Millions of dollars in lost sales have already been experienced by this group, and more will be lost. - The port of Galilee is famous for fishing on the underutilized species, leaving the troubled groundfish to more northern fleets. If the impacts of the spill in not being able to unload boats with saltwater persist, sales and therefore catches of these underutilized species (mackerel, herring, squid, etc.) will dwindle and people will start to go out of business fast . . . We're hurting in our sector, also. Squid1995@aol.com
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