Air Date: Week of May 13, 1994

Listeners respond to recent features on the debates over saltwater fishing and chlorine.

Transcript

CURWOOD: Now it's time to hear from you, our listeners. We recently reported on efforts to rewrite the law governing commercial fishing in the US waters. Among the proposals were a plan to charge boat operators a fee based on the amount of fish they catch.

CALLER: This is Kat Shimway from Meridian, Idaho. I strongly support saltwater fishermen paying for the privilege of fishing. I believe that everyone should pay for any of the commons. The monies collected from these fees should be used to manage our depletable resources. This not only would help create sustainable resources, but also would create economically viable industries for all future generations to come.

CALLER: My name is Mark Buckley; I'm calling from Kodiak, Alaska. I am a commercial fisherman and have been involved with the commercial fishing industry since 1972. You didn't address anywhere in your story the amount of taxes and amount of fees that I already pay to the governments, state and Federal, to participate in the fishery. I wouldn't mind paying for a share of the catch as a stumpage fee, if these other fees were to be reduced commensurately.

CALLER: This is Edith Chase calling from Kendall, Ohio. Regarding your question - should EPA study chlorine use? - my answer would be yes. We can no longer try to test 10,000 organochloride compounds one at a time. We need to evaluate them as a class and work for virtual elimination of persistent toxic chemicals. We should also plan the transition for workers.

CALLER: This is Bill Bacam from Hartville, Ohio; I listen to WKSU out of Kent. I'm a farmer in this area. If we do away with everything that is possibly harmful with us, more will probably starve to death. And it's a choice that people are going to have to realize they're going to have to make. It's pretty easy to live now, in this country especially. And there's a lot of things that we take for granted. And you can't have your cake and eat it, too.