Ship isn’t sinking

It would be helpful for an industry already replete with its share of difficulties if the press would avoid headlines that are as misleading as the ones printed on Sept. 22. “Boat buyout deal swamped by bids” could very well refer to the fact that as of mid-morning on Sept. 22 the government had received applications totaling $52,623,386 when only $2 million was available for the buyback.

Things get distorted, however, when that headline is followed by one reading, “New England fishermen want out.”

Unless there are a lot more applications still in the U.S. Postal Service system (all applications postmarked no later than Sept. 19 will be accepted), it seems only about 10 percent of New England fishermen want out through this avenue, not the entire group as the combined headline and sub-heading imply. The applications were open to multi-species permit holders in categories 1, 2 and 6. Out of the roughly 1,054 eligible vessels, only 121 applications had been received. It is unfair to an age-old industry and its dedicated members to imply that everyone is abandoning what some people choose to think is a sinking ship; that one of the misconceptions will most further damage the fishing industry. Isla C. Dickerson Stonington