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Andrews Dadeboe Honors American Studies A Fishing Way of Life is Threatened C.E. 3/1/2012 Year after year fishermen in the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts have gone out to fish daily to bring in income for their family members. Such the case with most of the towns in the Northeast, fishing has endured the town of Gloucester for many years. Now the United States Federal Government is starting to stop, or are putting major restrictions on cod fishing in the Gulf of Maine. These harsh restrictions are the actions the government is taking on the Gulf of Maine after a recent government survey found that the number of cods in that area was going significantly down. Few years earlier the government thought the cod numbers would rise after years of over fishing in that area, but this is not the case. The government thinks that even if they ceased all fishing in that area, cod numbers would not rise back to their normality. There will be a law that will allow fishermen to take up to 80% less cod than they caught the previous years. This is a very interesting story that can be compared to many things learned in class. This story may be compared to the Prohibition Laws that were in affect banning alcohol. One major point these two topics have in common is the effect they have on jobs and companies. As restrictions are being made to cod fish, fishermen and fish companies will be impacted. Fishermen from the Maine Gulf area will be affected because cod fish is the product that brings in the most money from consumers. Fishing companies will be affected from this one point: Cod fish swim next to and very close to other fish, so companies who get any type of fish from the Maine Gulf area may be in trouble. They will have to find a way to capture their respected fish in a way that does not collect a large amount of cod fish, and a way that is time efficient. If they collect cod fish along with their fish, time would be wasted from the process of putting the cod fish back in the water. These restrictions will definitely also lead to job losses in the fishing industry. The Prohibition Laws were passed with good intentions in mind. Surprisingly many negatives came out from these laws. One of those negatives was the impact the American Economy faced. With the banning of alcohol many companies had to go out of business with alcoholic products. With alcoholic companies closing people in turn would lose their jobs. PBS recalls “The closing of breweries, distilleries and saloons led to the elimination of thousands of jobs, and in turn thousands more jobs were eliminated for barrel makers, truckers, waiters, and other related trades” (PBS 1). The only difference between Prohibition and the restriction of cod fishing is the government does not have a choice wheatear or not to ban cod fishing. This story is very much related to the topic of American Environment. What is so unique about this story is that it could also be place under the subject of American Identity, and American Economics. This is a situation involving the American Government intervening with an American Tradition just to save and conserve the American Environment. It is a decision the government has made to protect the environment of the Gulf of Maine. This was a very smart action the U.S. Government took; they made a law to save the cod fish before they are endangered. The government went by the saying "Better safe than sorry". It was a smart decision that may have hurt and offended many families in the New England Area. This law will most definitely make life harder for those fishers who have a career in fishing only, but this law is for a good cause.
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 * Questions **
 * 1) 1. Will those young fishermen who rely on cod fish to bring in major income go back to school for a new career path?
 * 2) 2. What other job will those fishermen who rely on cod fish turn to?
 * 3) 3. Has the government considered giving aid such as money to those families who will be affected majorly from this law?
 * 4) 4. How much money do fishermen make for their yearly income?
 * 5) 5. By how much will that income be effected by?
 * 6) 6. Is there a sense of optimism from the fishermen affected that their situation will get better?

Works Cited Ariosto, David. "A Fishing Way of Life Is Threatened - CNN.com." //CNN//. Cable News Network, 28 Feb. 2012. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. . Florein, Daniel. "12 Bad Effects of Prohibition You Should Know." //Unreasonable Faith//. Unreasonable Faith, 11 Mar. 2009. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. . Lerner, Michael. "Prohibition." //PBS//. PBS. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. .