FISH QUOTAS, as a natural resource issue, gets right to the core.

Without the sentiments that blur a subject like wolves, or the aesthetics that decorate timber debates, it comes down to just who gets the fish. For the many of us who live by what we take from the sea, it is a very serious matter.

I hope we can see ourselves in this picture, and find a little comic relief.

Anyone who has ever been involved with “public process”, or any kind of board meeting, will recognize the setting. If your interest at the table happens to be represented by a seal who can’t quite keep in touch by cell phone ... well, hang in there, he may eventually pull through. Some species didn’t even respond to the public notice.