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Editorials
Saturday, August 5, 2000Easing of
court order on
longline fishingFEDERAL District Judge David Ezra has significantly modified his original draconian ruling that would have devastated Hawaii's longline fishing industry. The change should be welcomed as a reasonable compromise that will save jobs while providing protection for endangered sea turtles.The issue: A federal judge has revised his order severely restricting Hawaii longline fishing operations to protect endangered sea turtles.
Ezra's original order would have closed 6.5 million square miles of ocean surrounding Hawaii to all but a few fishing trips. His revised order outlaws all longline fishing in a zone north of Hawaii, allows limited swordfish fishing in two adjacent areas and opens up a huge area surrounding the islands to tuna fishing.
The differential treatment, he explained, is based on the fact that the deeper lines used in fishing for tuna pose less of a threat to the turtles than those used for swordfish, which are closer to the ocean surface.
Swordfish and tuna fishing are also treated differently with regard to the number of observers the judge is requiring. All swordfishing boats must carry an observer, but tuna boats initially will be required to have observers on only 10 percent of their trips, with coverage increasing to 20 percent in three months.
The new order opens 5 million square miles of ocean to tuna fishing but keeps it closed to swordfishing. In addition, the requirement for observers is substantially relaxed; previously Ezra had required an observer on every longline boat -- a mandate that would have been impossible to fulfill.
In effect the new ruling shuts down swordfishing while giving tuna fishing a chance to survive. Sean Martin, president of the Hawaii Longline Association said the modifications will reduce the industry as much as 30 percent -- much less than the 95 percent impact predicted for the original order. "Certainly, today's ruling is more tolerable to the industry," he remarked.
The order, if it goes unchallenged, will be in effect until the National Marine Fisheries Service completes an environmental impact statement, expected in April 2001. Ezra criticized the service as "an agency that didn't do its job," but the service has reportedly been swamped by many such demands for impact studies demanded by environmental groups bent on shutting down commercial fishing operations.
The issue is complicated by a lack of solid information about the causes of the reduction in the sea turtle population. Moreover, the Hawaii fishing boats are only a small part of the longline fishing fleet in the affected area. Vessels of other nations are unaffected by the court order, which means it is likely to have little effect on the turtle population.
The judge said he was obliged to enforce laws protecting endangered species, even if it meant a loss of jobs. But now fewer jobs will be lost.
Filipino war veterans
AFTER meeting with Philippine President Joseph Estrada last month, President Clinton asked veterans affairs officials to study options for helping thousands of aging Filipinos who served in World War II. "I am eager to find a way to fulfill the needs of this deserving group of veterans," Clinton said in a statement.
The issue is part of the nation's unfinished business from World War II. Although hundreds of thousands of Filipinos fought under the American flag resisting the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, as guerrillas during the Japanese occupation and assisting the returning U.S. forces in their country's liberation, Congress in 1946 declared them ineligible for full U.S. veterans benefits. The fact that the Philippines was on the verge of becoming independent was a factor in that decision.
The veterans have been lobbying for benefits ever since, with scant results. However, in 1990 Congress granted U.S. citizenship without residency or naturalization requirements to Filipinos who fought on the side of the United States in World War II.
This resulted in an influx of veterans from the Philippines, several thousand in Hawaii. Most of them receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and food stamps but no veterans benefits unless they are disabled as a result of wounds sustained in the war.
Last year Congress permitted the veterans to receive 75 percent of their SSI benefits if they returned to the Philippines, but some intend to remain in the United States. California now permits Filipino veterans to retain their state benefits if they return to their homeland.
Hawaii's congressional delegation supports full benefits for the veterans, including a pension, medical and burial benefits, but little progress has been made toward passage.
At a reception for the Philippine president in Washington, Jon Melegrito, director of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, said, "The veterans' plight has been a long-neglected matter of justice, and it also has a lot to do with America's honor."
The ranks of the veterans have been thinned by the passing years, but there are still survivors who could benefit. Clinton's interest in the issue could help.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
