Hobucken Commercial Fisherman Takes on Congress

Hubert E. Potter, April 24, 2001.

The late Hubert E. Potter of Hobucken was a faithful and fierce advocate for commercial fisherman's rights.   As a respected fisherman from North Carolina to Florida and even beyond, Hubert never wavered in his resilient fight for commercial fishermen.  In April of 2001, he was asked to testify before the Senate Small Business Committee.  Below is his recorded testimony from that day.

Testimony of Hubert Potter, a Commercial Fisherman From Hobucken, NC, 

Before the Senate Small Business Committee, April 24, 2001 

     Thank you Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee.  My name is Hubert Potter. I am a 4th generation commercial fisherman from Hobucken, North Carolina, a fishing community in Pamlico County. I'll be 67 years old this August, and I've been commercial fishing for a living since I was 15.
     I am a member of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, and have been a Board member of that group for several years, including a stint as Vice-Chairman. As such, I've tried to stay on top of the political and bureaucratic issues affecting us. 
    Just about all of my experience has been aboard a type of fishing vessel called a trawler. My wife and I have owned 5 trawlers over our lifetime, ranging in size from 32 to 75 ft in length. We sold our last one this past September.
     Like just about everything else, there have been a lot of things that stay the same in our way of life. Things like the weather, fish prices, and fish cycles. Just like any red- blooded American, us fishermen like it when prices are high, fish are plentiful, and the good Lord provides us with fair weather. We might like all these things, but we also know that it just doesn't work that way all the time, or even most of the time. 
     Although we can accept whatever bad weather the Lord gives us, or the natural peaks and valleys of fish cycles put on us by mother nature, it is hard to accept or even understand the lack of sensitivity and sometimes the callousness of our own government. At first it seems funny when we read about that some of the bureaucrats say about the effects of proposed  regulations. But, Mr. Chairman, after you've had a chance to sit down and think about what they've said, it can really hurt your feelings. When you get over that, it just plain makes you angry that your own government would say that these regulations will not affect your small business.
     Commercial fishing is very dependent upon the weather, water temperature, currents, and natural fish cycles. Some years there will be lots of fish in a certain area, and in other years there will be few or none. The difference may be due to weather changes, or just because the cycles are different. That's why diversity is so important to us. For example, it it's possible to fish for summer flounder, that's what I would do. Flounder are not available off our coast year round, so we have to do others things. If I wasn't fishing for summer flounder, I would be shrimping. 
     One of the most regulated fisheries on the East Coast is the summer flounder fishery. Although us fishermen try to stay on top of all of the regulations, most of us had no idea what the Regulatory Flexibility Act was until we got involved with the North Carolina Fisheries Association in a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service. That's when we found out that NMFS didn't think that summer flounder regulations had any impact on us as small business people.
    During one of the hearings held in Norfolk, Virginia, over 100 fishermen from our state attended at the request of the court. We were all sworn in and I personally took the stand. Allow me to read from the court order: `The federal government did consider three possible quotas for the 1997 fishery, but the government failed to do any significant analysis to support its conclusion that there would be no significant impact. It is evident to this Court from the some 100 North Carolina fishermen who appeared to testify that their businesses were significantly affected and that there was a significant economic impact. . . .'' 
     The Judge also said, "....this Court will not stand by and allow the Secretary to attempt to achieve a desirable end by using illegal means. Granted, administrative agencies have a substantial amount of discretion in determining how they will follow Congressional mandates. That discretion, however, does not include rewriting or ignoring statutes."
    And this quote by Judge Doumar says it all: "...the Secretary has produced a so-called economic report that obviously is designed to justify a prior determination".
     Mr. Chairman, although our life has been like a roller coaster ride over the years, Renona and I have done ok. But we really fear for the future of our younger fishing families because of all the regulations and the lack of feeling for hard working people. There was one year when our summer flounder fishery was closed in December due to regulations, when families just didn't have the money for Christmas. That's because shrimping, crabbing, and other fisheries have naturally slacked out in December and many of us depended on the summer flounder fishing for Christmas money. Yet, we find out that our own government says that the regulations have no significant impact. 
     Maybe they think a slack Christmas is not having an impact. In my wildest dreams, it's hard for me to figure how they think. 
     Mr. Chairman, speaking on behalf of commercial fishing families, I want to thank you for scheduling this hearing. Our small businesses are so small that we don't have the time to stay on top of a lot of these kinds of issues. We do know that we are expected to abide by the laws of our land, and we expect that our own government should do that also. 
     It's been discouraging to see our incomes drop as regulations increase, and read reports by the government that the regulations will have no significant impact on us. Although it's hard work, we love what we do, and we would like to be able to continue providing our country with a healthy and tasty source of protein. 
     We really hope that our government wants us to continue doing that too. Thank you, and I would be glad to answer any questions from the Committee.

Reprinted from the Congressional Record, Volume 147 Issue Number 52 April 24, 2001 

Daily Digest, Pages D340-D342, From the Congressional Record Online through the 

Government Printing Office