b'C H A P T E R N I N Ethe Hook Fishermens Association knew that a key effort had to be feeding the public more information on constraints affecting the livelihood of its members. Maybe the two enterprises should team up, at times.For FCWs part, that possibility surfaced at its board meeting on October 2, 2000. Prompted by directors talk of concentrating more on local waterways than had been the case recendy, the author put forward the idea that education on the fisheries would be a good idea for FCW (and) do this as a community service. Board member Herb Bernard cast out another line, suggesting that people like CCCHFAs Paul Parker be interviewed, as a point of departure.That cue was on target, and later that month, the author went on an expedition to the associations first-floor headquarters at Nickersons Corners, North Chatham. In the hours exchange that ensued, Parker underscored his enthusiasm about future involvement with FCW At that time, he said, fishermen felt they were being persecuted. In an after-action memo, the author speculated that FCW could do a lot of good by joining with (the association) to help explain to the publics .why they feel this wayand what might be done to ameliorate that frame of mind.While that concern was not going to be tackled right away, further discussion late in 2000 tagged a topic that could be ventilated at FCWs 2001 annual meeting. Bringing it into public consciousness at that point would serve the aims of both CCCHFA and FCWThat topic was bycatch. Thats not a word youll find in standard dictionaries. But fishermen know exactly what it means. As much as a decade ago, Audubon magazine explained the word this way:It is no secret that while worldfleets are overfishing many food species, theyre also scooping up a bycatch of billions of other creatures they cant use.The fish tossed backthe bycatchare mostly dead. Whats the scope today of this awesome misuse of food? The Hook Fishermens John Pappalardo points to an Australian researchers analysis of 100,000 tows over four years. He determined that for every pound of fish that was caught and brought to dock, an equivalent amount was discarded at sea. In short, a discard rate of 50 percent. That has to be of staggering consequence in a world where millions regularly go hungry. However, bear in mind, CCCHFA says, that people dont go hungry simply because of a lack of food. Rather, its due to meager distribution efforts. Then, too, when it comes to bycatch, you have to remember that it often includes unwanted species that individuals dont eat.155'