In an age of partisan discord, I’m reminded of the need to find common ground, even amongst perceived enemies.
I’ve written extensively about fisheries management for over two decades, and while some folks despise the politics of fishing, I believe this information is critical to tackling issues and addressing angler needs. Whether you choose to read it, or flip past to other features inside The Fisherman, that’s entirely up to you. Just know, there aren’t many of us left.
If you ever read Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, you know ‘sausage making’ can be a rather unpleasant process. It’s the same with fisheries management, which I often refer to as stuffing fish sausages. Not too many writers are willing or able to dig deep into the guts and grime of management madness; in a meeting room full of empty seats, those with pencil and paper in hand get to know each other pretty well, even if we’re not supposed to get along.
Nils Stolpe was one of those people. A muckraker for the commercial fishing industry, Nils’ columns appeared online before most media outfits ever heard of the worldwide web. He worked as an independent fisheries consultant for the commercial industry, and yes, his columns were occasionally critical of recreational fishing, as mine sometimes are of the commercial sector. But it was that rabble-rousing for our personal and professional interests that helped Nils and I see eye-to-eye on many bigger picture items.
Once we could agree to disagree on gear choice and allocation, finding common ground on common enemies made for a unique perspective on issues of importance to coastal fishing interests. Nils and I worked closely to help bring our respective communities together for a pair of United We Fish rallies on Capitol Hill in 2010 and 2012 aimed at reforming our federal fisheries law. The rallies were successful, the results in Congress, not so much.
Some of Nils’ greatest work came through his exhaustive research and reporting on the influence of Pew Charitable Trusts through its financial support of groups opposed to fishing community efforts to reform the Magnuson Stevens Act. As longtime Point Pleasant fishing captain Jim Lovgren noted, “Nils discovered that the overfishing mantra that was being pushed by NMFS had its roots through PEW funding of anti-fishing groups, such as Oceana, and the Natural Resources Defense Council,” while also adding, “he was not afraid to speak his mind or voice his opinion among small groups of fishermen, or fishery managers.”
Nils Stolpe passed away on May 16. We had actually been emailing back and forth over the past year, comparing notes about the impacts of industrial offshore wind development on both the commercial and recreational fishing industries. In our final exchange, Nils and I spoke of a joint feature describing how nearshore wind development would be like, as he noted, “turning the oceans into the maritime equivalents of Linden, NJ.” No disrespect to those who live in Union County, but I’m sure you can appreciate the reference to oil refineries and regional industrialization, and how that could visually translate to large scale windfarms off our coast.
Nils knew New Jersey. A graduate of Hammonton High School, he went on to study marine biology and environmental planning at Rutgers University. He spent 10 years managing an aquaculture project on the Delaware, and later took a job with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, eventually leaving bureaucracy for the world of fisheries advocacy.
Yes, we often stood on different sides of the battle, but we always respected our roles and responsibilities in the fight. Nils used a pen as his weapon of choice, and wielded it with scalpel-like precision. In a world of partisan bickering and backlash, thinking of Nils reminds me that common ground can only be found through information, communication and dialog. What we choose to do with it, again, is entirely up to us.
