For well over a decade now this Association has been building itself into an organization that can serve our lobster fishermen by being capable of handling the many challenges that continuously face our industry.  It has become the shield, or in some cases, the vanguard so that the interests of the lobster fishermen here in Massachusetts can be protected or asserted.

 We have been fortunate in that now the voice of this industry is heard.  We can be proud of this accomplishment because this is not always the case for the fishing industry.  Fishermen are after all, diverse, individualistic and small businessmen who basically operate in their own little world and this is, unfortunately, why they can be targeted by outside forces and run over by those forces.

 Too many fishermen manage a crisis by impromptu organization, that is, when a problem arises their response is to unite for that issue.  That ensemble resembles an organized mob.  They hoot and holler, thrash around, and either manage to have some minimal success or experience a complete failure.  They then gradually go their way, disbanding until the next time.  It is far better to have the organization in place and ready to react with a logical, cohesive and systematic approach when it is needed.

 Our Association has tried to become that organized entity and it has been successful.  The effort, however, has involved teamwork and not just organizing.  In order to achieve this teamwork and in order to cover all the bases, the MLA has become an entity with many parts.  The delegates, the officers and the office staff all go into making this teamwork successful.

 It is interesting to hear comments such as “what is the MLA’s position”?  Does the MLA support or oppose a particular issue?  These comments come from fishermen, the public, the media and from government agencies.  Why do they ask that question?  Apparently, there is the realization that the MLA’s position on something counts.  The truth is, it does count because the MLA can make a difference.  The MLA delegates are the leaders and their decisions guide the Association’s actions.  Since the position of the Association counts, the decisions they make are important.  What is sometimes missed even by the delegates themselves is that along with their deliberations and their decisions goes the responsibility to act responsibly.  They should not act with a knee-jerk reaction or with a mob mentality.  To do so would begin to erode the effectiveness of the Association and its  credibility.  This in turn would result in diminishing the Association’s ability to affect the outcome of a particular issue.  This is serious business here because it involves fishermen’s livelihoods and because the MLA can make a difference in an outcome, the Association, through its delegates, must carefully consider what position it should take.

 It should be remembered that not every mission will result in complete success.  Not even the President of the U.S. or Congress or government agencies can boast of that accomplishment.  It should, however, also be noted that no one will just run rough shod over this Association, our fishermen or our industry either.  It is also true that not everyone within the MLA family will agree on everything that is done.  It would probably be very strange if we did all agree.  We are, afterall, a very large and diverse group made up of that individualistic spirit.

 The important part here is that we are here, we are organized, we do and will discuss issues and we will make a difference in an outcome.  Although we will not always agree on everything, our goals are the same; to keep our lobster fishermen fishing, our industry long-lived and the lobster resource itself healthy.

 We need to keep on ticking and keep on kicking.

 Bill Adler