27 



Even with extended jurisdiction, the fishing industry may not 

 revive if there are no markets for fish, if capital for new 

 boats and technology is not available, if piers, transportation 

 facilities, and other kinds of infrastructure do not change 

 accordingly, and if New England fishermen will not or cannot 

 catch and process the kinds of fish demanded (Wilson and Peters, 

 1976) .* 



While it is difficult to predict exactly what will 

 happen in the American fishing fleet, it is reasonable to assume 

 that the futurp will see increased economic opportunities in 

 fishing. If this is true, then the impact of extended juris- 

 diction will ultimately depend, in large part, on the degree to 

 which the people of coastal communities can take advantage of 

 these opportunities. 



Simply put, if large numbers of people are willing and 

 able to invest in new boats and processing equipment embodying 

 new technology, fish for new species, exploit new markets, etc., 

 then the ramifying effects throughout the social and economic 

 structure of coastal communities will be enormous. However, if 

 fishermen cannot or will not respond, then it is reasonable to 

 assume that the offshore fisheries of the U.S. will continue to 

 be harvested by foreign vessels or there will be a radical shift 

 to large corporate fishing enterprises. This may be true even 



*The people of the U.S. will have very little control over 

 some of these factors. Their fate, to a large extent, v/ill be tied 

 up with such things as: the quota set by the Federal Government 

 for foreign fleets, the tariff set for Canadian imports, the deci- 

 sion of large corporations to locate processing and maintenance 

 facilities in the area, the prices of fish in the U.S. and abroad, 

 etc. 



