New Jersey Herring Catch a Break

Some good news.  Jersey herring get some protections.

As a bonus, almost all players in the story have a rich and high level understanding of the whole issue; something you might not have seen years ago.

Clearly, the herring deserve the respite.

"Research indicates the commercial catch for river herring declined from 65 million pounds a year in the mid-1960s to just 1.2 million pounds a year in recent years.  A bigger loss is an estimated 3 million pounds a year accidentally caught in trawl nets.

Environmental groups have actively been pushing for controls on river herring because it’s an important forage fish in rivers and the ocean.  Herring is eaten by striped bass, cod, whales, dolphins, haddock, seals, river otters, cormorants, herons, eagles and many other species," according to CBS News.

These small victories are tiny blips of hope.  In the struggle to support healthy oceans, they are like the half-glimpse of a shooting star over the ocean on an August night.  I'll take it.