[GordonS]

I was going to make a similar point - this is a persistent problem anywhere there are profitable fish stocks, and absolutely not just by the Chinese - the French, Spanish, whoever, there are plenty of people at it.

[teachingassist]

Nobody has yet mentioned the UK, but: reduced regulation on fishing was a big motivator for Brexit, where the campaign had its roots deep in coastal towns.

[GordonS]

Well, British fishermen thought we'd be "taking back control of our waters", and wouldn't be in the situation where they have smaller quotas that the large Spanish and French vessels that fish British waters do.

Of course, it didn't work out like that.

[teachingassist]

I assume the thinking was somewhat broader than that (fishermen only have 10,000 votes between them).

I assume that people understood their town's local economy would be uplifted by a renewed fishing industry.

Of course, that was never a real possibility.

[newacct583]

Which is deeply self-defeating, because those jobs are going away when the fish disappear anyway. The only question is who gets to eat the last ones.