The federal government is now working in Jacksonville, Florida to close fishing of red snapper fish.  The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council claims that the red snapper population is at only three percent of the sustainable limit, and is dropping.  Further fishing, they say, could seriously harm the red snapper population permanently.  Right now the federal government has proposed a 35 year ban on red snapper fishing, in order to give these fish time to restock their populations.  This ban would stop bottom fishing from the Carolinas to central Florida, also closing a number of other types of fishing that have affected the red snapper populations through accidental fishing.

But local fishermen claim this is a farce.  They say that red snapper population is as high as its ever been, mainly due to the environmental laws already put into place.  Furthermore, they claim a loss of livelihood would be the main product of this new ban, affecting industries from fishing to boating, mechanics, restaurants, and tourism, as just a beginning step.  This environmental ban could furthermore put a number of fishing companies out of business, and the fishermen claim that this loss of economy is far more damaging than their work.  Clearly, the issue at stake here is the effects of environmental laws.  Every law will have to weigh the relative benefits to nature versus cost to the economy, and must take an ethical view to decide at what cost one can or should be sacrificed