Fishing: War at Sea

In the midst of all its other problems —from the tax cut to civil rights—the Senate of the U.S. last week found time to take up two bills that are essentially wartime measures. Wartime, that is, for the U.S. fishing industry. Across the world's oceans in recent months, dozens of fishing nations have battled in a series of "fish wars"—usually nonviolent but sometimes under gunpoint—that have important economic and political consequences for the nations involved (see color pages). As one of the participants, the $381 million U.S. fishing industry has turned to the Government for the help that most...