ABSTRACT
The political and personal forces that actually motivated the Georges Bank sale may never be revealed, much less comprehended. For all its intensity, the confrontation over Lease Sale 42 was simply round one in the struggle to defend the Georges Bank fishery. Unique coastal and oceanic currents, bottom topography, and geographic location combine to make Georges Bank one of the most productive fishing areas anywhere in the world. Georges Bank contains the spawning, nursery, feeding, and migratory habitats for as many as 200 species of fish and shellfish, all of which rely upon the integrity of Georges Bank ecosystem. The success of Georges Bank as an environment for fisheries development is based on both the nutrient wealth of the ecosystem and the circulatory currents that keep the spawn and larvae in this highly favorable environment. The major use of Georges Bank is as a commercial fishery, both domestic and foreign.
